The City of Gaithersburg has announced that Melodia Rinaldi will be joining the Gaithersburg Chorus as its new Music Director as of August 23, 2022.
Melodia Mae “Mimi” Rinaldi (she/her) is a music educator from Baltimore. She is currently the director of the Vocal Programs at Gaithersburg Middle School in MCPS where she also teaches General Music, Drama/Theater, and is a faculty advisor of the SOS program and the Restorative Justice initiative.
Signage has been installed at the Antojitos Salvadoreños Isabel, which is coming to 19114 Montgomery Village Ave, the former Einstein Bagel Bros location. We first reported that a new Salvadoran restaurant would be coming to the Village in May. Construction on the interior of the restaurant is ongoing and a representative tells us they hope to open by October. The restaurant will serve popular Salvadorian dishes like pupusas, tamales, and yuca con chicharron, as well as traditional Salvadorian cuisine such as pastelitos. La Poteria, which sells Colombian street food and coffee, is located next door.
Dickey’s Barbecue Pit previously opened its second Maryland location in Montgomery County when it opened in Germantown in February 2013. The restaurant closed the following year and reopened under new management in July 2014 before closing permanently in early 2016. The first Maryland location was in Gambrills, but has since closed. Currently there are nearby locations in Pasadena, MD, two in Fairfax VA, and one in Alexandria VA. There is no expected opening date at the moment.
Jazzercise, a fitness franchise that combines dance, strength and resistance training with popular music for a full-body workout class, will be opening a new location in Muddy Branch Square next to Giant. The workout classes that have been around for over 50 years have additional Montgomery County locations in Aspen Hill, Bethesda, Gaithersburg, and Silver Spring.
Judi Sheppard Missett began teaching an easy-to-follow dance class back in 1969. Blending jazz dance, Pilates, cardio kickboxing, resistance training and yoga, Jazzercise program benefits include improved cardiovascular endurance, increased strength and flexibility plus an overall “feel good” factor, according to the company. The international business franchise now boasts over 8,500 franchisees teaching more than 32,000 classes a week in 25 countries, and Missett serves as the company’s CEO.
In June 2021 we let you know that Lum Thai would be coming to Muddy Branch Square, in the space previously occupied by Roggenart and Canela Bakery at 806 Muddy Branch Road. Since then things have been mostly quiet, but renovations began for the upcoming restaurant a couple weeks back (photo below). We stopped by earlier this week and the previous bakery counter that was located at the front of the store is now gone, with construction underway.
Lum Thai is a Thai food and chicken restaurant, according to signage, but we have not been able to find out too much more about the restaurant. A restaurant in Jacksonville, FL with the same name and similar font used in its logo has told us there is no connection between the two restaurants. Based on current construction progress, we anticipate an early 2023 opening for the restaurant. We will provide additional information as soon as we have it.
Earlier this month, Not Your Average Joe’s at 245 Kentlands Blvd in Gaithersburg announced it will be closing by July 27. Today will be the last day for the Gaithersburg location of the restaurant. Signage at the restaurant asks customers to visit nearby locations in Bethesda (10400 Old Georgetown Rd) and Reston, VA, and thanks guests for their many years of patronage. The Massachusetts-based creative casual cuisine concept made its way to Montgomery County in the summer of 2012. The company then opened Bethesda in the summer of 2015 and in Silver Spring in July 2016. The Silver spring announced its permanent closure in July 2020.
Per the Maryland Office of the Attorney General: “The Independent Investigations Division (IID) of the Maryland Office of the Attorney General has identified the involved deputy in the fatal officer- involved shooting in Montgomery County on July 20. The involved deputy has been identified as Deputy Sheriff III Domenic Mash of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office. Deputy Mash is a 9.5-year veteran assigned to the U.S. Marshals Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force (CARFTF).”
According to the Attorney General’s office, a deputy sheriff assigned to the U.S. Marshals Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force (CARFTF) was serving an arrest warrant in the 100 block of Garth Terrace in Gaithersburg. During the execution of the warrant, the deputy discharged their firearm, fatally injuring the wanted man. A second man was shot and taken to an area hospital to be treated for his injuries.
The Montgomery County man killed in a crash after a Lyft driver terminated the ride and stopped in the middle of the southbound lane on Coastal Highway following a disagreement, demanding all passengers exit the vehicle, has been identified by police as 43-year old Sidney Wolf. A GoFundMe has been set up to support the man’s family as they try to move ahead during difficult circumstances.
Wolf, who was initially reported by Delaware State Police as being from Clarksburg, lived in Gaithersburg with his wife and two children. He was also the campaign manager for Montgomery County Councilmember Sidney Katz’ re-election campaign. In an interview with Fox 5, Katz remembered Wolf as “such a nice young man. He was a family guy, somebody who had a good sense of humor, and fun to be around.” A longtime friend referred to him as selfless and “the nicest guy you’d ever meet…just a good guy.” Wolf’s family also released a statement. “This is an extremely difficult time for our family. The level of shock and pain we feel right now cannot be measured as we continue to grieve. We truly appreciate the outpouring of love and support we’ve received and kindly request that the family’s privacy is respected as we move through this process.” -Wolf/Greenbaum Family
Bao Bei, specializing in authentic Taiwanese cuisine, is now available for pick-up and delivery through a ghost kitchen located at 11910 Parklawn Dr #O in Rockville. The ghost kitchen is owned and operated by Gaithersburg native, Kevin Hsieh.
“The past few years I’ve attended food festivals and private events, but recently opened for pick-up and delivery (UberEats, DoorDash, Grubhub) at a ghost kitchen located in North Bethesda.” said Hsieh. “I’m excited to finally share it with our local community.”
Back in January we let you know that the Dunkin Donuts that’s currently located in the recently renovated Rock Grove Center on the corner of 355 and Shady Grove will be relocating. Employees have let us know that the move will officially take place at 4:30am on Monday, July 25. At that time the old location will close and the new location on the back side of the shopping center (the old United Bank location at 16268 Frederick Rd) will open.
The bank had a drive-thru, which will be used by Dunkin’. Baskin Robbins has also been added to this location, so customers can get their frozen treats on the go. The shopping center is currently home to Minerva, the newly opened Qdoba, and more, with a few retail locations still available to lease.
Back in March we let you know of a the third Crumbl Cookies location that will be coming to Montgomery County, as a new store signed on at 277 Kentlands Blvd, next to Panera, in the space that was formerly home to TD Ameritrade. This news came about five months after the upcoming Germantown locationwas announced.
Permanent signage went up at the Germantown location back in March and at the Kentlands location a couple weeks back, which led to many readers asking if the bakery franchise, that offers different freshly baked cookies each week, would be opening soon. We have been told that the Germantown location hopes to open by the end of the summer (August is the goal), but after stopping by the Kentlands location again this week, it looks like there is a lot of work left to be done inside (photo below). We don’t anticipate an opening anytime soon.
Former Montgomery County resident Vince McMahon announced his retirement today from World Wrestling Entertainment. McMahon and his family lived on Stedwick Dr in Montgomery Village in the late 60’s/early 70’s. On June 8, the Wall Street Journal released an article alleging that McMahon paid a secret $3 million “hush money” settlement to a former WWE employee he allegedly had a sexual relationship with. One week later, McMahon announced he was temporarily stepping down from his role as Chairman and CEO while the company ran an internal investigation. The Wall Street Journal then released a second article on July 8, alleging that McMahon paid more than $12 million in total over the past 16 years in settlements with women, all who were associated with the WWE.
Vince’s daughter Stephanie McMahon, along with WWE President Nick Khan, have been named co-CEO’s of the company moving forward. McMahon remains the majority shareholder of WWE, owning about 32% of its stock. McMahon released the following statement Friday afternoon on the company’s corporate website: