Fresh Baguette was founded in 2013 in Bethesda by Florent de Felcourt, a former French naval officer. Since opening the Bethesda location, Fresh Baguette has expanded with bakeries across the DMV located in Rockville, Georgetown, Alexandria, and McLean opening soon. Soon, the bakery will move its primary production facility to a recently leased building at 19548 Amaranth Drive, off of Middlebrook Rd. in Germantown. The bakery will still keep its present facility at its Rockville location at 804 Hungerford Drive, according to Maryland Newsletters.

Their kitchens feature a stone oven imported from France and, with a cold dough process and homemade “levain,” yields “a baguette that is light, airy, with just the right crunch,”according to the company. Per the Maryland Newsletters article, “Opportunities Inc. sold the building on 19548 Amaranth Drive in Germantown to investment group Sun Peak Partners for $5.325 million, but signed a leaseback deal for a smaller portion of it. Sun Peak also brought in Fresh Baguette, which will first move into the remaining space and then gradually occupy all of it.


Located at one of Montgomery County’s busiest intersections at Shady Grove Road & Route 355, the property at Rock Grove has completed its renovations by adding a new sign and artwork in the parking lot (photos below). The center consists of a medical office building with ground floor retail and a retail building. Renovations to both the retail center and the office building are now complete. The retail center has been structurally altered to provide maximum ceiling height and to increase its presence along this heavily travelled thoroughfare.

Per Promark Partners, an entirely new façade was installed along the length of the 14,000 square foot strip to include larger storefront glass, metal panels, and stone. The office building was also improved with a new stone façade and bright epoxy paint over the precast panels on floors 2 through 5. Additionally, site circulation has been improved and a new exterior stairway from the rear parking lot to the office and retail entrances was constructed.


A notice was sent out by the Democratic Party of Montgomery County informing residents of President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden’s visit to the county on August 25th. The event, which has just named Richard Montgomery High School as the location, is to rally Democrats to vote in November’s General Election. Richard Montgomery High School is located at 250 Richard Montgomery Drive in Rockville.

The event requires registration and the full notice sent by the Democratic Party of Montgomery County can be seen below:


On Tuesday, September 13, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Montgomery Planning will host a meeting to offer residents the opportunity to provide feedback on what they love about working or living in the Great Seneca corridor area, discuss and share ideas that will help create a shared vision for the area, and inform the recommendations for the Great Seneca plan. Online registration is required. Residents can also provide feedback through an online questionnaire.

The Great Seneca area consists of the area that surrounds Shady Grove Adventist Hospital & the Universities at Shady Grove, as well as the National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) and the Londonderry, western Quince Orchard, Rosemont & Oakmont neighborhoods. Gaithersburg occupies 10 square miles in the center of the Plan area.


The Rockville City Police Department, in partnership with the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office and Montgomery County Public Schools, will host a gun buyback event from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27, in the parking lot of the RCPD station, 2 W. Montgomery Ave.

Community members will be able to voluntarily turn in their firearms and receive a $100 Visa gift card for functioning handguns, rifles and shotguns, and $200 in Visa gift cards for functioning assault-style weapons and privately-made firearms, i.e., ghost guns. All firearms will be accepted, with no identification needed and no questions asked by law enforcement. RCPD will make the ultimate determination on what firearms are eligible for gift cards.


Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – Major Crimes Division have arrested 16-year-old, Maynor Josue Bonilla-Flores of Washington and 18-year-old, Cesar De-La-O-Rodriguez of Washington for the December 19, 2021, homicide that occurred in the 13000 block of Ashby Road in Rockville.

On Sunday, December 19, 2021, at approximately 3 a.m., 4th District officers responded to the location for the report of a shooting that just occurred. Officers arrived on scene and located three adult victims suffering from gunshot wounds. Two of the victims sustained non-life-threatening gunshot wounds. The third victim had a gunshot wound to his upper body. All three victims were transported to area hospitals. The victim, suffering from the gunshot wound to his upper body, identified as 22-year-old, Danis Alcides Salgado-Mata of Rockville, succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased at the hospital.


Armand’s Pizzeria and Grille, located at 190 Halpine Road in Rockville, has been voted as the favorite in WTOP’s ‘2022 Best Pizza’ list. Armand’s once had over 25 DMV locations with multiple restaurants right here in Montgomery County. The once-mighty local chain is now down to two family-owned locations with just the Rockville location remaining in the area and “Armand’s By the Sea” located in Bethany Beach, DE. In January of 2021, Armand’s Pizza won Taste MoCo’s tournament of 64 Montgomery County restaurants that offer pizza.

Founder Lew Newmyer opened the first Armand’s back in 1975 at Veazey Street and Wisconsin Avenue NW near Tenley Circle in Washington, D.C., after tasting deep-dish pizza during a visit to Chicago. The Newmyer family, residents of Montgomery County, owned and operated several Armand’s location, closing the last of their restaurants in 2018 when the Silver Spring location closed. The two remaining restaurants are franchised locations that still use the original recipe and cooking style Armand’s is known for. Lew, who was a Silver Spring resident, passed away in 2015 at the age of 92.


Paris Baguette, “the neighborhood bakery café where communities come together over expertly crafted baked and brewed goods”, announced that the brand is on track to open a projected 40 new locations by the end of 2022, reaching nearly 150 locations across the United States and reinforcing its status as one of the fastest growing franchises in the country. One of those location will be in Rockville Town Square with another location (currently unknown) coming to the area soon, according to a report by Bethesda Magazine. The Rockville Town Square location will be located at 101 Gibbs Street and will offer Korean and French baked goods. Doors may open by the end of 2022.

In addition to the upcoming Montgomery County locations, the growth of the bakery/cafe will accelerate in 2023 with 96 slated bakery café openings and increased interest from franchise partners. Paris Baguette currently operates in 14 states with a focus on expanding to a nationwide footprint in top-tier markets through a combined strategic approach of corporate-owned and franchise locations; franchise agreements have been signed to expand across 25 states. “The increased interest we’ve seen in franchise agreements and rapid expansion through new store openings at Paris Baguette is a testament to the success we’ve seen by focusing on the elevated bakery café experience and creating an emotional connection with our guests,” said Darren Tipton, Chief Executive Officer, Paris Baguette America. “We set an aggressive goal to open 1,000 locations in the U.S. by 2030 and we’re on track to exceed this plan with strategic direction on growth, quality products, customer experience, and innovation.”


Barnes & Noble has announced the return of their popular Book Haul event. It began on August 12th and will be running through Labor Day weekend.  The bookseller again offers book lovers half-off from over 700 Hardcover books. While supplies last, there are books included in every genre and all stores nationwide are participating, as well as online at bn.com/bookhaul. There are Montgomery County Barnes & Noble locations in Gaithersburg’s Rio Lakefront and Rockville’s Congressional Plaza. In addition to books, the sale includes deals on board games, planners, LEGOs, tea, and more.

Per the press release: “This is the biggest Book Haul in our history,” said Jackie De Leo, Chief Merchandising Officer, Barnes & Noble.  “With half-off so many exciting and new hardcover titles during Book Haul, it gives our customers a fantastic opportunity to build out their bookshelf. The choice is wider than ever and for those who are quick on their feet into our stores, there are so many brilliant titles to be had.”


The preliminary investigation by detectives has determined that a white Audi A4 was traveling eastbound on Josiah Henson Pkwy, when for reasons still under investigation, it was struck by a silver Ford Fusion coming from the northbound 355 ramp. The vehicles collided in the intersection.


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