Jolly Yolly Kids is now open on the lower level of Montgomery Mall in Bethesda, next to The Cheesecake Factory. The 8,000+ square ft. indoor play space features playgrounds, party rental space, and an art studio. Prices range from $12.95-$18.95 for two hours or playtime, depending on age and day of the week.

Per Jolly Yolly: “Jolly Yolly Kids is an indoor play and learning center for children aged 13 and under. The center has a play area of approximately 8,500 square feet, equipped with a multilevel premium indoor play structure for children aged 13 and under, tot lots for children from 2 to 7 years old, baby area for children aged 2 and under, and party rooms.


Melashops, a south Asian fashion market, is opening today (Saturday, April 1) at Montgomery Mall. Melashops, which originally opened in Lakeforest Mall in 2019, offers Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi apparel, jewelry, and accessories. “We have managed to grow our business over the years, even as the rest of Lakeforest was shutting down. Our new Montgomery Mall store, located on the first floor of the Nordstroms wing and across Urban Outfitters, represents the culmination of years of market feedback and optimization.” owner Bobby Mozunder tells us.

“We are in effect, a mall-within-a-mall and the only multi-vendor shopping destination for South Asian apparel in the DMV area.” Their vendors provide the full spectrum of South Asian clothing, including sarees, dresses, menswear, kids wears, high-end bridal wear, fancy Bollywood party dresses, casual wear, as well as lots of detailed jewelry. Some vendors are permanently located at the store and other vendors attend as their schedule permits. Holidays such as Eid and Diwali can be especially packed and busy. The shop also has an experienced tailor on-site available for alterations and  to make custom matching blouses and dresses as needed. The stores hours of operation will be:


Montgomery County Police and Gaithersburg Police responded to an incident Friday night at Rio in Gaithersburg. According to Gaithersburg Police, “Tonight at approx. 7:23 p.m., officers from Gaithersburg Police and Montgomery County Police responded to the unit block of Grand Corner Ave for the report of a stabbing that just occurred. Officers located a juvenile female victim. The victim was transported to an area hospital with superficial injuries.” We will post an update when additional information is available.

Tonight at approx. 7:23 p.m., ofcs from @GPDNews & @mcpnews responded to the unit blk of Grand Corner Ave for the report of a stabbing that just occurred. Ofcs located a juvenile female victim. The victim was transported to an area hospital with superficial injuries. pic.twitter.com/cFhBeozXzh


Washingtonian Paddle Boats will open for the spring season on Saturday, April 1st. During spring, the paddle boats will be available on weekends only (Saturday and Sunday) from noon until 6pm (weather permitting). During Spring Break, the paddle boats will be available from Monday, April 3rd until Monday, April 10th from noon until 6pm.

Prices for 1/2 hour boat rentals are $30 for character boats that hold up to four people and a small child, and $20 for regular paddle boats that hold up to four people. The paddle boats are dog friendly Monday through Thursday, but not on weekends. Washingtonian Paddle Boats has been in business for over 20 years, opening in 2001.


Lakeforest Mall will close to the public on Friday, March 31st (video of Lakeforest through the years available below). The Gaithersburg Planning Commission gave a recommendation of approval for redevelopment plans on March 1, 2023. The Gaithersburg Mayor and City Council will have a Policy Discussion April 17, 2023, where a final decision is expected to be made. No public testimony will be taken on April 17.

Lakeforest Mall first opened on September 12, 1978. At that time, the mall’s anchor stores were JCPenney, Sears, Woodward & Lothrop, and Hecht’s. The mall was one of the first in the United States to feature an indoor ice skating rink on the lower level, in the “H section”, along with being the biggest indoor shopping mall in the county at the time of grand opening. The ice skating rink was replaced by a NTI Theaters movie theater in 1984, later renamed Cineplex Odeon Lakeforest 5, then by a food court, which now occupies the space. The mall was built on top of Lake Walker, a park on the property prior. The mall opened with approximately 30-50 stores, with some of the first stores being relocated from the then nearby indoor Village Mall (now an outdoor strip mall called Montgomery Village Center since 1991) and absorbed onto the property.


Dog Haus Biergarten is now offering 24/7 delivery service out of all three of its Montgomery County locations (Gaithersburg, Bethesda, and Silver Spring,) making it one of the only non-fast food restaurants offering 24-7 delivery service in the area.  Dog Haus’ virtual brands, including Bad Ass Breakfast Burritos, Plant B (All plant base food) Impossible Shop, Bad Mutha Cluka and Jail Bird (all chicken options), are also available 24-7.

The first Dog Haus opened in Pasadena, CA in 2010.  The company opened its first east coast location in Bethesda (7904 Woodmont Ave) in 2018, followed by Gaithersburg (644 Center Point Way) in January 2020 and Silver Spring (933 Ellsworth Dr.) in December 2021.


Last September we let you know that Mochinut, a restaurant that serves mochi donuts, Korean rice flour hotdogs, soft serve, and bubble tea drinks (menu available below), is coming to 838 Rockville Pike– inside the current location of Tea-Do. Tea-Do is a “contemporary tea house” that was on the early side of MoCo’s bubble tea explosion in recent years, opening in January of 2016. We are told that a grand opening for Mochinut is taking place on Saturday, April 15th at noon.


Main Street Takoma has announced that Soupergirl will be closing its retail location at 314 Carroll Street NW in Takoma DC (just outside of Takoma Park). In 2018, the mother/daughter duo behind Soupergirl made it onto Shark Tank, where the two have joked they “got yelled at” and were unable to come away with a deal. The business pushed forward and is now available in various stores across the country. Last year, Soupergirl launched a new website, and will continue to remain available in Costco, Whole Foods, Kroger, Amazon Fresh, Harris Teeter as they move to a larger facility to focus on those sales. Soupergirl will have a $5 soup sale today, Tuesday, March 28th, from 10am-5pm. Full announcement, per Main Street Takoma, below:


Permanent signage has been up for a few months at the upcoming Shake Shake location in Gaithersburg’s Kentlands neighborhood. A representative from the Potomac location let us know that the Kentlands location is currently scheduled to open at the end of April. Shake Shack has additional MoCo locations at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda and Cabin John Village in Potomac.

Background: On July 8, 2021, Shake Shack was granted approval for the construction of a 4,700 square foot building with outdoor seating as the second of three commercial infill sites totaling 16,000 square feet along Kentlands Square Place. The burger chain was granted its license to sell beer and wine on the premises during its Alcohol Beverage Services (ABS) hearing on January 6th of 2022, and prepared to break ground in February. Construction began in March, but stalled after flooding that occurred over the summer. The approval was for the first of three infill sites was granted for the construction of a 2,100 square foot Starbucks building with drive through and outdoor seating. Starbucks opened in January of 2021, a little over two years ago.


In November 2021 we let you know that Willie T’s Seafood Shack and BRB (be right burger) would be moving in to 9326 Georgia Avenue (joint restaurant), between Islands Tropical Ice Cream and Goldberg’s New York Bagels, in the location that was formerly home to Andy’s Restaurant. Willie T’s is now open, according to an Instagram post by the restaurant (seen below). Willie T’s will be open at 11am until 10pm, seven days per week, according to its Google listing.

Willie T’s, a seafood concept from Thompson Hospitality, has recently opened as a pop-up inside of Austin Grill in Springfield, VA and a ghost kitchen out of Homewood Suites in Reston. The restaurant serves A variety of seafood dishes, including hand-breaded fried fish sandwiches and baskets, crab cakes, lobster tails, salads, grilled fish, po boys, and more. The full menu can be seen here.


Back in November we let you know of the impending arrival of an Auntie Anne’s/Cinnabon combination restaurant at 220 Boardwalk Place in Rio, set to take over the location that was recently home to Lilly Magilly’s (the cupcakery is preparing for a move to a new, soon-to-be-announced location). Construction is ongoing (photo below) and though an opening date isn’t yet available, we’d expect a mid-2023 opening.

The two brands, popular for their presence in malls, are co-branding to open locations across the country. I’m recent years, Cinnabon left then returned to Montgomery Mall. There’s also an existing Cinnabon location in Wheaton Mall. Auntie Anne’s has locations at the outlets in Clarksburg, Ellsworth Place Mall, Montgomery Mall, and Wheaton Mall in MoCo.


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