Basketball Tournament, Pop-up Skate Park, Live Painting, DJ & More!

Buckets and Beats: The Silver Spring Block Party will take place on Friday, September 22 from 2pm-7pm at 1 Veterans Plaza in Downtown Silver Spring. Montgomery County Councilmember Kate Stewart and the Silver Spring Regional Services Office will include a variety of activities for youth, such as a 3 v 3 basketball tournament, a pop-up skatepark, and arts activities. There will also be a number of youth programming stakeholders in attendance, sharing opportunities for youth to get involved. To tie it all together, we will have a DJ to truly make this a block party.


Per MCPD: 23-year-old Manuel Alejandro Ayala, of Layhill, has been arrested and charged with a shooting and murder that he allegedly committed on Monday, September 4, 2023.  At approximately 7:54 p.m., 4th District officers and Montgomery County Fire Rescue personnel responded to the 14200 block of Punch St. for the report of a shooting.

Upon arrival, officers located an adult male in the street, suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. He was transported to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. When officers entered a nearby home, they located 65-year-old Rosa Maria Benitez-Ozuna, of Layhill, deceased. Officers also located the suspect’s mother suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. She was transported to an area hospital in serious condition.


Denizens has announced that its Silver Spring taproom will close permanently on Sunday, October 22nd. The announcement was made via a video shared on social media by Denizens co-founder and owner Julie Verrati. Denizens opened at 1115 East-West Highway in Silver Spring back in 2014.

“Our ten year lease has come to an end and that’s the end of an era for us, an end of a chapter. It’s been an incredible ten years in Silver Spring and we’re so grateful for the community here. We’re still making the same high quality beer, high quality service, high quality food that you can grab right here in Riverdale Park, Maryland.” Verratti said in the video, which can be seen below.


Kabob N Karahi at 18232 Flower Hill Way (Previously Aaron’s) in Gaithersburg is hoping to open by the end of the month. Kabob N Karahi is a Pakistani restaurant (that serves some Indian cuisine), and its menu consists of a variety of kabobs, curries, stews, and tandoori naan.

The Cloverly Village Center location at 15521 New Hampshire Ave, Silver Spring., opened in 2008 and has become a staple in Cloverly. Per Kabob N Karahi: “Welcome to Kabob N Karahi, Maryland’s best family restaurant to find fresh, casual, authentic Pakistani-Indian kabob and curry cuisine. KNK is completely a Halal restaurant. We use only Halal meat, house sauces and salads are made fresh daily. We specialize in delicious chicken, beef, lamb, kofta kabobs and tikkas as well as Karahi. We provide catering for all the occasions (Birthday,Wedding and Engagement etc).”


The Montgomery County Department of Police – 4th District Investigative Section is asking for the public’s assistance in locating a missing Silver Spring woman. Arminda Williams was last seen on Monday, September 4, 2023 at approximately 2 p.m., in the 11900 block of Bucknell Drive of Silver Spring. She is 5’3″ tall, 120 lbs., with black hair, brown eyes, and was last seen wearing a pink sweatshirt, black yoga pants, tennis shoes.

Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Arminda Williams is asked to call Montgomery County Police Non-Emergency (301) 279-8000 (24-hour line).


Our small team recently discussed a few upcoming events that some of our staff members/contributors/friends plan to attend in the coming weeks and while many were mentioned, we put together this list of the five events that came up the most:

GreekFest (9/8-9/10, Silver Spring): Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church will hold its annual Greek festival starting Friday, September 8th and running until Sunday, September 10th. The festival will take place over three days–  on the grounds of Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church, located at 701 Norwood Road in Silver Spring: Friday, 9/8: 4pm-9pm, Saturday, 9/9: 11am-9pm. Sunday, 9/10: 11am-7pm. Read more about the event here.


Montgomery County Police responded to a shooting in the 14200 block of Punch St (off of Layhill Rd near Bel Pre/Bonifant in Layhill/Silver Spring) on Monday, September 4. According to MCPD, “At approximately 7:40 p.m., 4th District officers and Montgomery County Fire Rescue personnel responded to the 14200 block of Punch St. for the report of a shooting.

Upon arrival, officers located an adult male in the street suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. He was transported to an area hospital, his condition is unknown at this time. Officers went into a residence and located two females suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. One of the females was pronounced deceased. The other female was transported to an area hospital, her condition is unknown at this time.


Montgomery County Police responded to a call for a shooting in the 14200 block of Punch St (off of Layhill Rd near Bel Pre/Bonifant in Layhill/Silver Spring) on Monday, September 4, around 8pm. Police report that there were injuries sustained and the suspect is in custody. We will post an update if additional information becomes available.

MCPD responded to a call for a shooting in the 14200 block of Punch St.


According to a report by Source of the Spring, Willie T’s Seafood Shack at 9326 Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring has permanently closed and will be replaced by Milk & Honey, a southern inspired brunch and soul food restaurant which has locations across DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Both concepts are owned by Thompson Hospitality, the group behind Matchbox (Bethesda, Rockville, and Silver Spring locations in MoCo), Austin Grill and American Tap Room (both previously in MoCo), and Wiseguy Pizza (opening this month at Wheaton Mall.)

Willie T’s began as a pop-up restaurant inside of Austin Grill in Springfield, VA and opened its Silver Spring location in March 2022.  The location was originally going to be a “joint restaurant,” splitting the space with BRB (be right burger), another Thompson Hospitality concept that currently has a location at Dulles airport. Menu items at Milk & Honey include “Chef Sammy’s Award Winning” Shrimp & Grits, Deep Fried Salmon Hash, Chicken & Waffles, and Crab Benedict. We will post an update when additional information is available. Featured image courtesy of Milk & Honey on Facebook. 


Per Shepherd’s Table: Forty years ago, a handful of faith-based organizations in downtown Silver Spring put their faith into action by cooking dinner for community members in need. “The first evening of service was a bit slow; I had to go out and encourage people to come in,” remembers Rev. Richard Leslie. “I’m amazed at the success and progress of this organization. I am so proud to have been there the first night.”

Today, Shepherd’s Table has served over two million meals. We serve multiple meals daily to an average of 150 people and have never missed a meal service in the last four decades. Through government shutdowns, pandemic chaos, and bad weather, our table has been set, and doors open for all who need a fresh hot meal. Our anniversary year began with a stark reminder that food insecurity is still prevalent, homelessness is on the rise, and access to daily necessities is more critical than ever; we have seen a 58% increase in meals served daily in the first seven months of 2023.


The Montgomery County Planning Board will hold a public hearing on Thursday, September 14, 2023, at 6 pm for community input on the Takoma Park Minor Master Plan Amendment at the Maryland-National Park and Planning Commission’s Wheaton Headquarters on the 2nd floor Auditorium. There will be a virtual option through the Planning Board’s website. The Public Hearing will also be livestreamed at the City of Takoma Park’s Community Center for the public to watch and provide testimony. Sign-up to testify at the Public Hearing.

In addition to testifying in person or via Microsoft Teams, residents may also email testimony to [email protected], fax testimony to the Planning Board Chair at 301-495-1320, or mail written testimony to: Chair, Montgomery County Planning Board, 2425 Reedie Drive, 14th Floor, Wheaton, MD 20902.


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