Per MCPD: Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – 5th District Investigative Section are asking for the public’s assistance in locating a missing 36-year-old from Damascus. Janine Marie Garcia was last seen in the afternoon, on Sunday, December 25, 2022, in the 27600 block of Ridge Rd. She was traveling in a blue 2017 Hyundai Elantra with Maryland tag 3DW5801.

Garcia is approximately 5-feet, 5-inches tall and weighs 120 pounds. She has brown eyes and reddish brown hair. She was last seen wearing a tan jacket, a grey Star Wars t-shirt, black leggings and green boots.  Garcia frequents the Baltimore area.


A little over a year ago, in December 2021, we let you know that Pizza Hut is moving into the Cloppers Mill shopping center in Germantown. The new restaurant, located at 18070 Mateny Rd, between Shoppers and Popeyes, is now open.

The location is a smaller version than traditional Pizza Hut locations of the past– focusing solely on carry out and delivery orders. In September 2021, David Gibbs (CEO of Pizza Hut parent company Yum Brands), told investors, “We closed a lot of the dine-in stores that didn’t belong on the portfolio over the last 18 months in the United States,” according to a transcript on the financial services site Sentieo. “But for the most part, the stores we have in the portfolio now are good, long-term stores.”


Back in April we let you know of the impending arrival of Laperaux, the Journeymanchef’s Bistro,  the new restaurant coming to 18056 Mateny Rd in Germantown- the former home of Gumbo Ya Ya, Dickie’s BBQ Pit, and Cafe Mileto (located in the Cloppers Mill shopping center, in the same strip as Shoppers). The French bistro has made a lot of progress, adding an illuminated sign and awning covered patio, with plans to open in January.  Chef and owner Gregory Webb, who has earned such accolades and awards as “Chef of the Year 1998” in Houston, Texas, “Winner all Categories” at the Texas Open Wild Game Cookoff, “Top Chefs of Mexico City” and many others, will be bringing a French bistro to the location (menu available below).

The restaurant will offer high casual cuisine created by Webb, who has competed against Bobby Flay on The Food Network, and won numerous ‘chopped style’ competitions put on for various local charity and fund raising events, including DC Central Kitchen’s Chefs Cook Off. Webb decided on the location because it’s close to his Gaithersburg home. Previously, he spent 7 years as the executive chef at Downtown Crown’s Paladar. The menu will consist of the “Daily Chalk Board,” which will feature “the best product of the season straight from today’s market.” Seafood fruits de mer, including chilled shrimp, lobster, octopus, and salmon crudo. Soups like onion soup gratinee and crawfish bisque. Starters such as escargot, steak tartare, and more. Entrees like Steak au Poivre, Coquilles St Jacques, Coq au Vin, and more (full menu below).


Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) responded to a call for a fire in the basement of a two-story single family home in Germantown at approximately 1:20am on Monday morning. According to MCFRS Chief Spokesperson Pete Piringer, the crews were able to extinguish the fire in 16° temperatures and there were no injuries.

ICYMI https://t.co/b5TIF0UXZZ


Sushi Legend Cajun Seafood & Bar is now open at 19961 Century Blvd in Germantown, the former site of Greene Turtle. The restaurant held its official grand opening on Wednesday, December 21.  Menu items include the Queen Roll (spicy crunch crab meat, white fish, chili sauce) and the Sushi Legend Roll (deep fried kani, spicy tuna, eel, spicy mayo).  According to its website, Sushi Legend features “all you can eat” lunch and dinner options. Full menu below:

Earlier this year signage was installed on the building for “Four Seas Restaurant”, but that restaurant never opened. We received confirmation of the permanent closure of Greene turtle in Germantown back in the summer of 2020. Since then, the building was available for sale and ended up settling back on December 17th, 2021 for $3 million. Jim McGinnis, of Restaurant Brokers & Developers, represented the sale of the building (19961 Century Blvd in Germantown), the former home of the Greene Turtle.


A trifecta of elementary schools has been selected for award prizes for being recognized as the healthiest schools in MCPS—Burtonsville, Glen Haven and S. Christa McAuliffe elementary schools.

The MCPS Districtwide Wellness Committee recently announced the winners of this year’s “MCPS Healthy Schools Award,” an opportunity created with Kaiser Permanente Thriving Schools and the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. This program celebrates schools that have implemented remarkable initiatives related to one or more of the following areas: advancing core policies related to equity, diversity and inclusion; increasing family and community engagement; bolstering physical education and activity; strengthening social-emotional health, and cultivating staff well-being.


Shoppers in Germantown, the last remaining Shoppers in Montgomery County, will be changing its hours starting December 26th. The grocery store, which was open 24 hours about a decade back, has been operating from 6am until midnight, 7 days a week. The grocery store will now be closing a couple hours earlier starting the day after Christmas– opening at 6am and closing at 10pm, 7 days a week. Shoppers Germantown is one of few grocery stores in Montgomery County that offers beer and wine.

Shoppers signed a new lease in 2021 to ensure that it will maintain its presence in Montgomery County for the foreseeable future. An announcement was made back in 2018 that UNFI would acquire SUPERVALU, the parent company of Shoppers grocery stores. At the time, UNFI was clear in its plan to divest the retail business, which included the Shoppers Food banner. UNFI then announced an agreement to sell 13 Shoppers locations to three separate grocery operators. They continued to own the Rockville and Germantown stores, but ended up keeping just the Germantown store. Rockville closed in 2020 and was replaced by Aldi. The Glenmont location was one of the locations that was sold, and Lidl opened in that location in February of 2021.


A Clarksburg community meeting on the future of the Clarksburg Town Center (CTC) revealed updated plans that hope for construction to begin in 2024 and be completed in “one fell swoop” and a grocery anchor, Weis, having signed a letter of intent to open up a new store at the CTC. Additional information and a few slides from tonight’s meeting available below:

History: The Clarksburg Master Plan was approved in 1994 with preliminary plan approval for 1300 units approved in 1995/1996. Original site plans (phase I and phase II) were approved in 1998 and 2002 and from 2007-2011 the marketing of a retail area for the proposed Clarksburg Town Center (CTC), which is located between Snowden Farm Rd, Stringtown Rd., Clarksburg Rd., and 355, proved to be unsuccessful with grocery stores and retailers widely rejecting an amended plan from 2008.


Nearly 100 Robert E. Peary High School alumni gathered for a surprise celebration to honor and thank their former teacher, Mr. Vincent Gibbs, for a lifetime of sharing his love for the performing arts, humanities and English education with his students. Mr. Gibbs, known as Mr. Christmas is in his Germantown community for the decorations and nativity scene that he puts up at his home each year, hasn’t been able to decorate due to his treatments for melanoma.

Debi Barbee, Class of 1983, drove attendees in a Montgomery County School bus from Fox Chapel Shopping Center to Mr. Gibbs’s nearby home in Germantown. The celebration began at 1:00 pm in the front yard of Mr. Gibbs’ home. Attendees held up posters, sang Christmas carols and the song “The Impossible Dream” (brief video below), and delivered a few short speeches to honor their former teacher.


Water service has been restored to residents that were affected by Friday’s broken water main on Clopper Road in Germantown. WSSC crews worked overnight to repair the broken water pipe and crews are currently working on road restoration. WSSC advises that discolored water is common after water main repairs and advises residents to check out their flushing guidelines: wsscwater.com/discoloredwater

Saturday Evening Update: Clopper Rd at Mateny Rd in Germantown is currently closed due to a broken water main. WSSC released the following statement around 10am, “We are working as quickly as possible to minimize the impact of the Clopper Rd water main break. We know this is frustrating. We have been evaluating options on this stretch of pipe since the last break. At this moment, the focus is to make repairs and restore service.”


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