Travel

Metro Provides Update Following Friday’s Derailed Train

By MCS Staff

Per WMATA: While Metro continues to inspect the oldest railcars in its fleet to ensure brake discs are properly bolted on all wheels, trains will operate near normal Sunday service for all customers with trains arriving every 8-12 minutes on all but the Blue and Yellow lines.

Track repairs are expected to be finished in time for Monday morning’s commute. Today, Blue and Yellow line customers will be served by trains every 15 minutes instead of every 12 minutes as crews continue to restore tracks damaged at National Airport by Friday’s derailed train that struck a brake disc on the tracks.

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Olney

Smoothie King to Hold Grand Opening Celebration With Free Smoothies For Two Hours

By MCS Staff

Smoothie King opened this past June, taking over the 980SF space that was previously home to Party USA at 18151 Village Center Drive, in the Olney Village Center (located between IHOP and Pho & Grill). The store will be holding its grand opening celebration/ribbon cutting ceremony on Wednesday, October 4th from 6pm until 7pm. To celebrate, they’ll be giving away free smoothies from 5pm until 7pm on the same day.

The new Smoothie King location is locally owned, but since taking the helm, Smoothie King owner/CEO Wan Kim has led efforts to transform the brand’s menu from being packed with sugar and artificial flavors and colors to being health-conscious and packed with whole fruits and organic, non-GMO ingredients. The main focus is not only giving Smoothie King guests the ability to customize smoothies according to their preferences, Kim says, but pushing  their product to more closely align with a healthier, active lifestyle.

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Derwood

Chase to Open New Branch in Derwood

By MCS Staff

Chase continues its expansion into the DC Metro area, and Montgomery County specifically, with a new branch coming soon to Derwood’s Red Mill Shops. The new branch will be taking over the space previously occupied by Verizon at 7250 Muncaster Mill Rd. Verizon moved about 100 feet away next to the main strip of the shopping center. Chase is also building new branches in Rockville, at the former Meixin supermarket space, and in Gaithersburg at the former Boston Market location.

In 2022, JPMorgan Chase cut the ribbon to its newly renovated regional headquarters, the Bowen Building at 875 15th St. NW at the corner of McPherson Square in Washington D.C. This acquisition “reinforced the firm’s commitment to Washington D.C. and the Greater Washington region” as it is one of the only banks expanding its physical footprint in our area. “This region – stretching from Richmond to Baltimore – is one of the largest economies in the country,” said Peter Scher, JPMorgan Chase Vice Chairman and Chair of the Mid-Atlantic. “With the opening of our Mid-Atlantic headquarters, and our continued philanthropic and business commitments, JPMorgan Chase is supporting the future of Greater Washington. Our hope is to provide more economic opportunity for all people no matter the neighborhoods where they live and work.”

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Olney

Z-Burger/Maman Joon Olney Update

By MCS Staff

Last week we reported that Z-Burger and Maman Joon will be taking over the space that was previously home to Taco Bar and Jerry’s Subs & Pizza at 181000 Georgia Avenue in Olney.  After speaking with representatives from the restaurant, we have learned that the goal is for the restaurant to open in mid-October, likely beating out the Bethesda Z-Burger location as the first for the DMV-based regional restaurant (by a couple weeks).

Z-Burger is a local, DMV-based chain that describes itself as “a Washington DC landmark! Home to the area’s most delicious handcrafted burgers with endless toppings, fresh cut fries and 75 varieties of hand spun milk shakes and concretes made with premium Wisconsin custard.” Z-Burger has multiple locations in DC, a few in Northern Virginia, and three in Maryland– with more to come. Its first location opened in Tenleytown in 2008. Earlier this year, its first Montgomery County location was announced. Prior to starting Z-Burger in 2008, founder Peter Tabibian was the general manager at a Jerry’s Subs & Pizza in Maryland.

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Restaurants

Champions Sports Bar to Become Mercury Lounge

By MCS Staff

Champions Sports Bar will be transitioning to Mercury Lounge in the coming weeks. The bar/restaurant opened in Silver Spring this in October of 2020 and is located at 9433 Georgia Avenue, in the former home of Action House Vape & Hookah (same strip at La Casa Del Mofongo) and was recently listed for sale for $185,000. The sale is now pending, according to the listing, but a representative confirmed the change will be occurring soon.

Montgomery County’s Alcoholic Beverage Services (ABS) will hold a hearing on the application by Teko Clavet, on behalf of Destiny Real Estate Holding Company, LLC, for the transfer of a liquor license to the new tenant, which will be known as Mercury Lounge. The hearing will take place on Thursday, October 19th at 10:30am as the restaurant/bar prepares to make the change.

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Bethesda

Vinorita Wine Slushies Closes Pop-Up Shop in Montgomery Mall

By MCS Staff

VinoRita Wine Slushies, the pop-up that arrived in the Montgomery Mall food court in early August, closed as summer came to an end. VinoRita popped up at the kiosk space that was previously home to HalfSmoke, Gelato Galaxy, and Coldstone Creamery.

VinoRita offered wine slushies with alcohol-infused flavors including the best selling “Black San,” which is a Blackberry Sangria, Peach Frose, Strawberry Daquiri, and Blueberry Pomegranate. Non-alcoholic options included Blue Raspberry and Lemonade. The plan for the store, which has locations in North Carolina and Georgia, was to remain until the end of summer. A new location has recently opened, or will open soon, in Orlando.

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MCFRS

MCFRS Respond to Dumpster Fire at Rockville Condo Building

By Patrick Herron

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS) responded to The Grand Condos at 5801 Nicholson Ln in Rockville around 7pm on Saturday, September 30 for the initial report of smoke in the building.  According to Chief Spokesperson for MCFRS Pete Piringer, firefighters located a dumpster on fire in a basement trash room which led to smoke on several upper level floors. The fire was extinguished and the basement is being ventilated.

There were no injuries and no residents have been displaced. Code Enforcement and the alarm/sprinkler company has been notified.  We will provide an update if additional information becomes available.

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Layhill

Scooter Rider Struck and Critically Injured by Driver Saturday Night

By Patrick Herron

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) responded to a collision involving a scooter rider on Saturday, September 30 in Layhill. According to police, “MCPD responded to the area of Bel Pre Road and Layhill Road at approximately 7:44 p.m., for the report of a two-vehicle collision involving a scooter. The adult male driver of the scooter has been transported to an area hospital with life threatening injuries. The driver of the striking vehicle remained on scene.”

MCPD posted the following on Twitter at 8:41pm: “TRAFFIC ADVISORY: A traffic collision has eastbound Bel Pre Road closed at Layhill Road. Drivers are advised to seek an alternate route. Expect delays.”

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Montgomery Parks

Man Shot at Wheaton Forest Park; Non-Life Threatening Injuries Sustained

By Patrick Herron

Detectives are on the scene of a shooting that occurred Saturday, September 30 in Wheaton. According to safety reporter Cordell Pugh, a male was shot in the leg around 7:20PM at Wheaton Forest Local Park.  The victim suffered non-life threatening injuries and Montgomery County Police 4th District Officers applied a tourniquet prior to EMS arrival. Montgomery Parks Police in handling the investigation.

We will post an update if additional information becomes available.   Featured photo courtesy of Google Maps. 

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