Arts

Stephen Marley Announces Star-Studded New Album; Unplugged Tour Includes Stop in MoCo

By MCS Staff

Stephen Marley’s Old Soul, the new album from the 8x GRAMMY Award winning singer/songwriter/producer and son of the legendary Bob Marley, will be released digitally on September 15, 2023. The album boasts an array of special guests including Eric Clapton, Bob Weir, Jack Johnson, Ziggy Marley, Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley, Buju Banton and Slightly Stoopid. In celebration of the announcement, new single “Cool As The Breeze” is now playing everywhere and the Old Soul Tour Unplugged 2023 tour runs from this Sept 8 – Oct 22, with a stop in Montgomery County. Marley will be performing at The Fillmore in Silver Spring on Wednesday, October 18.

Additional information from the album website: Stephen Marley’s highly anticipated fifth solo album Old Soul, his first full-length project since 2016, comes as a complete revelation. With his well-earned reputation as a studio perfectionist, “Ragga” as he’s known to friends and family, is a consummate live performer with a knack for spontaneity. Old Soul leans into those strengths, and opens up the artist as never before.

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DMV

Mr. Wash Offering Free Car Washes to Teachers/School Staff Across the DMV Until August 31

By MCS Staff
Courtesy Mr. Wash

With MCPS teachers reporting back to school on Monday, August 21st for pre-service week, DMV car wash spot Mr. Car Wash is offering free car washes to teachers, school staff, and administrators at any of its 10 locations across the DMV until August 31st. Just mention your role at the school to any of the team members and you will receive your free wash. Mr. Wash has two Montgomery County locations, at 7996 Georgia Ave. in Silver Spring and at 3817 Dupont Ave. in Kensington. Participating locations also include:

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Bethesda

Glen Echo Park Still Reeling After Late July Storms Caused Serious Damage

By MCS Staff

Glen Echo Park is still reeling after suffering serious damage due to severe storms that rolled through the area a few weeks back. According to a FOX5 report, “Park officials say about 15 trees went down, damaging some of the historical components of the park that have kept generations of families coming back for years. Some of the horses and benches on the carousel were damaged and they’re blocked off with caution tape right now. The organ that plays the music is normally a real organ that is self-playing but the organ was damaged, so they’re playing a recording in the meantime.”

The Park has put together a funding campaign that states the following, “Glen Echo Park Partnership’s programs and events add to the vibrancy of our community, inspiring joy and creativity every day. Thank you for supporting our “Lift Us Up” campaign to recover over $50,000 in losses from storm damage.”, and has raised over $24,000 with a goal of $50,000 to help with repairs.

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Sponsored

Montgomery County showcases its unique ecosystem at World Vaccine Congress 2026

By Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation
AstraZeneca's Cell Therapy Manufacturing Facility in Rockville, Montgomery County. Photo courtesy of the Montgomery County Government.
AstraZeneca's Cell Therapy Manufacturing Facility in Rockville, Montgomery County. Photo courtesy of the Montgomery County Government.

Montgomery County, MD is commonly known as being a suburb of the nation’s capital, but what might surprise some is that it is also home to a thriving biotech ecosystem. With over 350 life sciences companies, including global brands like AstraZeneca, United Therapeutics, and Novavax, Montgomery County anchors the third largest biophama hub in the U.S., behind only Boston and San Francisco.

Running annually in Washington D.C. for over 25 years, World Vaccine Congress attracts an international audience from over 80 countries and convenes more than 3,000 people to learn about the latest trends, research, and technologies in the vaccine industry. This year, Montgomery County took center stage, with a featured session on the extensive Biologics Value Chain in the County, as well as a session during which County Executive Marc Elrich spoke about the extensive resources available to companies here, and an exhibit space showcasing these resources.

A Complete Biologics Value Chain in One Region

One of the defining strengths of Montgomery County is its ability to support the full lifecycle of biologics, all the way from early research to large-scale manufacturing. During the panel discussion, moderated by Dr. Stefanie Trop, Director of Life Sciences at the Maryland Department of Commerce, local leaders emphasized that the region’s strength lies in its network of partners who work collaboratively across discovery, development, testing, and production. Panelists from companies in all stages of the value chain spectrum included Dr. Andrew Lees, Founder of Fina Biosolutions, Benjamin Moutier, Senior Vice-President, Vaccines and Immune Therapies at AstraZeneca, Dr. Helen Sabzevari President & CEO of Precigen, and Dr. Frederick Holtsberg, Chief Scientific Officer of Integrated BioTherapeutics.

This end-to-end capability in close geographical proximity gives companies a unique advantage and is rare to find in other markets, even established ones like San Francisco and Boston. In fact, only a handful of places worldwide offer the combination of infrastructure, expertise, and collaboration found in Montgomery County and if diversity, education and population density are taken into consideration – then Montgomery County standouts even more.

“Gaithersburg is one of the six places in the world where we can do what we’re doing,” explained Benjamin Moutier, Senior Vice-President, Vaccines and Immune Therapies, AstraZeneca. “We have the right partners at every step of the value chain [in Montgomery County].”

A Strong Partnership Network

Biotech breakthroughs rarely happen in isolation. They depend on strong partnerships between private companies, local and state governments, academic institutions, and workforce training organizations. Montgomery County has intentionally cultivated these connections, making collaboration and coordination defining characteristics of its life sciences ecosystem.

Dr. Frederick Holtsberg, Chief Scientific Officer at IBT Bioservices, a full service CRO offering clinical & preclinical contract research services, says the company’s close partnerships between them and local stakeholders have been crucial to its success. “As a Rockville-based company, we’re grateful for the partnership and support from city, County, and state leaders,” explained Dr. Holtsberg. “These programs have helped fuel our growth, and we’re excited about the continued momentum of our community.” (more…)

Bethesda

Two Sandwiches Available in MoCo Make it Onto Eater DC’s “17 Sandwiches to Try Around D.C. Right Now” List

By MCS Staff

Eater DC recently released a list of “17 Sandwiches to Try Around D.C. Right Now” and two sandwiches available in Montgomery County have made the list. While there are classic Montgomery County sandwich spots/delis like Twinbrook Deli in Rockville and Filippo’s (formerly Marchone’s) in Wheaton, and newer places that are highly regarded for their sandwiches like Full On Craft in the Norbeck area (technically Rockville) near Olney, and Gemelli’s in Gaithersburg, among others, Eater DC tends to stick to places much closer to D.C.

The first MoCo sandwich listed is the “Chip-wich”, available at The Girl and The Vine in Takoma Park (7071 Carroll Ave). Per Eater DC, “Takoma Park’s adorable cafe and wine shop counts the “Chip-wich” hoagie as one of its most popular orders since day one. The sandwich hides house kettle chips inside for a surprise crunch in every bite, joined by smoked turkey, smashed avocado, pepper jack cheese, bacon, sprouts, and dijonnaise.” The Girl & The Vine, a neighborhood wine, food market and bar located in the heart of the Takoma Park community opened in March 2019. The neighborhood market features a wide selection of food and beverages including wine, beers, cocktails, coffees and teas, as well as sandwiches, salads, bread, meats and cheeses, and more.

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Bethesda

One MoCo Sushi Restaurant Included in Eater DC’s ‘Where to Find Standout Sushi Around D.C.’ List

By MCS Staff

While there are many wonderful restaurants in Montgomery County that offer high quality and tasty sushi, Eater DC put together a list of restaurant the website considers to have standout sushi in the D.C. area and has included just one Montgomery County restaurant on its list. Hinata, located at 4947 St. Elmo Ave in Bethesda, is a Japanese grocery store that was opened in the mid 90s by Owner Waka Sakita who once worked at Tokyo’s famous Tsukiji wholesale seafood market. The carryout sushi is a longtime favorite for many local residents, but somewhat of a hidden gem for those who don’t frequent the Downtown Bethesda area.

Eater DC describes Hinata as a “cozy, family-run carryout in Bethesda” that’s “a local favorite for made-to-order rolls and fresh sashimi at an affordable price point. Call ahead or shop for grocery items from Japan while waiting for takeout orders.” With groceries like Japanese candy, tea, dried mushrooms, soy sauce, vinegar, packaged ramen, and more available inside, the sushi counter offers fresh and reasonably priced sashimi, nigiri and rolls. Hinata has a 4.7/5 Google rating with 163 reviews and a 4.5/5 Yelp rating with 161 reviews. Featured photo courtesy of Google Maps.

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Business

MoCo’s Only Moe’s Southwest Grill Available For Sale

By MCS Staff

Updated to include a statement from part of the current ownership group

Moe’s Southwest Grill made its triumphant return to MoCo when the fast-casual Mexican restaurant opened in the Wheaton Mall food court in late 2019. In early 2022, a new Moe’s location opened in the recently renovated Montgomery Village Center, around the same time the Wheaton Mall store closed. The Montgomery Village store, now the only Moe’s Southwest Grill location in Montgomery County, is available for sale according to a business listing.

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Potomac

Whelan’s Potomac to Host Grand Opening Event on August 26

By MCS Staff

Whelan’s Potomac, a family owned and operated Beer & Wine store, recently opened at 9812 Falls Road in Potomac Village. “With our onsite bar with 12 fresh beers on tap as well as curated wines by the glass, we can’t wait to share our space with you.” The beer and wine wrote on its social media. “Whether you’re calling in for a pint or grabbing a few 6-packs and bottles of wine to-go, we aim to offer some of the best selections available in the Village”. The beer and wine is hosting a Grand Opening celebration starting at 3pm on Saturday, August 26th.

Whelan’s is owned and operated by Greg Whelan, who brought McGinty’s Public House to 911 Ellsworth Drive in Downtown Silver Spring, and his wife Emma Whalen, who was co-owner of the recently closed Astro Lab Brewing in Silver Spring.

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Restaurants

Luna Hall, a Food Hall, is Coming to Rockville’s Pike Center

By MCS Staff

Luna Hall has signed on to move into one of the vacant spaces in the Pike Center (the shopping center that’s the longtime home of TGI Friday’s and the recently opened Golfdom), according to Kimco. The location is listed as taking is the former CiCi’s Pizza spot. The food hall recently opened its first location in DC’s Chinatown (625 H St NW).

Offerings at the Chinatown location include Kung Fu Tea, TKK Fried Chicken, Dumpling District, Pollo Aria, and Luna Bar. There is no word on possible stalls at the Rockville location and Luna has told us things are in the works and that they’ll provide us with updates once they are available. The featured photo shows the Chinatown location.

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Retail

Jared The Galleria of Jewelry is Closed For Major Remodeling Project in Rockville

By MCS Staff

Jared The Galleria Of Jewelry has closed its Rockville Pike (12101 Rockville Pike) location with a sign on the door stating that the store is closed for remodeling. A Peek at the building, and inside, shows major renovations underway (photos below), with the sign redirecting customers to the Jared’s Frederick location at 5617 Spectrum Dr.

In June 2020, Signet Jewelers, the parent company of such brands as Zales, Jared, and Kay Jewelers said it planned to permanently close about 400 stores after all of its stores were temporarily closed in late March due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Many of those closures took place in the last three years. Currently, the space is listed under Diamonds Direct on the Kimco website for the Pike Center, so it’s unclear if the store will return as Jared or as a Diamonds Direct location.

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North Bethesda

Mimi’s Handmade Ice Cream Moves Closer Toward Opening in Rockville

By MCS Staff

Back in May we let you know that Mimi’s Handmade ice cream is coming to Rockville’s Federal Plaza. It will be taking over the location that was recently home to Yogi Castle (12274 Rockville Pike Suite E). Yogi Castle closed permanently this spring and Mimi’s Handmade took possession of the space in May. Permanent signage is up and some renovations have taken place (photo below), but it remains to be seen on if the ice cream shop will open by the original goal of end of summer.

It appears that the Mimi’s Handmade location in The Heights food hall, which is stated to open later this month in Chevy Chase, will be the first Montgomery County location for the ice cream shop that opened its first location in Arlington in the summer of 2021.

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Maryland

Governor Moore Delivers Keynote Address at the 2023 Maryland Association of Counties Summer Conference

By Patrick Herron

Per the State of Maryland: Governor Moore today delivered the keynote address during the closing session of the 2023 Maryland Association of Counties summer conference in Ocean City. The governor spoke about the disciplined approach required to grow Maryland’s economy amid budget shortfalls and the critical value of partnerships to emerge stronger as a state.

Excerpts from Governor Moore’s speech as prepared:

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