Naz’s Halal Food will open two new MoCo locations in 2022. The new restaurants will be located in Germantown and Rockville, a representative from the restaurant confirmed today.
As of now, we don’t have exact locations, but we’re told Edmonston Crossing (the shopping center that is home to Iron Age) is likely in Rockville. Permits have recently been submitted and more information will be provided as it becomes available.
The first location outside of New York was also in MoCo, at the Burtonsville Town Center, next to Tropical Smoothie Cafe. That location opened in August 2020 and has become a local favorite with late night hours, remaining open until 2am Sunday through Thursday and 4am on Friday and Saturday.
The restaurant offers rice platters, sandwiches, gyros, wings, salads, and more.
Since the Burtonsville opening, Naz’s Halal has expanded to California and Rhode Island.
Naz’s Halal Food began as a food truck in Queens, NY in 2009. The first brick and mortar restaurant opened in 2018 and there are currently five locations, all in New York. It was founded by cousins Naz and Kareem, who were both public-school teachers at the same New York City school.
Per MCPD:
For Immediate Release: Saturday, December 4, 2021
Gaithersburg, MD – Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – Major Crimes Division have arrested and charged Israel Edenilson Ramirez, age 28, from Burtonsville with the November 19 and December 3 armed bank robberies that occurred in Wheaton and Burtonsville.
On November 19, at approximately 11:33 a.m., Ramirez entered the Bank of America located in the 2600 block of University Blvd. West in Wheaton and proceeded to the manager’s office, where he demanded money, displayed a black handgun and fired a round. The manager went behind the teller counter, gathered the money and handed it over to Ramirez, who fired another round into a wall before fleeing the scene. Detectives reviewed the surveillance footage of the bank and obtained surveillance photographs of Ramirez.
On December 3, at approximately 9:03 a.m., 3rd District officers responded to the Capital One Bank located in the 15600 block of Old Columbia Pike in Burtonsville for the report of an armed bank robbery that just occurred.
The investigation by detectives determined that Ramirez entered the bank, displayed a black handgun and fired several rounds. Ramirez approached a bank teller and demanded an undisclosed amount of money. The teller collected the money and handed it to Ramirez, who then fled the scene.
During the course of the investigation, detectives identified Ramirez as a potential suspect, and probable cause was developed to charge him with the two armed bank robberies. In the afternoon of December 3, detectives applied for and received an arrest warrant charging Ramirez with armed robbery, first-degree assault, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and second-degree assault.
In the evening of December 3, detectives apprehended Ramirez in Prince’s George’s County. Detectives also executed a search and seizure warrant at Ramirez’s residence, where items of evidence were recovered.
Ramirez was placed under arrest and transported to the Central Processing Unit, where he is being held without bond.
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Israel Edenilson Ramirez (Original Image)
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Per Dunkin’:
Dunkin’ today announced that it is celebrating the grand opening of its first Next Generation store in Burtonsville at 15640 Old Columbia Pike on Saturday, December 4. From 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM on December 4, the store will reward the first 100 customers with Free Coffee for a Year!
In 2020, a number of Burtonsville residents realized many underprivileged children in the community would not experience the same holiday experience many local children have due to the struggles many had during the pandemic.
A number of Burtonsville residents decided to do something about it– they organized a group of volunteers to collect toys for children in need.
Local restaurant Squisito Pizza and Pasta jumped at the opportunity to support this effort. By Christmas of 2020, the group had collected 580 toy donations at the restaurant that they were able to distribute to 260 children in Burtonsville. A significant donation was also made to Children’s Hospital.
This year, Squisito is again sponsoring the effort and providing anyone who donates toys a free slice of pizza and soft drink. The collection box is located inside the restaurant, and donors can receive their free slice of pizza and soft drink by notifying a cashier they have a toy to donate.
The Burtonsville community asks you to consider helping to bring joy to a child this holiday season by bringing a new, unwrapped toy to Squisito and placing it in the donation box.
Santa and his elves will wrap and distribute toys to children in need from the Burtonsville area on December 18th.
Unable to visit Burtonsville Squisito? Visit the Official Burtonsville, MD Facebook Group (2.0) on Facebook at and learn more about how you can help.
Seibel’s in Burtonsville, which has been serving the community for over 82 years, has announced that it will be closing its doors on Sunday, November 28th.
The announcement was made in a letter to customers by the family who has owned and operated the restaurant since the 60s.
The full letter can be seen below:
“I pray my message finds all of you, our Seibel’s family, well.
March was the last time I sent a message. It has been 36 years since we served our first Thanksgiving Dinner for our Seibel’s customers. When I first had the idea, my dad thought I was crazy. That first year, we roasted about 20 Turkeys, and now we are serving over 1,500 pounds of Turkey! For me, Thanksgiving was about family first and food second. If I could help our extended Seibel’s family create lasting Thanksgiving memories by keeping them out of the kitchen, I would do it!
We are forever thankful to the Iager Family for raising such wonderful Turkeys for all these years.
It is with sadness that I announce this year, 2021 will be our final Thanksgiving.
If you read the paper or listen to the news, it is no surprise to hear that staffing is challenging and the supply chain is crazy. With that being said, we are asking that you order early this year. We will stop taking orders on Sunday, November 14. We want to be sure that we have all we need to fill your requests.
The pandemic has opened our eyes to so much. There has been sadness, but there have been loads of joy as well. Our new hours enabled us to have quality family time and helped us remember what is important in life. My adventure out west created a sense of wanderlust. There are so many great places in our wonderful country that I want to see!
When Karen and I continued the business from our parents, we decided that it would be a ministry. Our faith in God has not let us down. God saw us through the pandemic and so much more. We are thankful we were able to be here for so many. You, our customers, and our incredible employees have done so much for us. For that, and so much more, we want to say THANK YOU!
After much consideration, we have made the decision to start a new chapter. Sunday, November 28, will be the final day we turn on the burners and open our doors.
There will be many tears and many stories to tell. You have all been a part of raising our families, and we have watched your families grow as well. We are thankful for each and every customer and employee, past and present. All of you have so blessed us. Some days there wasn’t enough family to open the doors, and some days there were way too many. No matter the case, we opened them for you, anyway. And we, of course, never charged extra for the family entertainment! 😊
We are very thankful for our current staff that will see us to the final day; Anita, Angie, Annie, Amelia, Carol, Debbie, George, Jonah, Jones, Katie, Lauren, Lexi, Melissa, Nicolette, Rick, Sharon, Tracey, and Xavier. *Watch for guest visits from past employees and family! *
I know the question will be, “what are you going to do now?” But I’m not sure any of us really know, except Karen, who will go into full retirement. The rest of us will surely let you know when we know. I will certainly keep the emails rolling with any updates. Meanwhile, we will continue to serve you to the best of our ability.
In January, I asked, “What is God saying?” We stopped and listened. The answer:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30
With more Love than we could ever express, Lynn, Karen, and all the family- Chad, Casey, Lauren, Scott, Randi Lynn, our mother, Joyce, and of course our father Harry, who may not be with us now but has never stopped guiding us”
Dave Golden, founder and moderator of the Burtonsville 2.0 Facebook group, had a call with real estate development company EDENS regarding Burtonsville Crossing. Below you’ll see the notes from his phone call:
08/25 Burtonsville Crossing Update
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Kristy Inman, Vice President – Leasing
David Germakian – Senior VP, Regional Lead, Mid-Atlantic Region
• There has been quite a bit of work and focus on Burtonsville Crossing with a lens towards post-COVID development. David and Kristy have been working on it personally for several months.
• While it may not look like it, and they understand the frustration, they are within a matter of months before being able to talk about breathing new life into the shopping center.
• They will be present at the Praisner Center on Burtonsville Day, September 25th. David, Kristy, and Ryan plan to be there from EDENS.
• Over the last 6 months, EDENS has had a number of conversations with the county and state. Tom Hucker has met with them and they are encouraged working with him.
• They plan to reposition what’s there – make some tweaks to create a community plaza, pedestrian connectivity to the BRT lot (which will include improvements) and reconfigure the shopping center plans. This includes adding drive-thrus and convenient curb-side pickup.
• EDENS as a company is not proud of what’s there. They are now focused and excited. They are cautiously optimistic after 18 months.
• EDENS just finished a shopping center in Annandale (developing during COVID) with expanded sidewalks, outdoor dining areas, and convenient grab-and go spaces. They plan to implement a lot of this in Burtonsville Crossing.
• To kick it off, they need to first secure an anchor stores. They are close to moving to lease with a grocery store that would ignite things. After the anchor store is secured, a snowball effect will take place with new shopping and dining opportunities.
• They would plan to reposition the former Giant space.
• The resiliency of Burtonsville Town Square across the street through COVID is a testament to the community supporting the demand.
• They have also studied this shopping center, recognizing opportunities that are not there that will be incorporated into the new Burtonsville Crossing.
• They recently hired a new Director of Community Experience who will be our point of contact.
• They look forward to providing updates as they progress.
George Lopez has joined the trend of celebrities teaming up with ghost kitchens with his newest venture, George Lopez Tacos.
The virtual restaurant is now available on delivery apps and is delivering food from The Greene Turtle in Burtonsville. Delivery ranges vary, but depending on the app can cover places as far as parts of Rockville and Gaithersburg.
In addition to several types of tacos, the restaurant offers items like chips and guacamole/salsa, and churro bites.
”I cannot wait for you to sink your teeth into these deliciosos tacos. They’re the ideal mezcla of soft tortillas, tender meats, and salsas and toppings bursting with flavor. So whether you’re trying to feed yourself, your fam, or your whole crew, grab mealtime by the cojones and order up some damn delicious delivery from my virtual tacqueria.”
George Lopez Tacos is an online-only, chef-curated restaurant created by Nextbite. They partner with local restaurants and use their existing kitchens to prepare the food that you can order via delivery apps or for carry-out.
This allows those restaurants to serve both the customers who are dining in with their own menu and those who are ordering online with the virtual restaurants.
Founded in 2017 by a 4th generation restaurateur, Nextbite has helped thousands of restaurants tackle the challenges of digital menus and delivery, while bringing a variety of cuisines to hundreds of thousands of customers.
The Party Place has opened its second location, officially opening its Burtonsville location earlier this week.
The store is located at 15632 Old Columbia Pike in the Burtonsville Town Center next to the newly opened Tobacco Hut.
They will offer a varied list of services including balloon arrangements and delivery, birthdays and general party decorations, gift-wrapping supplies and general party supplies for individuals, businesses and all social events including graduations, barmitzvah’s, weddings, engagements and all national holiday events.
The Party Place also has a location in Derwood.
After being forced to cancel the parade last year due to the pandemic, Burtonsville Day will be returning this year on September 25th (rain or shine).
The annual celebration includes food trucks/vendors, activities for children, a parade, live music & performances, public services, and other attractions.
As of now, you’re able register for the parade or sign up to volunteer at the event.
More information is available on the Burtonsville Day website.
During its July 29th meeting, the Montgomery County Planning Board will review the design for the renovation of Columbia Local Park at 14900 Old Columbia Pike in Burtonsville.
Per the planning board documents, the recommended facility plan converts the two existing tennis courts into a dog park. The dog park consists of an 8,200-square-foot large dog area and a 2,700-square-foot small dog area, both accessed via a central, double-gated vestibule that allows owners to safely leash and unleash their dogs before entering or exiting the park.
Each enclosure is concrete paved and contains a pet turf play mound. Several benches line the perimeter of the dog park and each dog area has its own drinking fountain and trash receptacles. A shade structure spans the two enclosures, and additional trees will be planted around the exterior of the dog park, providing shade on hot days. A five-foot-tall chain link fence surrounds the dog park and each enclosure contains a double-leafed gate to allow maintenance access.
The large, abandoned paved area will be converted into one tennis court, four pickleball courts, a soccer court, and a small gathering area with shade structure. The tennis court and soccer court will each be surrounded by a ten-foot-tall chain link fence. Each court will have direct access for players as well as a double-leafed maintenance gate to facilitate leaf removal and other maintenance activities.
The pickleball courts will be separated by three-foot-tall fences and contain openings at the corners to allow players access to the courts from the east and the west. Based on the strong advocacy for pickleball expressed in the 2021 Open Town Hall Forum comments, the pickleball overlay on the tennis court was added back to the plan and will provide two additional pickleball courts when tennis isn’t being played.
The paved area just south of the soccer court and west of the pickleball courts will contain a drinking fountain, benches, picnic tables and a shade structure. This area provides a space for players to congregate while waiting for a court to free up or to socialize after a match.
The plan recommends painting the existing large shelter south of the proposed dog park and adding additional picnic tables to renew the facility. Proposed improvements also include enhanced pedestrian access to this portion of Columbia Local Park.
Within the parking lot, two existing parking spaces will be converted into ADA-compliant accessible parking spaces, and the parking lot will be renovated.
To connect the park to the neighborhood to the north, a set of stairs or ramp will be built into the steep slope just north of the proposed dog park, connecting the existing path that terminates there to the parking lot. The existing pathway between the old tennis courts and baseball field will be renovated to provide accessibility into and between the new amenities.
Tobacco Hut Now Open, The Party Place Opening Soon (Burtonsville)
One of the two newest additions to Burtonsville Town Center is now open, with its next door neighbor opening very soon.
Tobacco Hut & Cigars held its grand opening earlier in the week and offers tobacco, vape, CBD, and other products.
The Party Place has a location in Derwood and will offer a varied list of services including balloon arrangements and delivery, birthdays and general party decorations, gift-wrapping supplies and general party supplies for individuals, businesses and all social events including graduations, barmitzvah’s, weddings, engagements and all national holiday events.
The Party Place will open on June 30th.
