Potomac

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue responded to a barn fire this morning around 4:45am after a nearby resident saw a “glow in the sky” and called 9-11.

The fire occurred on Stoney Creek Road near Wetherfield Lane in Potomac and has left one horse dead, according to Chief Spokesperson for Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Pete Piringer. One horse that managed to escape the fire has survived.


Potomac

Baskin Robbins will be closing its Cabin John Village location this week, per an employee of the store and confirmation via phone call. The store plans to locate to nearby Potomac Woods Plaza, located adjacent to Park Potomac. Potomac Woods Plaza is currently the home to Quincy’s Potomac, Brooklyn Deli, Walgreens, and more.

The current plan is for the new store to open in the spring. Below you’ll see the initial posting on the NextDoor app:


Potomac

Last summer we let you know that the folks who brought you Kenaki Sushi to the Kentlands neighborhood of Gaithersburg and Aki to The Roost food hall at Capitol Hill would be bringing Kema by Kenaki to Cabin Village in Potomac. Initially the hope was for a late winter/early spring 2022 opening, but we spoke with sibling founders Ken and Aki Ballogdajan, who told us that some additional work was needed on the space and that it won’t be delivered until later this spring. The hope is now for the restaurant to open in October or November of this year.

The almost 2,000 square foot restaurant will be very similar to what Kenaki in Kentlands offers, but will be more “fast paced,” in what will be a hybrid between Kenaki and Aki. Kenaki is a full-service restaurant while Aki is a sushi counter at a food hall. Kema will offer signature rolls from Kenaki/Aki such as the Black Magic roll- made with “forbidden rice”, spicy tuna, pickled jalapenos, and truffle oil, the Donkey Kong roll- made with eel, fried plantain, cream cheese, cucumber, tempura flakes, togarashi spice mayo, and sweet shoyu, among others.


Memorial

Rev. Protopresbyter Nicholas J. Despotides, 93, passed away on Sunday, January 23, 2022 with his family by his side. He was born on the island of Amorgos, Greece and moved to the United States in 1956.

He was the co-owner, with his wife, of Despotides Gardens in Potomac, MD. He made his home in Potomac, MD for 54 years before moving to Newport News, VA to be near his daughter. He was a founding member of St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Bethesda, MD where he served in many capacities as Chanter, Deacon and later in life as the Associate Priest.


MoCo History

Normandie Farm Restaurant at 10710 Falls Rd. announced today that the current owners will be retiring and the restaurant will be temporarily closing on June 30. New ownership will be taking over and are expected to reopen the restaurant in late summer.

Normandie Farm was founded in 1931 by Marjory Hendricks in the midst of the Depression. It is one of a handful of restaurants that are still in existence from that era.


Potomac

Dan Binstock is a lifelong MoCo resident. The Potomac dad is now also a viral TikTok sensation, earning over 340K followers and nearly 30 million views in less than a month with his ability to hear a song just once and recreate it to near perfection on the piano.

Binstock was born and raised in Potomac. He started playing piano at the age of 5, when he realized he had an ear for music. After taking lessons growing up and continuing to play while he was a student at Wootton High School, where he was known for his piano-playing ability, he went in a different direction with his career, earning his law degree and currently owning and operating a company that recruits lawyers.


Bethesda

Back in August, we let you know that Yirasai Sushi would be moving from its Westbard location in Bethesda to Park Potomac (12525 Park Potomac Ave Building G), following a conversation with restaurant management.

From August: “Earlier today we spoke with a manager at Yirasai Sushi, located at 5110 Ridgefield Road in the Westwood Shipping Center in Bethesda, who told us that the tentative plan is to close to the current location later this year as they prepare to move in to the old Elevation Burger spot in Park Potomac that became available last month.”


MoCo Celebs

Issa Rae was born in Los Angeles. After moving to Senegal for a couple years where her father, a pediatrician,  attempted to open a hospital, her family moved to Potomac, Maryland.

While growing up in Potomac, she was in a gifted and talented program at Cold Spring Elementary School. Rae was quoted as saying that in her time in Potomac, she grew up with “things that aren’t considered ‘Black,’ like the swim team and street hockey and Passover dinners with Jewish best friends.”


Potomac

Glenstone Museum has announced that it will be suspending indoor dining at the Cafe and Patio and will be reducing visitor capacity starting today, Thursday, December 23.

Glenstone is an art museum based in Potomac. The museum displays exhibits of contemporary and modern art from post-WWII artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Louise Bourgeois, Alexander Calder, Andy Goldsworthy, Jeff Koons, Richard Serra, and more. A large portion of the museum’s art and architecture can be viewed through an outdoor walking tour experience, spread out throughout the 300 acre property.


View More Stories