Lidl, a German international discount supermarket chain, is under contract to purchase the subject properties between Walter Johnson Road and Germantown Road and seeks to develop a 31,000 square foot Lidl Grocery Store with associated parking and open space areas.

Prior to the Concept Plan Submission, a few months back, Lidl held three meetings with Upcounty Planning Staff to review various development schemes. The submitted plans reflect the input of Planning Staff to date.

A community meeting to discuss the preliminary plan is scheduled for Monday, September 27th. We’ll have more details on the meeting in the coming days.

A new Lidl mixed-use project has also been proposed for Rockville.

Below you’ll see more information about the Germantown site, courtesy of Montgomery Planning.

Roos2U Moving to Texas, Last Day is May 16th

Roos2U in Germantown has been providing residents with the opportunity to see, interact with, and learn about kangaroos, wallabies, emus, degus, and more.

Their time in Germantown is coming to an end later this month, as they’ve decided to move to Texas.

The educational experience involving macropods that involved bottle feeding, photo opportunities, handing out treats, and even the opportunity to hold a joey will hold its last tour (appointment only) on Sunday, May 16th.

They are all booked but are accepting emails for the waitlist at [email protected] if you provide them with the date and time you’re interested in, in case of a last minute opening.

We visited back in the summer of 2019 you can check check our highlights from our visit to Roos2U here.

Day & Night Cereal Bar is Coming to Clarksburg

L.A. based Day & Night Cereal Bar will be coming to the Clarksburg Premium Outlets.

Located across from Aldo and between Perfumes 4 U and Fragrance Outlet, they will be in the space formerly occupied by David’s Tea.

They are expected to open next month, but no exact date has been provided yet.

The menu includes a cereal bar, milkshakes, bacon flights, coffees, and cinnamon toast iced lattes.

Click here to see their full menu.

From a recent article by CLTURE , “In 2020, Dupree and co-founder, Michael Castillo, started Day & Night Exotic Cereal Bar in Los Angeles. The first-of-its-kind food truck was a huge hit and the duo soon opened their first brick and mortar in Greenwood, Indiana.”

Thanks to our friends at Lilly Magilly’s for the sweet scoop.

The McDonald’s in Walmart has Closed Permanently

In the last week or so we received a couple reports of the McDonald’s located inside the Walmart in Germantown (20910 Frederick Road) closing.

Yesterday, we were told the space has been completely cleared out. We called and spoke with a Walmart representative early this morning and we’re told that the McDonald’s closed permanently at the end of March.

We were also told that something is likely to replace McDonald’s, but that it is currently unknown what it will be. It has been widely reported that Walmart will be bringing in Dominos Pizza, Taco Bell, and Charley’s Steakery to replace closed McDonald’s locations.

Doc Waters Cidery is Open for the Season (Germantown)

Doc Waters Cidery opened for the 2021 season on Friday, April 2. We had a chance to stop by and check it out this weekend.

Below you’ll see a few shots from our time at the cidery, as well as the asada fries from new food vendor, Tacos Borrachos, who tell us they’ll be at the cidery every weekend (more information is also available below the pictures).

This year’s hours will be:

Fridays 3-9 PM

Saturdays 11-9 PM

Sundays 11-6 PM

They will be hosting Pour House Trivia on Fridays from 7-9 PM.

In order to manage social distancing and ensure a great experience for guests, seating this year will be by reservation.

To reserve your table or fire pit, visit their website.

Doc Waters is also hiring. Check out their employment page for information on job openings and how to apply.

Apple picking is usually available in early September but they will have updates over the summer.

Check them out on Instagram and Facebook to see what goes into producing Waters Apples and Doc Waters Cider.

Brief History of “Earthoid” at MC Germantown

Back in 2019 we asked 100 MC-Germantown students if they knew what the giant globe on their campus was. Only 16 of them were aware that it is actually a water tank!

Earthoid, as it was named by students who designed the tank, is owned and maintained by the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission. It holds two million gallons of water!

Per Atlas Obscura:

“In 1980, the students of Montgomery College’s Germantown campus were tasked with designing the water tank that stood on the edge of their university. After a vote, the students designed that the spherical tank would emulate the Blue Marble. It was dubbed “Earthoid.”

The school commissioned artist Peter Freudenberg, who had worked on similar spherical projects in the past, to paint the scale model globe. He used a National Geographic globe image and satellite photos from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for reference.

Two months later, the gigantic Mother Earth mural was complete. The Earthoid has gotten a new paint job since then, but still stands today and acts as a powerful symbol for environmental protection every year on Earth Day.”

The Montgomery College- Germantown newspaper is aptly named… The Globe.

Photo courtesy of The MoCoShow’s eye in the sky, @DronifyDMV