New "coming soon" signage at Miso Fusion Café in Rockville Town Square (Photos)

Miso Fusion Café, which has been delayed from its expected summer opening, has added some window screen "coming soon" banners to its future space in Rockville Town Square.

The Korean fusion restaurant is from the owners of the existing Miso in Annandale, and will be located at 33-E Maryland Avenue. Note that the new signage has a modified name for the restaurant - it was previously just "Miso Café".

Veteran DC-area chef to convert Kam Sam Supermarket into high-end restaurant; New York Mart opening soon

Another big addition to Rockville's burgeoning dining scene is on the way. DC-area restaurant veteran Liu Chaosheng has negotiated a lease with the owner of the recently-vacated Kam Sam Supermarket space, and is planning to convert the building into a high-end restaurant. Liu, who has established restaurants in DC, Maryland and Northern Virginia over the last 15 years, says this will be a white tablecloth dining room. His other restaurants include the popular Mala Tang, Uncle Liu's Hot Pot, China Jade and Hong Kong Palace.

The former supermarket is located at 300 N. Washington Street. Liu's new venture would be the latest addition to a booming number of Asian restaurants, grocery stores, and shops in that area. Many are calling it the DC region's new Chinatown. The growing concentration of businesses in the vicinity of N. Washington Street likely played a role in the decision to locate there. Liu noted to Eater in 2011 that because one of his restaurants was located right by the Great Wall Supermarket, he didn't have to spend much on advertising to reach the target audience.

On that front, I can also report that New York Mart - a new Asian supermarket in the College Plaza shopping center - is finally and rapidly moving forward. When I stopped by this week, the shelves were not only in place, but lined with new groceries. It appears the opening is imminent, and that is fabulous news for Rockville.

Old Line Bank makes big move into Rockville (Photos)

The Upton luxury apartment building has a second retail tenant to add to World of Beer - Old Line Bank is coming to its ground floor. But Old Line has bigger plans for Rockville. The bank is opening a second branch down the road at 1801 Rockville Pike. Old Line has received a permit from the City of Rockville for interior renovations at that latter space.

Future Old Line Bank space
at 1801 Rockville Pike

Bowie-based Old Line has up until now served Prince George's and Charles Counties in Maryland. In entering Montgomery County, it joins Carroll Community Bank as a new entry in an increasingly-competitive banking market.

Renamed Rockville street gets official signage as Helen Heneghan Way (Photos)

The City of Rockville has acted quickly on the renamed street running down the middle of the Duball, LLC developments between Regal Row and Rockville Town Square. Signs bearing the new name, Helen Heneghan Way, have been installed less than 30 days after the city's Planning Commission voted to give Renaissance Street the new moniker. The change was made at the behest of Choice Hotels, which didn't like having the street by its properties labeled for a competing hotel brand.

Potomac Grill closes in Rockville (Photos)

Potomac Grill has closed in the Talbott Shopping Center on Rockville Pike. The traditional steak and seafood restaurant lasted a decade, which many restauranteurs will tell you is an impressive accomplishment in the industry by itself.

Owner Scott Blaugrund says he and his family are "heartbroken" to say goodbye to loyal customers. The exit also leaves Talbott Center with a significant vacancy to fill for the time being.

MoCo planners recommend moving Rockville Confederate statue to Beall Dawson House, or "private entity"

Montgomery County planners are recommending the Montgomery County Planning Board endorse moving the controversial Confederate statue from the Red Brick Courthouse to the Beall Dawson House in Rockville. As an alternative, they suggest giving it to the United Daughters of the Confederacy, or another private owner. As a last resort, they recommend relocating it to one of two possible County parks, in Potomac or Darnestown.

Such a move is hardly agreed upon yet, but any removal of the statue will have to go through the Rockville Historic District Commission. That body - mostly unknown to the public, but well-known to readers of this blog, which covers its meetings regularly - has jurisdiction over the Rockville Old Courthouse Historic District, in which the statue currently stands.

The statue itself is owned by Montgomery County, as is the property it rests on.

Montgomery County Council staffmember Marlene Michaelson was directed by Council President George Leventhal this summer to convene a committee, to discuss the relocation of the statue. Michaelson began a site search, and inquired about one in particular, Woodlawn Manor Special Park.

Several meetings were held in late July and August. Leventhal then invited the following individuals to participate in another meeting on August 11:

Timothy Chesnutt, Director of Recreation and Parks, City of Rockville
Anthony Cohen, President, Menare Foundation and Button Farm
Bonnie Kirkland, Assistant Chief Administrative Officer, Office of the County Executive
Jamie Kuhns, Senior Historian, M-NCPPC
Joey Lampl, Cultural Resources Manager, M-NCPPC
Matthew Logan, Executive Director, Montgomery History
Joy Nurmi, Special Assistant to the County Executive
Nancy Pickard, Executive Director, Peerless Rockville
Anita Powell, President of the Montgomery County Maryland Branch NAACP and Lincoln Park Historical Foundation
Laurie-Anne Sayles, President, African American Democratic Club of Montgomery County
Scott Whipple, Supervisor of Historic Preservation Unit, M-NCPPC

Powell is also a commissioner on the Rockville HDC.

From a list of 14 potential sites, the group did not agree upon or endorse a final location for the statue, but generated a shorter list of 5 potential locations:

1. Beall-Dawson Historical Park in Rockville.
2. Callithea Farm Special Park in Potomac.
3. Darnestown Square Heritage Park in Darnestown.
4. Jesup Blair Local Park in Silver Spring.
5. The Edgewood Farm (privately owned) in Gaithersburg/Unity.

Some participants expressed concern that the County would lose control of who could access the statue, should the private owner wish to restrict public access. The County might also lose the ability to provide context in any display of the statue, with some worrying the display could continue to be offensive to some. Others felt the statue should remain where it is, with better interpretive display elements.

A chart is scheduled to be posted on the Montgomery County Council website next week, to allow for public comment.

RockvilleNights.com has obtained the chart already, however (click to enlarge):

If you can't wait until next week, comments on the statue can be sent to Council President George Leventhal / Montgomery County Council / Re: Confederate Statue / 100 Maryland Ave. / Rockville, MD 20850, or by email to county.council@montgomerycountymd.gov.

Someone will also have to pay for the "hard costs" of moving and maintaining and securing the statue. County Executive Ike Leggett has identified the following costs:

 Access (if driveway, path, parking, trail, etc. are needed or to achieve ADA compliance)
 Fencing
 Lighting (depending on which site is selected)
 Security
 Conservation
 Interpretive Signage and other Historical Display Items

Montgomery County's Department of Parks has stated it does not believe the statue should go to a public park in the county.

Callithea Farm is primarily an equestrian facility on River Road, and the statue would have to be fenced to keep visitors separated from pastured horses. The park is adjacent to the Camp at Muddy Branch site, a Union camp during the Civil War, and a trail would have to be built from Blockhouse Point Conservation Park (the modern location of the camp) into Callithea Farm. No lighting could be used, as it would attract insects that carry diseases afflicting horses.

Darnestown Square Heritage Park seems an unlikely location, as it is adjacent to a Harris Teeter-anchored shopping center on Route 28. 18,000 Union soldiers camped there, but does that make sense as a tie-in when you consider the statue remembers Confederate soldiers? Wouldn't the risk of vandalism - likely to persist at almost any publicly-accessible location, particularly with the media attention and controversy - be high there, as well? There is no vehicle access at this site, either, and it contains a cemetery at which the grounds may not be disturbed or altered.

Jesup Blair Local Park is a more accessible location, in a higher population area - which obviously would increase the vandalism risk, as well. Located at Georgia Avenue and Blair Road near the D.C. line, the park is named for a member of the famed Blair family, which has been extremely prominent in county and Maryland history - including during the Civil War.  That connection, and specifically, the Blairs' close ties to the Lincoln administration (and the fact that Montgomery Blair's house was burned by the Confederates), make this again seem like a downright nutty context for a Confederate statue. In my opinion, at least.

Planning staff is discouraging placement of the statue at any of these 3 County parks.

Their top recommendation is to move it to the Beall Dawson House, or transfer it to the Daughters of the Confederacy or another private owner.

If it is necessary to utilize a County park, however, staff is recommending Callithea Farm - but only if "it can be housed in a true Civil War visitor center." That would require the statue to be stored at County expense until such a facility could be funded and constructed.

The second choice of planners is Darnestown Square. They are recommending the Planning Board ask Leggett and Leventhal to remove Jesup Blair from consideration.

Leggett is expected to appear before the Rockville HDC at its September 17 meeting. The County Planning Board will discuss the matter and vote on their recommendations at their September 3 meeting.

Mellow Mushroom applies for liquor license in Rockville (Photo)

Finally, some signs of life at the future site of Mellow Mushroom in Rockville Town Square. The eccentric Southern pizzeria has applied for its liquor license from Montgomery County. Their hearing is scheduled for September 17.