Pie 360 opening today in Rockviile - here's a sneak peek (Photos)

Pie 360 plans to open today, December 5, at 11:00 AM at its new Rockville location, in the Galvan at Twinbrook development at 1800-C Rockville Pike. A fast casual pizzeria concept from the creators of Coal Fire, Pie 360 is expanding from Baltimore to Rockville, Alexandria and the District. It will immediately take on rivals &pizza, Blaze Pizza, and the new Pieology in Gaithersburg.

The basic ingredients at Pie 360 are their specially-aged dough, three sauce recipes, and mozzarella cheese. After picking your crust (traditional, wheat or gluten-free) and sauce (traditional, Signature, or spicy - or substitute garlic-infused olive oil), you can then add four toppings of your choice to the 10" pizza in addition to the mozzarella that is included. There are over 50 toppings to choose from.

Too many choices? Order one of their specialty pizzas, including Prosciutto Cipolla, Ring of Fire, and Bianco Speciale. Or custom order a salad or wrap. For dessert, they have house-made banana pudding and equally-house-made chocolate chip cookies.

Dates set for Metropolitan Washington Restaurant Week Winter 2017

The Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington has announced its Winter 2017 Metropolitan Washington Restaurant Week will be held between Monday, January 30 and Sunday, February 5. Participating restaurants will offer fixed-price, multi-course menus costing $35 for dinner, $22 for lunch, and - for the first time ever - $22 for brunch.

A new feature for Winter 2017 will be a rewards program. Anyone who books their dining reservation through the official RAMW restaurant week site, and opts into the rewards program, will be eligible for special deals and prizes from restaurant week sponsors like event tickets and restaurant gift cards.

The participating restaurants haven't been revealed on the website yet, but usually include establishments in Bethesda, Rockville and Silver Spring alongside their DC counterparts. When they are added, you'll be able to search by type of cuisine and location to find your favorites.

Another Trump supporter victimized by hate crime in Montgomery County (Photos)

Vandals have attacked another home of a supporter of President-Elect Donald Trump in Montgomery County. This time, a family of Trump supporters in Burtonsville was targeted.

Montgomery County police officers responded to a home in the 3000 block of Spencerville Road in Burtonsville yesterday morning, November 30, around 6:25 AM. They found that swastikas, and the words, "Trump" and "racist," had been spray-painted on all 3 cars in the home's driveway.

Police say the victims were known publicly to be Trump supporters, and believe that was the motivation for the attack. They are now investigating the incident as a "bias-based" crime of vandalism.

Anyone with information about this vandalism is asked to contact the 3rd District Investigative Section at 240-773-6870.  For those who wish to remain anonymous, Crime Solvers of Montgomery County is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for any information that leads to the arrest of the suspect(s).  Tipsters can call Crime Solvers of Montgomery County toll-free at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).

Photos: Montgomery County Police Department

Legally-stymied self storage project seeks extension in Rockville

Siena Corporation is keeping its options open, should it find a legal recourse to force the City of Rockville to allow its approved self storage facility at 1175 Taft Street to go forward. The company has had no luck with either legal motion it has filed in Montgomery County Circuit Court so far.

By the time either motion reaches the end of the line in court, the approved site plan for the facility will expire. City staff is recommending the Planning Commission - which originally granted the approval, before the project was blocked by a Zoning Text Amendment forbidding self storage within 250 feet of a school (Maryvale Elementary School, in this case), passed by the Mayor and Council in February 2015 - approve the 1-year extension for the self storage project. The commission will take up the matter at its meeting tonight at 7:00 PM at City Hall.

Rockville names new City Manager

The City of Rockville has named Robert DiSpirito, who is the interim senior manager of the Sarasota County (Florida) Planning and Development Department, as its new City Manager.

DiSpirito also served as the city manager of Dunedin, Florida for nine years, and as city manager of Oberlin, Ohio for eleven years.

In Dunedin, DiSpirito oversaw 400 employees and an $80 million budget. He created the city's Housing & Economic Development Department, and is credited with guiding Dunedin's award-winning downtown and redevelopment citywide. This could be an asset for a town center in Rockville that some consider to be currently underperforming in certain respects.

"My wife, Evangelina, our children and I truly look forward to making Rockville our new home," DiSpirito said in a statement. "This is an amazing and diverse community of strong neighborhoods, beautiful parks, high-performing schools, a lively town center and engaged citizens. As city manager, I look forward to reaching out and hearing what matters to our employees, residents, civic groups, schools, businesses and other partners."

Streetsense marketing retail space at Metropolitan at Rockville Town Center (Photos)

Bethesda-based real estate firm Streetsense is marketing 6033 SF of retail space at the future Metropolitan at Rockville Town Center apartment building at 255 N. Washington Street. The space, which has outdoor patio seating adjacent to it, will face onto Beall Avenue.

The Metropolitan will include 275 apartments, and is scheduled to deliver in the 4th Quarter of 2017.

Renderings:
(Top) Kettler
(Bottom) Streetsense

SunTrust installs signage at future Galvan location in Rockville (Photos)

The permanent sign is up at the future Galvan at Twinbrook branch of SunTrust bank. Much progress has been made on the interior, and the ATM is already installed. This will be next to the eagerly-awaited Pie 360 pizzeria at the JBG Companies development, which is located on Rockville Pike near the Twinbrook Metro station (but officially addressed as 1801 Chapman Avenue).