Sisters: The Village Cafe targeting June opening at Cabin John Shopping Center

Sisters: The Village Cafe is now only weeks away from opening at the Cabin John Shopping Center at 11325 Seven Locks Road in Potomac. The Thai restaurant's manager says they are aiming for an opening in the second week of June.

You can see the outdoor patio is ready to go. Inside is a dessert bar serving Magnolia bakery items, with a retro movie theater marquee. Sisters is right next to Shake Shack, and is from the owners of the Sisters restaurants in Fairfax County.

Female entrepreneurs spotlighted at Rockville Town Square pop-up shop

Several woman-owned local businesses are participating in a temporary pop-up shop spotlighting female entrepreneurs at Rockville Town Square. Arcay Chocolates, Aroma by Anette, Durango Dog Company, and Saints Valley will be selling their products at a vacant storefront next to Sushi Damo on Maryland Avenue through May 26, 2019. The pop-up is open Thursday-Sunday from 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM.

MoCo Council hikes property taxes, slouches toward bankruptcy in disaster budget

Property tax bills will rise for almost all Montgomery County residents in the coming year, after the Montgomery County Council approved a disastrous $5.8 billion FY-20 budget Thursday. The vote virtually ensures future tax hikes will be necessary, as the Council also went on a spending spree despite starting off with a $208 million shortfall. Increases in spending on Montgomery County Public Schools, already proven to have no impact on student performance despite record-large MCPS budgets this decade, will be a major cause of tax hikes down the road. Once the MCPS budget is raised, state law requires the Council to maintain that level of spending going forward.

The fact that the Council had no qualms about spending even more than MCPS asked for despite that binding maintenance-of-effort state law raises questions of the councilmembers' fitness for office. Councilmembers approved the massive spending on MCPS while knowing that there are only two uncertain sources to pay the additional $16 million, and one of those is a one-time $5 million possible payment from the state for upgrading the County's long-failing 911 system. The other $11 million? LOL - they'll figure it out. And thanks to the law, we now have to give MCPS - the system that has declined in performance even as spending on it has surged - that amount every single year going forward. We already are in the red every single year as far out as the forecasts go as it is. Heckuva job, Brownie!

"The annual [property tax] bill for the average homeowner will increase," the Council's press release on the budget vote acknowledges - while not admitting the real-world dollar value of that increase, which is far more than the "average" cost cited often by the County. That tax hike comes after the Council and County Executive Marc Elrich promised voters they would not raise taxes. 

Bloated and filled with loot for the Montgomery County cartel, the budget maintains the corrupt Council's MO of "managing the decline," and continuing our slow slouch towards Gomorrah. The Council has failed to take a single action on our economic development crisis since taking office last December, forgoing for another year any sensible attempt to increase our revenue from commercial development or attracting major corporate headquarters - something Montgomery County hasn't been able to do for over twenty years. Instead, the County has sunk to rock bottom by every economic development benchmark, even behind tiny counties like Culpeper and Rappahannock. It's humiliating.

Considering the Council has raised property taxes every year except 2014, imagine what will happen when the national economy goes into a recession. We are now in the weakest position ever to confront such an economic challenge. Given the County's massive debt, the much-touted AAA bond rating will be in jeopardy as soon as bad times hit, and we are due for a bust cycle any month now. Remember: we have to maintain this level of MCPS spending and county employee pay hikes every year no matter how bad the revenue picture gets.

With that in mind, it's obvious that while our leaders may be tools, they aren't exactly the sharpest tools in the drawer. But that's the caliber of leadership you end up with when most voters don't bother to research the candidates before voting, and simply go by the party affiliation after the name. We can't go on like this.

Fogo de Chão sets opening date at Pike & Rose

Fogo de Chão, the Brazilian churrascaria that has taken over the Nike Factory Store corner spot at Pike & Rose, is about a month away from opening. Construction continues inside ahead of the June 24 grand opening date. Lighting fixtures, seating and even artworks on the walls are already in place throughout the dining room.

This is the fourth Mid-Atlantic location for Fogo de Chão, following openings in Baltimore, D.C. and Montgomery County's arch-rival Fairfax County. Moises Lopes will be Head Gaucho Chef and General Manager of this location, and first learned how to cook meats gaucho style growing up on his family's farm in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

The Pike & Rose Fogo de Chão will seat 300 indoors, with additional seating at the bar and outdoors. Founded in 1979, the chain's signature dining experience centers around the roasting of high-quality cuts of meats over open flame, which are then carved tableside by Brazilian-trained gaucho chefs. With a month to go, they are still hiring staff. Applicants for both the front and back of house can visit fogo.com/careers, or call 301-841-9200 for more information.

Five Below sets opening date in Rockville

The new Five Below store at the Congressional North shopping center on Rockville Pike will open on June 14, 2019. As you can see, the sign is now in place above the storefront. Here's a sneak peek inside the new store, which sells "cool stuff for $5 or less." Think of it as an upscale dollar store.

Thomasville Furniture space cleared, signage removed at Congressional Plaza

Thomasville Furniture closed earlier this year at Congressional Plaza in Rockville. Their space has now been cleared out, and their signage removed from the building. Thomasville was one more victim of the moribund Montgomery County economy, in a jurisdiction where "Going Out of Business!" signs have become ubiquitous.

Final week for Payless at Montgomery Mall

This is your last chance to pay less at Payless at Westfield Montgomery Mall. The store is in its final week of business, the latest victim of Montgomery County's moribund economy. Montgomery County has suffered a net loss of retail jobs since 2000, according to the Maryland Retailers Association.