Derwood McDonald's reopening in six days

The McDonald's at 15801 Frederick Road in Derwood looks just about ready to open after its remodeling. That's because it is! The restaurant will reopen in six days. Celebrate with a Big Mac!

Mayor & Council approve grant to keep Aronson, LLC in Rockville Town Center

Rockville Mayor Bridget Donnell Newton and City Council members voted unanimously last night to approve a $50,000 grant to accounting firm Aronson, LLC. The investment is designed to keep Aronson from moving their headquarters elsewhere, and to keep their employees in Town Center to support the restaurants in that area.

Mayor & Council to consider $50K grant to retain Rockville accounting firm

Rockville's Mayor and Council will consider approving a $50,000 financial grant to an accounting firm, in order to keep their headquarters in Rockville Town Center. Aronson, LLC is currently headquartered at 111 Rockville Pike. The firm currently employs 206 people with an average salary of $87502.

If the firm can stay put, it is promising to add around 40 new full-time positions over the next five years. Aronson is also in the process of obtaining grants from the state of Maryland and Montgomery County.

City staff argue that retaining Aronson is important due to the expected relocation of several County government departments to a new County office building in Wheaton this summer. To that end, one of the conditions of the City grant will be that Aronson agree not to add an in-house cafeteria for at least five years, so that employees will continue to patronize Town Center-area restaurants at lunchtime.

The Mayor & Council already set aside $50,000 in incentives for Aronson in its FY-2020 budget. Tonight, at their 7:00 PM meeting at City Hall, they will consider giving final approval to city staff to execute the incentive agreement.

Atlanta's Gypsy Kitchen to expand to D.C.

Gypsy Kitchen, a Mediterranean restaurant and bar chain based in Atlanta, is expanding to Washington, D.C. They will open this spring in the former Masa 14 space at 1825 14th Street N.W. Gypsy Kitchen's pan-Mediterranean cuisine will draw on Greek, Moroccan, Indian,
Middle Eastern and other regional flavors.

Summer Pitim Stew

Southern Proper Hospitality is the restaurant group behind the chain. Its COO Alex Curley is not a stranger to 14th Street, having played a role there before in the opening of Barcelona Wine Bar.

Small plates assortment

Service at Gypsy Kitchen's launch will include dinner, weekend brunch and happy hour. Its 6400 SF dining area and 1100 SF rooftop deck will hold 217 guests.

Photos by Erik Meadows Photography

Hogan express lanes compromise may be a bust for Beltway drivers

Gov. Larry Hogan's compromise agreement on his Express Lanes proposal, which earned a needed second vote from Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot to move the project forward, may still provide traffic relief along I-270. But it could wind up being a bust for drivers on the Capital Beltway.

The compromise essentially puts the Express Lanes plan back to where it was hung up a few months ago. Hogan had agreed to postpone the Express Lanes on the Beltway, and focus on I-270 first. There would be no improvement for Beltway drivers under that scenario.

Then Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam stepped forward with a proposal to assist in expansion of the over-capacity American Legion Bridge in exchange for allowing Virginia's Express Lanes to cross the bridge and run into Maryland. Recognizing that this would only work if the Beltway Express Lanes continued around the interstate, and the reality that the project was more feasible if companies could bid on Beltway Express Lanes that went at least to I-95, Hogan then revived the Beltway portion of the project.

Franchot, under pressure from his constituents and preparing to launch a gubernatorial campaign, immediately withdrew his support again. Hogan then capitulated on the Beltway portion beyond the I-270 spur to regain Franchot's vote. But that compromise is a Beltway backfire, and Hogan appeared to realize he will be long out of office by the time that is apparent.

The reality is, unless voters "get dangerous" as former Gov. Bob Ehrlich exhorted them to years ago, there may not be a single vote for Express Lanes on the Beltway on the Board of Public Works. There very well could be a Democratic governor, a Democratic comptroller, and there certainly will be a Democratic treasurer.

So, Beltway Express Lanes past the I-270 interchange are almost certainly dead.

But the compromise plan will likely make traffic on the Beltway even worse, not better.

First, Northam ingeniously made his problem our problem. Extending Express Lanes over the bridge means that he moves the current choke point where drivers enter and exit those lanes onto the Maryland side of the river. His problem is now solved, and we got played like a violin.

Second, Beltway Express Lanes will now terminate in the vicinity of the existing logjam between River Road and I-270 on the Beltway. This jam is caused not only by lack of capacity, but also by the drivers trying to change lanes to either access I-270 or to continue east on the Beltway. There's also a third factor, which is drivers entering from River Road who then need to merge into the far left lanes to access I-270.

So now you will have cars that want to stay on the Beltway pouring out of the Express Lanes exit in that area - and with the lanes in the center, they will have to merge across several lanes to do so.

Apparently no one bothered to study the reality of the situation on the ground there before making this decision. And the local media was too busy filing some of the most embarrassingly-biased praise reports about the Maryland General Assembly ever published to notice what a just-plain-dumb Express Lanes package was put through by the Board of Public Works.

Northam won. Upcounty drivers may benefit if the lanes really go to Frederick - and especially if they are continuing to Virginia southbound - and that's a very good thing. But Beltway drivers are likely to find this Express Lanes compromise a bust. And we still need a new Potomac River crossing.

There will be no real traffic relief until voters start playing hardball at the ballot box, and elect new leaders who will play hardball in Rockville and Annapolis.

Yvonne Fx closes at Montgomery Mall

Yet another business closure to report this morning. Women's apparel boutique Yvonne Fx has closed at Westfield Montgomery Mall. The store opened only five months ago, and is the latest victim of Montgomery County's moribund economy and notoriously anti-business climate. Montgomery County has suffered a net loss of retail jobs since the turn of the century, according to the Maryland Retailers Association.

Java Nation opens Rockville Pike location

Java Nation's new location in White Flint will serve its first dinners tonight, Thursday, January 9, 2020 at 11120 Rockville Pike. Their initial hours of operation will be 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM Thursday-Saturday, and 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Sunday-Wednesday, so a breakfast and lunch spot early in the week with dinner hours late in the week. The owners "warn" that you may find "a warm and cozy atmosphere inside."