Montgomery County sheriff orders restaurant to vacate at Montgomery Mall

Butter Me Up, a breakfast-themed restaurant, has been evicted from Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda less than a year after opening. A "final notice" from the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office is posted outside the restaurant ordering the business to "vacate premises." It states that "The Sheriff will use whatever force necessary to gain entry into the premises for immediate removal of all persons and property." Behind the closed storefront gate, the contents of the restaurant have been left behind.

The restaurant group that owns Butter Me Up also owned the HalfSmoke kiosk in the mall's food court. It has also closed. These developments raise serious questions as to whether the company's long-delayed HalfSmoke location at Rockville Town Square will ever come to pass. No construction inside that location has taken place in the three years since the Rockville outpost was announced.

The Grove restaurant to open at Cabin John Village in Potomac

The trend of high-quality tenant additions continues at the revamped Cabin John Village shopping center in Potomac. A new restaurant called The Grove has leased the vacant restaurant space formerly home to Lahinch Tavern and Grill at 7747 Tuckerman Lane. All that is known at the moment is that The Grove will be a new dining concept from the Common Plate Hospitality restaurant group, which is already making a big push into Montgomery County with its upcoming food hall called The Heights in Chevy Chase.

HalfSmoke closes at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

HalfSmoke has closed at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. Its kiosk in the Dining Terrace food court has been totally cleared out, and signage removed. How this didn't work is a mystery, as they had a short but great menu. This venture opening and closing in the time since a long-delayed Rockville Town Square location of HalfSmoke was first announced does not bode well for that larger restaurant coming to fruition. No construction activity has been observed at the Rockville HalfSmoke space since "coming soon" signage was installed over the windows in November 2020(!!).

Signage installed at Rockville Pike Animal Hospital

It was over a year ago that Rockville Pike Animal Hospital announced it would be opening at 12248 Rockville Pike, in the Towne Plaza development. But on Monday, the permanent signage was installed on the building facade. This will be a benefit to pet owners in the many apartment buildings located near Towne Plaza on, and parallel to, Rockville Pike. Does that ATM now accept Milk Bones?

Montgomery County police hire Hispanic Community Liaison

The Montgomery County Police Department has hired a Hispanic Community Liaison, it announced in a press release yesterday.  Montgomery County government employee Mariela Leon has previously worked in the Department of Health and Human Services and in the Office of Human Resources. Her father is from Guatemala, and her mother is from El Salvador. Leon was the first member of her family to attend college, and holds a Bachelor of Applied Science and Criminal Justice, and a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Human Resources Management.

At the police department, Leon will be assigned to the Office of Public Information. She is "excited to be part of the Montgomery County Police Department," according to the department's press release.

Derwood man wanted for attempted murder arrested after Clarksburg-to-Frederick police chase

Montgomery County police, with assistance from officers with the Loudoun County Sheriff's Department, Maryland State Police, Frederick City police, and the Frederick County Sheriff's Department, will soon have in custody an attempted murder suspect who led them on a chase from Clarksburg into Frederick County. The pursuit began when Montgomery County detectives spotted Johnny Franklin Dove, Jr., 22, of Derwood in Clarksburg on Monday. Dove was wanted in connection with a domestic violence incident a day earlier, which has now been classified as an attempted murder by Montgomery County detectives. 

Dove was able to elude them, and crossed over into Frederick County, where local law enforcement officers picked up the chase. But Dove once again escaped their grasp, as he cleverly switched vehicles during the pursuit. He successfully fled into Virginia, where Montgomery County detectives caught up with him Tuesday.

Dove is currently being held in the Loudoun County Detention Center where he is awaiting extradition to Maryland. He has been charged with attempted first-degree murder, first-degree assault, felony use of a firearm during a violent crime, second-degree assault and reckless endangerment.

Chase bank "coming soon" in Rockville

A long-planned Chase bank branch at 460 Hungerford Drive (MD 355) in Rockville is "coming soon," according to a banner posted at the construction site. The historic Jack Sullivan-designed commercial building on the property that was most-recently home to Meixin Supermarket has been demolished. Some parking signs for the Chinese grocery store remain intact, however. The bank will have a drive-thru, and is just north of Rockville Town Square and Walgreens.