American Tap Room appears to have closed in Rockville

American Tap Room appears to have closed in Rockville Town Square. Last night, it was closed during posted business hours. The restaurant's Facebook page has vanished, Rockville is no longer listed on the ATP chain website, and its account has disappeared from the OpenTable reservation website.

An Arlington location closed this past summer. The company behind American Tap Room is launching a new Southern concept in Silver Spring this month.

Jade 11 Rockville menu - new Japanese/sushi restaurant now open (Photos)

Jade 11, a Japanese restaurant and sushi bar, has opened at 785-D Rockville Pike. Unlike some sushi places that are "fusion" concepts with Korean or Chinese dishes, Jade 11 has a lengthy Japanese-focused menu. It includes selections hard to find in Montgomery County, like a Live Lobster Sashimi Trio.

According to the posted hours, the restaurant is closed on Mondays, so you'll have to wait until tomorrow to try it out.

Another great addition tucked away on the Pike. There is no web site as of this writing, but I got a takeout menu you can check out below:

Honeyfish Poke to open at Congressional Plaza

Honeyfish Poke will be
in the storefront at
center-right, next to Lucy

 Honeyfish Poke will open at Congressional Plaza in Rockville next spring, according to Federal Realty. Yet another fast casual concept where the customer creates his or her own bowl, Honeyfish Poke is "the Chipotle of" raw fish.

Diners will choose from tuna, albacore, salmon, octopus, crab meat, or tofu, place them on rice, kale or greens, and then add toppings like edamame, cilantro, masago, and furukaki. Finish your bowl with one of six sauces, ranging from spicy ponzu to eel sauce.

Honeyfish Poke will be located between Lucy and Baskin Robbins at the shopping center, located on Rockville Pike at Halpine Road. This will be the first Honeyfish Poke location outside of southern California.

Rockville company exceeds Wall Street forecast

Argan, Inc., a Rockville-based builder of power plants, beat Wall Street's forecast for its earnings per share in the 3rd quarter. Analysts had predicted earning of 75 cents per share, the Associated Press reports. Instead, Argan delivered a profit of $1.16 per share.

Shares of Argan have more than doubled in value since January, according to Zacks Investment Research. Argan is located at One Church Street.

Modern Market to open in Rockville December 8

Modern Market will open its new Rockville location on Thursday, December 8 at 8 AM. The first 100 people through the door will have a chance to win free food for a year. Modern Market is located in the Congressional Shopping Center on Rockville Pike.

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).

Rockville construction update: Modern Market (Photos)

Modern Market is opening soon at Congressional Plaza on Rockville Pike. A new outdoor patio dining area has been created adjacent to the new restaurant.

Rockville construction update: Montgomery County Liquor store (Photos)

The Montgomery County Liquor store moving into the former Kam Sam Supermarket at 300 N. Washington Street appears close to opening. Shelving and signage are in place. Sadly, the top flight Chinese restaurant🍲 that had been planned for this space fell through. While the County liquor monopoly store will provide some convenience to nearby residents (at monopoly prices💸), liquor stores don't bring a lot of halo 👼effect to a neighborhood.

Trump supporter victim of hate crime in Montgomery County (Photo)

Montgomery County Police are investigating an incident of vandalism in Silver Spring they believe is "bias-based." On Sunday morning, a Donald Trump supporter in the Four Corners neighborhood in Silver Spring awoke to find a swastika had been spray painted on his front storm door, and his American flag had been stolen. Police responded to the home in the 200 block of Williamsburg Drive at 7:22 AM.

A preliminary investigation determined that this was the third time the Trump supporter's home had been targeted. The home was previously vandalized on October 16, police said, and a Trump-Pence sign was stolen from the front yard of the property in late October.

This incident shows the danger of jumping to conclusions, as the Montgomery County Council has, in regard to a handful of hate-based vandalism incidents since the election. With no evidence, and not a single suspect having been arrested and questioned, our County Council has alleged these incidents were inspired by Trump and/or perpetrated by his supporters.

The Council has now been wrong twice in the last week; the only physical hate violence in the County so far has been directed against a Trump supporter, during a student protest last Wednesday in Rockville. And now in Four Corners, the only case where we have a clear motive, all evidence again points to anti-Trump forces.

Fortunately, the police are not taking a political approach, and are examining all cases objectively in their investigations. In a statement, detectives said they believe the homeowner's support for Trump is the motivation for the thefts and vandalism in the Four Corners case.

Anyone with information about these thefts or the vandalism incidents 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).

Photo courtesy Montgomery County Police

Rockville BRT choice will require demolition of at least 2 homes on Veirs Mill Road

The claims that Montgomery County's bus rapid transit boondoggle would not require demolition of homes and businesses were, well, demolished last night. Rockville City Councilmembers voted 3-0-1 to approve BRT Alternative 3, with Mayor Bridget Donnell Newton abstaining. The City's preference will now be considered by the State of Maryland as it makes a final recommendation on a BRT alternative in the coming months.

Alternative 3 will require the demolition of at least 2 homes, as well as 41 other property takings of various sizes, along the proposed Veirs Mill Road route of BRT. These are the numbers before the project even gets into the design phase, and station locations are not yet determined, either. Those later decisions, and issues that inevitably arise in any transportation project, could further impact property beyond what we know today.

Councilmembers Mark Pierzchala, Beryl Feinberg and Julie Palakovich Carr voted in support of Alternative 3; Councilmember Virginia Onley was absent. Newton was dissatisfied with the options presented, saying, "I don't think we're right yet." With homes threatened by the project, Newton called the decision a "rush to judgement," and a threat to naturally-occurring affordable housing in the Veirs Mill corridor.

Pierzchala said you can't have a major transportation project without having some negative impacts. He argued that the affordable homes lost would be more than replaced by future redevelopment of the Twinbrook Shopping Center, which would require affordable units. Pierzchala also said the affected homeowners would be "handsomely recompensed" for the value of their homes.

Newton countered that the money the homeowners will receive will not be enough to afford a similar home in Rockviille under current market prices. "Where are you going to buy another home for that price," she asked.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Rockville Town Square (Video+photos)

The Christmas trees are lit in Rockville Town Square, menorahs are in place ahead of Chanukah, and other festive lights are bringing the holiday spirit to Rockville's town center. Decorations helped the Federal Realty property kick off the holiday shopping season this past weekend.