Friday, August 7, 2009

what's up the pike: still don't have the teet, but . . .

Closed Olney 9 Theatres
- It's still not Falklands, but upscale grocer Harris Teeter says they just might open a new store in Olney. They'd be replacing the long-shuttered Olney 9 Theatres and restaurant B.J. Pumpernickles in the Olney Town Center shopping center, which has recently fallen on hard times. The strip mall would get a facelift along with the new market, but owner The Freeman Companies has long-term plans to redevelop the entire site with apartments and offices in addition to retail.

- Meanwhile, local residents are trying to kill plans to build a self-storage center in the Burtonsville Industrial Park at Route 29 and Route 198, arguing that such a high-profile location deserves a higher-profile occupant. Last week, the County Council held a public hearing on a zoning amendment (warning! PDF file.) that would specify what uses can and can't be built in the village center. Though the Planning Board denied (PDF!) the proposed ezStorage facility last year, the Circuit Court ordered them to approve it.

- From the listservs: Flickr user obz3rv3r is posting photos of the ongoing construction of the Silver Spring Transit Center, which will consolidate local and regional bus lines in a new terminal adjacent to the Metro station. Work began last fall and is expected to be completed in 2011; a mixed-use complex including apartments, offices and retail will eventually occupy the site as well. Another unofficial website promised to provide updates about the project but hasn't been updated since March.

- We've already heard that East County has the D.C. area's best breakfast, but it's also scoring high marks for kosher food. Kosher Community Surveys, which reviews restaurants and stores around the country, just published its 2008-2009 report (warning! PDF file.) for the D.C. area. Among the winners are Kosher Pastry Oven for best bakery and Shaul's Kosher Market for best market. Not surprisingly, both of them are located in the predominantly-Jewish neighborhood of Kemp Mill.

1 comment:

Cyndy said...

Max's Deli next to the CVS on University Blvd in Wheaton is pretty good too. And they have schwarma!