Burtonsville Giant getting a facelift (Photos)

Renovations continue at the Burtonsville Giant at 15618 Columbia Pike. The roofline has been adjusted from flat to peaked on the part of the building over the entrance. A painter was rolling on a tan color over the creme facade of the store when I stopped by.

Bottlegonia coming to Shoppes of Burnt Mills in Silver Spring

Bottlegonia, a beer and wine store, is coming to the Shoppes of Burnt Mills at 10715 Colesville Road in Silver Spring. The owners say to expect a mid-November opening.

Chuck Levin's expands in Wheaton

The legendary Chuck Levin's in Wheaton just got bigger. They've expanded down the hill into the former GameStop store at 11147 Veirs Mill Road. The music store's new building is hosting school rentals.

Ulta Silver Spring location sets moving date

The Ulta store at Downtown Silver Spring is relocating within the Peterson Cos. development, as I previously reported. Now there is an opening date for the new store, next Tuesday, September 29, 2020. The new Ulta location is at 8510 Fenton Street.

Howard Johnson's Wheaton restaurant and hotel now completely demolished

Only the memories of chicken croquettes, fried clams and orange sherbet remain at the corner of Veirs Mill Road and University Boulevard in Wheaton. The former, and many would argue historic, Howard Johnson's hotel and world-famous roadside restaurant building have now both been completely razed.

The property will become part of the future Wheaton Gateway mixed-use development. In later years, the hotel structure had become a Best Western and Ambassador Apartments, and the restaurant building a mattress store. These were among a handful of extant Howard Johnson's buildings remaining in the state of Maryland.

Atlantic Guns relocates Silver Spring store to new Rockville location

After 70 years in business, family-owned Atlantic Guns has consolidated its Rockville and Silver Spring gun shops into a brand-new Rockville location. The new Atlantic Guns is now open at 15813 Hungerford Drive (MD 355) in the King Farm/Derwood area of Rockville. It's right up the street from Wendy's and McDonald's.

Atlantic Guns carries long guns, handguns, ammo, and firearm accessories. They also sell non-lethal defense products like Tasers, camping and survival gear, archery equipment, knives and fishing supplies.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, only ten customers may enter the store at a time. The first customer at the new store received a free Benchmade knife.

Wheaton Sport Bar space available for lease

A sign has been placed outside the Wheaton Sport Bar building indicating that the restaurant and lounge space is available for lease. It's a great location with high visibility, but there continues to be frequent turnover in tenants. 

Perhaps the loss of parking at the nearby Lot 13 and surrounding area during the Montgomery County government office building construction was a factor. That project is now completed.