Silver Branch Brewing Co. to open taproom in Wheaton

Silver Branch Brewing Co. is expanding to Wheaton. It is leasing the retail space in the Montgomery County government office building at 2425 Reedie Drive in the Wheaton Triangle. The 8,589-square-foot space is being subleased to the brewery by the County for a 12 year period, with two 5-year options to extend. The retail space is subdivided into two suites.

Montgomery County has agreed to a base rent abatement of 18 months for Suite A, and of 30 months for Suite B, and a Construction Allowance "equal to $440 per square foot or $3,779,160." This means the County is giving a break on rent, and providing over $3 million reimbursement for construction costs, to Silver Branch. The deal was proposed by County Executive Marc Elrich, and has been approved by the County Council.

Silver Branch currently operates taprooms in Silver Spring, Rockville, and Warrenton, Virginia. The Virginia location is temporarily closed for renovations due to a fire that occurred in December 2024. All three existing taprooms serve food as well as beer, and are highly-rated in online reviews.

Maryland Governor candidate Ed Hale puts skyrocketing electric bills in spotlight

 

Maryland gubernatorial candidate Ed Hale speaks with
supporters about their high electricity bills in Baltimore 

Baltimore businessman Ed Hale, a Republican candidate for governor of Maryland, used the backdrop of Geresbeck's Food Market at the Hawthorne Plaza shopping center in Charm City today to demonstrate the devastating impact of the state's skyrocketing energy bills on businesses and residents. During a press conference, he noted the grocery store's electric bill had nearly doubled in only the last 30 days. Its latest monthly electric bill? A whopping $57,000.

"I don't know how you survive this," Hale said of the crushing additional cost burden on businesses. Such costs will inevitably be passed on to consumers, adding to the already absurdly high prices that are pummeling Americans from coast to coast. Hale warned that demand for electricity will only increase during the heat of summer, and that will come with enormous cost to every consumer.

Hale showed a second electric bill, this one from his own grandson. His grandson's monthly bill increased from $185.80 to $528.51. "This is a huge, huge, huge issue affecting everybody in our state," Hale said.

Alluding to current Maryland Governor Wes Moore's non-stop national TV appearances, as Moore pursues a presidential campaign, Hale asked why Moore isn't answering questions from his constituents instead of from TV personalities. "Who's in charge here? He's on Meet the Press or Face the Nation, but who's facing Marylanders, you know? Where is he? And he's just not here. He's running for president of the United States."

"People are moving out of the state," Hale continued. "Businesses are moving out of the state. And we're going to have fewer people retiring in our state." He again cited a recent poll that found that over 60% of Marylanders are either in the process of leaving the state, or are seriously considering such a move.

"We just can't stand this," Hale said. "We need to replace this man as fast as possible." Arguing that Moore sees the state as a mere stepping stone for his national and world power aspirations, Hale drew a comparison with his own campaign's political goals. "Maryland is not a stepping stone for us. Maryland is where we all live, and we can't stand to have this anymore."

Moore and Democrats who control the state legislature have recently tried to divert attention away from the policies and laws they passed that are largely responsible for the spike in energy costs. They ordered the closure of eight power plants across the state, mandated expensive purchases of "clean" power, and implemented a literally-Communist EmPOWER Maryland surcharge on electric bills, an extra tax that Moore hiked further last year. Now they are attempting to seize on the astroturf anti-data-center movement, by falsely blaming AI for the financial destruction they themselves have wrought on communities and businesses statewide.

"I'm going to make sure that we reopen the plants that have been closed," Hale vowed. "We need to get this state reopen for jobs."

Update on Society Seafood House in Silver Spring

The sign is up at Society Seafood House at 8229 Georgia Avenue in downtown Silver Spring. Last night, it was already hooked up and lit after dark. The seafood concept is a rebrand of Society Restaurant & Lounge at this location. They have begun recruiting staff for the new restaurant in the last week.

Landmark Kensington office building on the market for sale

The phrase "landmark Kensington office building" can apply to multiple properties along Connecticut Avenue and University Boulevard West. But one of them can now be yours for an unpublicized price. 10801 Connecticut Avenue is prominently positioned at the junction of University and Connecticut. The headquarters of The International Eye Foundation was built in 1981, and offers 4,266-square-feet of office space on a 5,754 SF lot. IEF has been a longtime technical advisor to USAID's Child Blindness Program. If I had a dime for every time I passed this building in a car or Metrobus, I could buy it! The broker for the property is One Street Commercial Properties.

Downtown Silver Spring shooters remain at large

Montgomery County police are seeking an unspecified number of armed suspects who shot a man in downtown Silver Spring yesterday morning. The shooting was reported at 2:04 AM Friday in the vicinity of the intersection of Georgia Avenue and Thayer Avenue. However, the 25-year-old victim had been taken in a private vehicle from that location to a local hospital. His wounds were determined to be non-life-threatening, police say.

 The victim was allegedly engaged in an argument with the suspects when he was shot. Anyone with information regarding the suspects or this crime is asked to visit the Crime Solvers of Montgomery County, MD website at www.crimesolversmcmd.org and click on the “www.p3tips.com” link at the top of the page or call 1-866-411-8477.  A reward of up to $10,000 is being offered for information that leads to the arrest of the suspects. Tipsters may remain anonymous.

Airsoft gun assault leads to barricade situation in Silver Spring

Montgomery County police responded to an aggravated assault in the Layhill area of Silver Spring Wednesday, April 1, 2026. In the 13100 block of Ideal Drive at 10:13 AM Wednesday, a resident fired multiple rounds from an airsoft gun at a victim standing outside of his home. When officers arrived, the resident threatened them and barricaded himself inside his home. Police deployed an Emergency Response Team, which handles specialized and volatile scenarios such as barricaded suspects with the goal of protecting first responders, the community, and the suspect in question from harm if possible. The ERT team was successful in facilitating the arrest of the suspect, police say.

Wetzel's Pretzels opens in Wheaton

Just over a year after it was announced, Wetzel's Pretzels has opened at Westfield's Wheaton Plaza mall at 11160 Veirs Mill Road. Now you'll have the chance to settle once and for all the question of which mall pretzel vendor is the best: Wetzel's Pretzels, or the ubiquitous Auntie Anne's. Each Wetzel's pretzel is hand-rolled, baked fresh and served hot from the oven. Look for Wetzel's Pretzels on Level 2 of the mall, near Costco.