Fuddruckers closed in Silver Spring

Fuddruckers at 819 Ellsworth Drive closed permanently at the close of business yesterday. The closure follows the demise of the chain's Rockville location earlier this year. To find a Fuddruckers now, you'll have to drive from moribund Montgomery County to the more business-friendly boomtowns of Ashburn and Woodbridge in Virginia. Notably, the restaurant lasted 16 years before closing, indicating the county's economic nosedive is to blame.

Spice Street to open in downtown Silver Spring

A new Indian restaurant is coming to downtown Silver Spring. Spice Street Innovative Indian Cuisine will open in the ground floor of the Solaire 8250 Georgia Avenue apartment tower in 2020. Construction has not yet begun inside, but this will be an especially nice addition for folks living upstairs in the Solaire. An HSBC bank branch recently opened in the ground floor, as well.

Route 29 BRT platforms taking shape (Photos)

Bus Rapid Transit station platforms are beginning to appear along the route of the future Route 29 BRT line. Concrete platforms have been poured for four of the stations so far, including Burtonsville, Briggs Chaney and Tech Road. Asphalt has also been poured for a shared-use path at the Castle Boulevard station.

An earlier stage of concrete pouring at
the Burtonsville Park & Ride station site

Photos courtesy Montgomery County Department of Transportation's Division of Traffic Engineering 

HSBC Bank opens at Solaire 8250 Georgia Avenue

The new HSBC bank branch in downtown Silver Spring has opened. It is in the ground floor of the new Solaire 8250 Georgia Avenue apartment tower.

Lane shift on Piney Branch Rd. to begin in January

Purple Line Transit Partners has announced that the eastbound lanes of Piney Branch Road in the Long Branch area will shift northward on, or about, January 13, 2020. This is to allow for Purple Line-related construction.

Two lanes will remain open in each direction despite the shift. The lanes will remain in the temporary position for at least one year, so this will be an ongoing issue.

The end is nigh for Forever 21 in Silver Spring

Here are some final scenes from Forever 21 at Ellsworth Place mall in downtown Silver Spring. The "store closing" and "Everything Must Go!" signs are now ubiquitous in businesses across Montgomery County, where signs of the long-moribund economy increase by the day. Customers have been grabbing deals while they are available, which has been a grim upside for fashionistas countywide. Fortunately, Ellsworth Place has acquired a large tenant list of name brand fashion outlets, and should be able to weather this one closure with Burlington, Ross, Marshalls and TJ Maxx, among others.

Bus stop changes at Silver Spring Transit Center postponed until January

A set of temporary bus stop relocations around the Silver Spring Transit Center planned for this month have been postponed until January. The stops were to be moved for Purple Line construction work at the site. Montgomery County spokesperson Neil Greenberger says the County Department of Transportation will release detailed information on the temporary stop sites ahead of the January relocations.

Despite the delay, for which no explanation was given, equipment continues to arrive and preparations be made at the transit center site, including erection of what appear to be the supports for the elevated light rail track. Here's a look around the property.