Written by Michelle Vaughan on July 15th, 2011
The owner & franchisee of our McDonald’s has begun the process for demolishing and rebuilding their “restaurant” located at 2207 Bel Pre Road in Plaza del Mercado. Apparently, the land where the restaurant sits also belongs to owner so their plans are not tied to any that might affect the Plaza as a whole.
What information has come out of this inquiry? Apparently, that McDonald’s location has a couple of issues that make a renovation timely. First, the new store, as it is conceptualized now, will not have a “Playplace”, nor will the design have Spanish roofing tiles to match the rest of the shopping in the area. This store will come more out of the “cafe” mold as pictured to the below.
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Written by Michelle Vaughan on July 12th, 2011
The new Mid-County Recreation Center is now open for use by residents of the Layhill community. On Saturday July 9th at 2:00pm, local officials including County Executive Ike Leggett, new center staff, and a large number of interested residents toured the facility for the first time. Video of the ribbon cutting can be viewed here.
The 23,000+ square foot Recreation Center is gorgeous and well worth the wait. In addition to a huge gymnasium for basketball and volleyball, there is a brand new exercise room, a dance studio, a billiards/ping pong lounge, and several rooms are available to be rented out for parties, meetings, etc. Click to continue reading »
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Written by Michelle Vaughan on July 2nd, 2011
So what is the question EVERYONE in Layhill is asking?
Who is moving in to the space left vacant by Giant in Plaza del Mercado?
The answer is, well, it’s a little more complicated than that. Not that there won’t be a next tenant, or that Federal Realty isn’t looking for one, but it won’t be soon. You see, our friends at Giant closed our store ONE FULL YEAR prior to the end of their lease. This means that until their lease runs out, there won’t be a replacement, nor can any replacement begin moving in (and hopefully renovating).
Is Giant holding our shopping center hostage? According to Shane Sampson, senior vice president of store operations for Giant Food (as reported by Gazette.net), “We regret any inconvenience this will cause and encourage our Plaza del Mercado customers to shop at our nearby Giant locations”. Click to continue reading »
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Written by Michelle Vaughan on June 16th, 2011
After over 40 years, the Giant Food in Plaza del Mercado closes it’s doors today. Of course, there may have been more people wishing for this day than lamenting it, since over that span of years, very little had been done to update the convenient little store. Swiftly gone are the days where we were all led to believe the store would be expanded and rebuilt like the location in Aspen Hill.
I will definitely miss having a quick place to run to for Milk, bread, eggs, etc., and driving to the Aspen Hill or Leisure World Giants just isn’t as convenient (nor is CVS or 7-Eleven a good option for these items). The Safeway over on New Hampshire Avenue in Cloverly is nice, but again, not as convenient.
Farewell my creepy little old decrepit mouse-ridden super-convenient grocery store, I will miss you and your angry staff dearly.
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Written by Michelle Vaughan on March 16th, 2010
It’s hard not to notice the large amount of potholes around town. After the freeze/thaw cycling we just went through, the area roads are in pretty bad shape. So what can we do about it? Tell the County & State where they are so they know where patches/repairs are needed!
Go to Montgomery County’s website for a recent press release about the problem where they give two links for easy reporting of potholes. Hapy reporting!
Montgomery County Pothole Reporting
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The owner & franchisee of our McDonald’s has begun the process for demolishing and rebuilding their “restaurant” located at 2207 Bel Pre Road in Plaza del Mercado. Apparently, the land where the restaurant sits also belongs to owner so their plans are not tied to any that might affect the Plaza as a whole.
