Future of Bethesda Freshbikes Uncertain
Freshbikes has closed its Old Georgetown Road location in Bethesda due to flooding caused by a burst pipe and it’s unknown when the shop will reopen. Freshbikes did not respond Monday to a request for comment about the future of the Bethesda store. A burst pipe left the store at 7626 Old Georgetown Road drenched in water earlier this month, according to a YouTube video that showed water shooting from the pipe. Bethesda Now reported Monday morning that a District Court notice had been posted on the shop’s door stating that Freshbikes owed $33,000 in unpaid rent to the landlord Buzzuto Management.
However, that notice was gone on Monday afternoon. A different notice posted on the door said, “Due to a large pipe burst, Freshbikes Bethesda is CLOSED while the water damage is repaired. Our Arlington and Fairfax stores are OPEN and able to help with any immediate needs.”
Farmers Markets Begin to Open
A number of local farmers markets have opened recently or are scheduled to open in the next month. Pike Central Farm Market, located across from Pike & Rose at 5992 Executive Blvd., Rockville, opened for the first time this year on April 25. It is scheduled to remain open until Nov. 21. Vendors at the market sell products ranging from live Maine lobsters and fresh vegetables to baked goods and pickles. Many of the vendors at the Pike District market are the same ones that set up at the Bethesda Central Farm Market at 7600 Arlington Road. The market is in the Bethesda Elementary School parking lot, and is open Sundays year-round.
Rockville’s Farmers Market is scheduled to open May 16 in the parking lot at the corner of Route 28 and Monroe Street. The market will be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays until Nov. 21. Vendors include Great Harvest Bread Co., Quarter Branch Farm and Zekes Coffee.
FRESHFARM Market in Silver Spring—which sells only produce grown in the region—is open year-round on Saturdays, but this month it began remaining open an additional hour. It is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. April through December. Participating vendors are listed each week before the market opens on the FRESHFARM website.
Fenton Street Market opens
Fenton Street Market in downtown Silver Spring celebrated its opening at Veterans Plaza on Saturday. It offers mostly artwork, crafts and clothing from a wide range of local vendors. The market also regularly showcases local musicians and offers community activities such as free yoga classes and kids’ story time. The market is scheduled to be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays. Veterans Plaza is located at the corner of Fenton Street and Ellsworth Drive in Silver Spring.
Walker & Dunlop to Expand Business
The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that Bethesda-based Walker & Dunlop, a national company that primarily provides loans to apartment-building owners, recently purchased Engler Financial Group and is planning to use the newly acquired Georgia company to add salesbrokerage services to its offices. Engler was acquired at an undisclosed price.
The move will provide Walker & Dunlop with an investment sales division, which it needed after a partnership with Apartment Realty Advisors was severed last year when Apartment Realty Advisors was sold to Newmark Grubb Knight Frank for about $110 million, the newspaper reported.
