Silver Spring News 'N Notes

- This blog has long advocated for an Eastern Market-style flea market in downtown Silver Spring, and I'm delighted to that see someone has taken the initiative to start one up. The Fenton Street Market will be held just twice this year - on September 12th and October 3rd, and presumably if there are enough vendors to support it, the market will return in the spring.

The only worry I have is that when the private parking lot which will host the market is ultimately developed, the market will be left without a home. I still think a perfect location for a flea market is the small public lot between Bonifant and Easley. This lot is closer to the central downtown area and would likely attract more foot traffic.

If the stuff they sell there is as interesting as the items pictured on the market's website, I'll definitely patronize it frequently. (I actually have one of those colored seltzer bottles shown on the main page.) No thanks to eBay, it's hard to get a deal at a flea market these days, but at least the market will offer a casual browsing experience on weekend mornings. Personally, I'd prefer if it were on Sundays like other local flea markets, but perhaps that's something they can fix next year.

If you are a vendor with things that might interest me, here's the application (PDF) for a space at the market. If you are selling the type of mass-produced Chinese-made garbage that makes up a majority of the offerings at the average flea market around here, please use this link instead.


- It would appear that the Red Dog Cafe is once again under new management. I'm still not going back until I receive word that the new honcho has made some changes for the better. This was once one of my local favorites until the last change in ownership ruined it for me.


- The small downtown post office on Colesville Rd. is on the USPS list of proposed closings. They've already taken away our mailboxes - now they are closing the post offices, too?


- I hate when I get jealous of Bethesda, but the fact is they keep adding dessert vendors that force me to go there. I was already envious of their fantastic gelato, but now they have made things infinitely worse by adding a frakkin' crêpe stand. You know, like in Paris. Mmmmmmmmmm.... Nutella crêpes. Factor in their new Sweetgreen (aka "fake Pinkberry") and Georgetown Cupcake locations and it is clear that are running up the score in the dessert department. Will the arrival of the Fractured Prune in Silver Spring narrow the gap? Not hardly.

CLARIFICATION: Sweetgreen is primarily a salad place, but they also serve the fake Pinkberry.

- On the subject of Bethesda, if our governor gets his way, you'll be able to get there a lot faster someday via light rail. (Or you can ride a unicorn there. That is about as likely as having this train running during your lifetime.) Here's the proposed map of the purple line, or at least the portion of it that goes through Silver Spring.

It appears that there will indeed be No Train on Wayne. Or not.




- A new office building is planned to replace the surface lot near the intersection of Georgia and Colesville. It's about time - that is such a waste of space.