"I love The Hyattsville Wire | Life Along the Route 1 Corridor"

2022-08-07 22:46:23

Follow Us HomeAboutSend Us a News Tip!Support the Hyattsville WireAdvertisingBest of Route 1 Reader Poll 2017Best of Route 1 Reader Poll 2018Best of Route 1 Reader Poll 2019Best of Route 1 Reader Poll 2020Best of Route 1 Reader Poll 2021EVENTSWoodridgeMount RainierBrentwoodsBladensburgEdmonstonHyattsvilleRiverdale ParkCollege ParkGreenbeltAbout the WireThe Hyattsville Wire is the premier source for lifestyle news for Woodridge, D.C., Mount Rainier, Bladensburg, Edmonston, Brentwood, North Brentwood, Hyattsville, Riverdale Park, University Park, College Park and the greater Route 1 corridor in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., with a focus on dining, arts and culture, history, urban planning, and real estate and development.Read Our Guide on Route 1 in WashingtonianTop Posts NFL Player-Turned-Chef Opens Upscale Hyattsville Restaurant This WeekChick-fil-A to Open 'Little Blue Menu' Ghost Kitchen in College ParkHow Route 1 Became an Incubator for D.C.'s Restaurant SceneFirst Trader Joe's in Prince George's County Plans Opening in College ParkNew EP By Hyattsville Pop-Punk Band 'Professor Goldstein' Makes D.C. HeadlinesHyattsville's Franklins Hires New Executive Chef, Unveils Updated MenuConstruction Starts on Apartment Building in University Town Center in HyattsvilleFederalist Pig Closes Food Truck to Make Room for Restaurant ConstructionFive Route 1 Restaurants Recognized at 40th Annual Rammy AwardsNew Riverdale Park Food Hall to Feature Sushi, Korean and Spicy Chicken← Older posts Courtesy of Huncho House Posted on August 6, 2022 by Alison BeckwithNFL Player-Turned-Chef Opens Upscale Hyattsville Restaurant This WeekAn NFL-player-turned chef featured on Guy Fieri’s shows who is a Prince George’s County native is opening an upscale American fusion restaurant in Hyattsville.Located at 6541 America Blvd. in University Town Center, Huncho House is the creation of Chef Tobias Dorzon, who played with the Tennessee Titans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers before retiring from football in 2012.Dorzon then studied at the Culinary School at the Art Institute of Washington and in Sicily, eventually working as head chef for an upscale Houston restaurant and winning several Food Network competitions hosted by Fieri.In this year’s Tournament of Champions, Dorzon finished third in the country overall.A sample menu includes amuse bouches like deviled eggs with bacon jam and fried shrimp, sushi specials, 16-layer oxtail lasagna and jerk crab cakes, among other dishes.The restaurant also features what is being billed as Prince George’s County’s first chef’s table, seating by the kitchen that has to be specially reserved where you can talk with the kitchen staff directly.Huncho House will hold a series of soft openings starting on Friday, Aug. 12, but it’s already been listed as one of the greater D.C. area’s most-anticipated restaurants, as the Route 1 corridor continues to be a foodie haven.Support the Wire and Community JournalismMake a one-time donation or become a regular supporter here.Share this:Tweet Posted in HyattsvilleTagged Huncho House, restaurants, University Town Center2 Comments Courtesy of Professor Goldstein https://bit.ly/3BL3a4f Posted on August 4, 2022 by Alison BeckwithNew EP By Hyattsville Pop-Punk Band ‘Professor Goldstein’ Makes D.C. HeadlinesA Hyattsville music teacher’s new EP is getting attention in the crowded D.C. music scene.Called “The Fork Universe of Funky Love,” the five-track EP has already been written up by the Washington Post and Washington City Paper after it came out on July 29 on the the local nonprofit label This Could Go Boom!The pop-punk band is called Professor Goldstein, a nod to lead singer Aeryn Goldstein’s day job as a music teacher at an elementary school in Bowie. One track, “The Ballad of Alfred Wegener,” is a nod to the originator of continental drift theory.Goldstein jokingly describes the sound as “Weezer-core,” after the popular 1990s band that has spawned a thousand imitators.“I’d love to find my niche in the Weezer-core genre,” she writes. “Whether it’s a nasally, stream-of-conscious screechfest of a song or a carefully crafted ballad that subtly describes how Dinosaur documentaries shaped my childhood.”Goldstein, who grew up in Berwyn Heights, now lives in Hyattsville, where she and bandmate Venkatesh Ananth Batni run a DIY venue from their home called The Classroom, which records and streams shows from bands like Spring Silver.You can buy the EP for $4 on Bandcamp here.Support the Wire and Community JournalismMake a one-time donation or become a regular supporter here.Share this:Tweet Posted in HyattsvilleTagged Berwyn Heights, musicLeave a comment Posted on August 3, 2022 by Alison BeckwithRiverdale Park Expands Bike Paths Ahead of Purple Line OpeningRiverdale Park is expanding bike lanes in the areas around the future Purple Line stops.Although the light-rail line isn’t slated to open until 2026, the town has begun preparing to make it easier for residents to get to and from stops.The city recently added on-street bike lanes on Rivertech Court in the Discovery District, a 150-acre private-public research hub run by the University of Maryland.Other plans from a working group of local governments include a dramatic “road diet” on River Road, which runs through the middle of the Discovery District and will have Purple Line stops at Haig Road to the east and at the College Park Metro station to the west.That’s a relatively recent innovation to reconfigure roads by reducing accident-prone five-lane roads to two lanes with the extra space used for wider sidewalks, a protected bike lane and a grassy, tree-lined median.Planners say that would work on River Road, which gets fewer than 10,000 cars on an average day, according to data from the Maryland Department of Transportation. By comparison, a typical suburban street can handle up to 20,000 cars a day without getting congested.These and other improvements, such as new lights and connections to the Rhode Island Avenue Trolley Trail, will start to add up, making it easier for residents to commute by bike along the Route 1 corridor.Support the Wire and Community JournalismMake a one-time donation or become a regular supporter here.Share this:Tweet Posted in Riverdale ParkTagged bicycles, bicycling, biking, mass transit, Purple Line, Rhode Island Trolley Trail, roads, transit, transportationLeave a comment Posted on July 29, 2022 by Alison BeckwithNew Bladensburg Mural Adds to Route 1’s Public Art SceneThe latest piece of public art on the Route 1 corridor is a new mural in Bladensburg.Located at the Ernest Maier masonry supply store at 4700 Annapolis Rd., the mural shows the town name over a sunset on the nearby Northeast Branch of the Anacostia River.Artist Cindy Fletcher Holden, who currently lives in Annapolis, spent a lot of time on the Route 1 corridor visiting family in Riverdale Park as a kid.Completed earlier this month, the new mural was done freehand with 1 Shot sign enamel.Holden also painted a mural last summer showing Bladensburg’s history and everyday life around the corner on the same property. She has also done several murals elsewhere in Maryland including in Baltimore and Annapolis .Murals have become a popular form of public art along the Route 1 corridor, with another one going up this month along the side of Pyramid Atlantic Art Center. Riverdale Park also has a mural showcasing the town name, and Hyattsville has two murals with its name.A building with a popular mural that said “Handmade in Hyattsville” was torn down to make way for the new Canvas apartments and shops next to the historic Armory building in the Arts District.Support the Wire and Community JournalismMake a one-time donation or become a regular supporter here.Share this:Tweet Posted in BladensburgTagged arts, public artLeave a comment Posted on July 27, 2022 by Alison BeckwithSection of Northwest Branch Trail Repaved as Walking, Biking Paths Improve Along Route 1A section of the Northwest Branch Trail has been repaved, part of a broader effort to improve trails for biking and walking along the Route 1 corridor.Earlier this month, the Prince George’s County Parks and Recreation Department repaved a .7-mile stretch of the trail from Melrose Skate Park in Hyattsville along the Northwest Branch of the Anacostia River to the 38th Avenue Neighborhood Park, best known for its outdoor gym.The new path includes lane markings, including white borders, a red center line and symbols for bikers and pedestrians.The repaving comes as the state Department of Transportation is beginning work on a missing link connecting the Northwest Branch Trail to the Rhode Island Avenue Trolley Trail between the skate park and Franklins brewery.That work is expected to be completed by October of next year.When it’s done, you’ll be able to bike from the intersection of Route 1 and University Boulevard in College Park south four miles to the skate park and then along the Northwest Branch of the Anacostia River and then northwest to Silver Spring.Support the Wire and Community JournalismMake a one-time donation or become a regular supporter here.Share this:Tweet Posted in HyattsvilleTagged bicycles, bicycling, Northwest Branch Trail, Rhode Island Trolley TrailLeave a comment Posted on July 25, 2022 by Alison BeckwithFive Route 1 Restaurants Recognized at 40th Annual Rammy AwardsSeveral restaurants on the Route 1 corridor were highlighted at the 40th annual Rammy Awards Sunday.Hosted by the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in D.C., the black-tie event featured restaurants on the corridor as both nominees and winners.Nominees had to be members of the RAMW, and winners in the seven of the categories were decided by members of the public.Two restaurants on the corridor won their categories: Brentwood’s Little Miner Taco, which recently moved into its own location, won the award for Favorite Fast Bites, while Riverdale Park’s 2Fifty Texas BBQ won Standout Family Meal Packages To Go.Two others were nominated: Mount Rainier’s Pennyroyal Station was nominated for Favorite Gathering Place of the Year while College Park’s Tacos A La Madre was nominated for Outstanding Pop-Up Concept.Hyattsville mainstay Franklins also received an Honorary Milestone Rammy Award for 30 years in business.The number of restaurants on the Route 1 corridor at the awards ceremony was a sign of how far the local dining scene has come in just a few years.Support the Wire and Community JournalismMake a one-time donation or become a regular supporter here.Share this:Tweet Posted in College Park, Hyattsville, Mount Rainier, Riverdale ParkTagged 2Fifty Texas Barbecue, Franklins, Little Miner Taco, Pennyroyal Station, restaurants, Tacos a la MadreLeave a comment Posted on July 21, 2022 by Alison BeckwithZeke’s Coffee Plans Expansion on Route 1 in WoodridgeZeke’s Coffee in the Woodridge neighborhood of D.C. just south of Mount Rainier is planning to expand to a vacant space next door.The coffeeshop and roastery at 2300 Rhode Island Ave. NE is planning to fully renovate and take over the 1,500 square foot vacant space next door, formerly home to Kaaos Gym, which closed its physical location earlier this year to focus more on personal training.Zeke’s owner John Kepner told the Hyattsville Wire they were working on permits to start the buildout in the next few months with plans to open the new space by this coming winter.“This is something we wanted to do for a long time and we were just watching the block for anything to open,” he told the Wire.The new space next door will serve as Zeke’s coffeeshop while its current space on Rhode Island Avenue, which it has been at since 2013, will be used for production only.Kepner said he is working with interior design firm Bandura Design, also next door, on plans for the buildout but that the new space will have more seating for customers to relax, hang out, and enjoy their coffee.“We are working to come up with a design that’s new and exciting but still feels true to our brand,” he said.Last summer, Zeke’s Coffee upgraded its outdoor sidewalk patio facing Rhode Island Avenue with a new year-round seating structure after receiving a grant from the D.C. Building Industry Association‘s sidewalk improvement program.With plans to hold in-person gatherings in the new space such as coffee cuppings and tasting events, and even host producers to come talk about the coffee they grow, Kepner says he is also planning to expand the outdoor sidewalk patio so it extends in front of the new space next door adding even more outdoor seating.Since the second half of the pandemic as people got vaccinated, but continued working from home, Kepner says his location in Woodridge has seen a steady uptick in business.Zeke’s is part of a growing area of Route 1 with new condos, a mix-used development planned and an expanding lists of businesses including Art Enables, Provost, His & Hers, Subbs by Carl, Bandura Design, Jamerica Restaurant and Bar, and Rita’s Ice Crean, making it more of a destination as people nearby look for retail and dining options close to home that they can walk to.Support the Wire and Community JournalismMake a one-time donation or become a regular supporter here.Share this:Tweet Posted in WoodridgeTagged coffee, coffeeshop, D.C., expansion, roastery, Route 1 corridor, Woodridge, Zeke's CoffeeLeave a comment ← Older posts Share Your News on the WireYou can now share your own news release on the Wire through a paid sponsored post. Submit your post here.Support the Wire and Community JournalismMake a one-time donation or become a regular supporter. Click here to donate. Recent Posts NFL Player-Turned-Chef Opens Upscale Hyattsville Restaurant This Week New EP By Hyattsville Pop-Punk Band ‘Professor Goldstein’ Makes D.C. Headlines Riverdale Park Expands Bike Paths Ahead of Purple Line Opening New Bladensburg Mural Adds to Route 1’s Public Art Scene Section of Northwest Branch Trail Repaved as Walking, Biking Paths Improve Along Route 1 Recent Comments Felicia Denman on NFL Player-Turned-Chef Opens Upscale Hyattsville Restaurant This Week Michelle on NFL Player-Turned-Chef Opens Upscale Hyattsville Restaurant This Week Claire on Construction Starts on Apartment Building in University Town Center in Hyattsville Alison Beckwith on Construction Starts on Apartment Building in University Town Center in Hyattsville Subscribe to Blog via Email Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. 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