Downtown Bethesda: Where did it all go wrong?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not to sound too much like a jerk, but also look at the people in Frederick, compared to the people in Bethesda.

I'm not judging one group as better or worse than other, but there's def a difference in personality type of people who live or socialize there.

The people in Bethesda just feel more comfortable in a chain (like other people have said, it only appeals to tweens and senior citizens).

The folks in Frederick wouldn't patronize those places.

For example, for all the great restaurants in Frederick, can you imagine 3 tattoo shops all thriving in downtown Bethesda?

We live in Bethesda and like to visit Frederick from time to time. A major diff to me is definitely the people. I have run into some really scary drug users in the middle of the day in downtown Frederick. Sketchy as heck.

Lime most cities frederick has its share of chronically mentally ill drug users yes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think all these bethesda haters haven’t been downtown in a while. While I do miss the Barnes and Nobles a lot, between Bethesda row and woodmont triangle there are a ton of restaurants. And chocolate shops, and random little things. Yes there are less cutesy retail stores but that’s because of Amazon.

My favorites:

Passage of India
Raku
Gringos and Mariachis
Silver
Hanaro
Bachus of Lebanon
CherCher is excellent
Q by Peter Chang is excellent
Even that grungy Korean fried chicken place is good and it has live music


Less fancy but also yum
Bethesda Bagel
Moby Dick
The Big Greek Cafe (so good, everyone please go here so it stays open)

All good. Let me add Hinata for sushi, Wangs for good Chinese, and Milae for mom and pop Korean food.

Vace, Hinata, House of Milae and Bangkok Garden are basically on rotation at our house. All 4 are family owned. I'm not really a fan of the other offerings but also have not really tried any of the Indian places. So maybe that's the next goal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think all these bethesda haters haven’t been downtown in a while. While I do miss the Barnes and Nobles a lot, between Bethesda row and woodmont triangle there are a ton of restaurants. And chocolate shops, and random little things. Yes there are less cutesy retail stores but that’s because of Amazon.

My favorites:

Passage of India
Raku
Gringos and Mariachis
Silver
Hanaro
Bachus of Lebanon
CherCher is excellent
Q by Peter Chang is excellent
Even that grungy Korean fried chicken place is good and it has live music


Less fancy but also yum
Bethesda Bagel
Moby Dick
The Big Greek Cafe (so good, everyone please go here so it stays open)

All good. Let me add Hinata for sushi, Wangs for good Chinese, and Milae for mom and pop Korean food.

This is a good list. I don’t care for gringos y mariachis, but I think CASA Oaxaca is a good new addition. I’d also add Guardado’s, and the Cafe on old Georgetown (Lillit?) has very nice gelato. Sandwiches there look good also but I’m always just getting the gelato.
There aren’t a lot of funky little artist/artisan stores but that’s true anyplace rents are high—they all get driven out. For the person complaining about the tattoo shops—there’s a great tattoo shop in Bethesda that also goes a great job with ear piercing! It’s in that random corner over by the Harris Teeter so if your view of bethesda is limited to bethesda row, you’ve probably never seen it.
And speaking of hidden Bethesda, that random taco shack over next to the violin store is really good! I bet the people complaining about Bethesda being too astroturfed/artificial have never even been to that corner. And, if you want truly random, there’s always the women’s farm collective for the polar opposite of the lily Pulitzer store.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bethesda is nicer than any similar place in Arlington or Fairfax. It’s never going to be “hip” or “trendy,” but it’s good for what it is. Go spend some time in Crystal City or Clarendon and I think you’ll appreciate Bethesda more for what it is. It’s a good mix of mom and pop restaurants and local chains in Woodmont and national chains in Bethesda Row. I don’t see how you could complain about a place with Phillz, Fish Taco, and Spanish Diner on the same side of one block.

It’s only going to get more restaurants with all the new development coming in. When the Purple Line comes in there will be dozens more options as well.

Yeah right. I'd take Reston, Vienna, Ballston and several other areas before I'd plan a night out in Bethesda.

[Anonymous]

The Democrats run Bethesda that’s why.

Shhhh about Frederick. I moved from Bethesda to Frederick and never want to look back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not to sound too much like a jerk, but also look at the people in Frederick, compared to the people in Bethesda.

I'm not judging one group as better or worse than other, but there's def a difference in personality type of people who live or socialize there.

The people in Bethesda just feel more comfortable in a chain (like other people have said, it only appeals to tweens and senior citizens).

The folks in Frederick wouldn't patronize those places.

For example, for all the great restaurants in Frederick, can you imagine 3 tattoo shops all thriving in downtown Bethesda?

This thread is started on the absurd notion that downtown Frederick is more desirable than Bethesda. I don’t care if they’re local or national chains, I would take Medium Rare, Anthony’s, Fish Taco, Phillz, Spanish Diner, Fresh Baguette, and even Guapos over almost every comparable restaurant in Frederick. Frederick is interesting for about two hours until you wake up and realize how depressing and provincial it is. OP is acting like it’s Flatbush or Ridgewood and is full of incomparable, unique boutiques and restaurants that everyone’s clamoring to visit. They’re not. It’s just Frederick.

Bethesda is more upscale. Frederick is charming but after a couple of hours, you're kind of over it. The downtown is small and there are only a couple of restaurants and few stores worth checking out. The rest to me are just tattoo shops. And yes, look at the people wandering around there and you'll see the difference that I'm talking about.

I used to live in Bethesda and live in Frederick now and there are definitely just as sketchy of people walking around downtown Bethesda as there are in Frederick. In Bethesda I always saw that guy with the long hair who paced Woodmont triangle with his head down and those 2 girls with hiking backpacks who would always be walking around that robbed someone at the metro fairly recently. I feel safer in Frederick than I do in Bethesda because it’s much more lively so there are more people to witness stuff. Wisconsin Ave between Bethesda metro and Harris Teeter was a ghost town where the heavily drugged people would come out to play.

[Anonymous]

Grew up in CCDC so needless to say as a kid and teen spent a lot of time in Bethesda. Dinner at Mongo and hanging out at UA more times than I can count 😂. This really is spot on. Old Bethesda as we used to call it (is it still called that?) used to be full of good restaurants. Believe it or not, there was even a bit of a night life even for people in their 20’s at one point because there was more of a post college contingent which has completely died off. And even new Bethesda wasn’t as egregious as it is now. Can you believe that where Lululemon / Apple is, right next to Rio Grande, that used to be a long time local favorite skate shop. First it was called Evolve, then it became Asylum Wake Skate Snow. That just would not exist today. Also who remembers stuff like the art festival. Is the snow cone guy still there?

I feel like maybe the stretch from courthouse to Clarendon ish has come up and is kinda the closest thing you can get to what Bethesda used to be like.

Anyways it’s a shame. Now it’s a soulless place with stuff like Paul, Pottery Barn, Equinox gym. Watch out if you’re a curb — some blonde lady is taking you out in her Range Rover Sport.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not to sound too much like a jerk, but also look at the people in Frederick, compared to the people in Bethesda.

I'm not judging one group as better or worse than other, but there's def a difference in personality type of people who live or socialize there.

The people in Bethesda just feel more comfortable in a chain (like other people have said, it only appeals to tweens and senior citizens).

The folks in Frederick wouldn't patronize those places.

For example, for all the great restaurants in Frederick, can you imagine 3 tattoo shops all thriving in downtown Bethesda?

This thread is started on the absurd notion that downtown Frederick is more desirable than Bethesda. I don’t care if they’re local or national chains, I would take Medium Rare, Anthony’s, Fish Taco, Phillz, Spanish Diner, Fresh Baguette, and even Guapos over almost every comparable restaurant in Frederick. Frederick is interesting for about two hours until you wake up and realize how depressing and provincial it is. OP is acting like it’s Flatbush or Ridgewood and is full of incomparable, unique boutiques and restaurants that everyone’s clamoring to visit. They’re not. It’s just Frederick.

Bethesda is more upscale. Frederick is charming but after a couple of hours, you're kind of over it. The downtown is small and there are only a couple of restaurants and few stores worth checking out. The rest to me are just tattoo shops. And yes, look at the people wandering around there and you'll see the difference that I'm talking about.

I used to live in Bethesda and live in Frederick now and there are definitely just as sketchy of people walking around downtown Bethesda as there are in Frederick. In Bethesda I always saw that guy with the long hair who paced Woodmont triangle with his head down and those 2 girls with hiking backpacks who would always be walking around that robbed someone at the metro fairly recently. I feel safer in Frederick than I do in Bethesda because it’s much more lively so there are more people to witness stuff. Wisconsin Ave between Bethesda metro and Harris Teeter was a ghost town where the heavily drugged people would come out to play.

The backpack ladies are definitely weird. Not sure I know who the long hair guy is. The window washer guy is cool though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Grew up in CCDC so needless to say as a kid and teen spent a lot of time in Bethesda. Dinner at Mongo and hanging out at UA more times than I can count 😂. This really is spot on. Old Bethesda as we used to call it (is it still called that?) used to be full of good restaurants. Believe it or not, there was even a bit of a night life even for people in their 20’s at one point because there was more of a post college contingent which has completely died off. And even new Bethesda wasn’t as egregious as it is now. Can you believe that where Lululemon / Apple is, right next to Rio Grande, that used to be a long time local favorite skate shop. First it was called Evolve, then it became Asylum Wake Skate Snow. That just would not exist today. Also who remembers stuff like the art festival. Is the snow cone guy still there?

I feel like maybe the stretch from courthouse to Clarendon ish has come up and is kinda the closest thing you can get to what Bethesda used to be like.

Anyways it’s a shame. Now it’s a soulless place with stuff like Paul, Pottery Barn, Equinox gym. Watch out if you’re a curb — some blonde lady is taking you out in her Range Rover Sport.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The architecture is horrible. No sense of planning. Too expensive. Too many people with too little taste.

I agree this is the main/biggest problem. It is a really unattractive "downtown." Doesn't matter what you put in there - you are still stuck with the ugly 70-80s architecture/glorified strip mall look.

+1 -- We live within walking distance of "downtown" Bethesda and, yes, there are some restaurants that we quite like, but the whole area is visually unappealing and not conducive to just taking a stroll of an evening. But thanks for this thread, OP. I'm definitely going to check out Frederick!

[Anonymous]

I do not see the lure of Bethesda, boring hyped up suburbia. Nice for commutes and good schools, if exclusivity is your thing. What else is there?
Some shopping and a few restaurants. Vibe is not there. Bus station and metro is nice. Not much else

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do not see the lure of Bethesda, boring hyped up suburbia. Nice for commutes and good schools, if exclusivity is your thing. What else is there?
Some shopping and a few restaurants. Vibe is not there. Bus station and metro is nice. Not much else

+1 Bethesda resident

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The architecture is horrible. No sense of planning. Too expensive. Too many people with too little taste.

I agree this is the main/biggest problem. It is a really unattractive "downtown." Doesn't matter what you put in there - you are still stuck with the ugly 70-80s architecture/glorified strip mall look.

+1 -- We live within walking distance of "downtown" Bethesda and, yes, there are some restaurants that we quite like, but the whole area is visually unappealing and not conducive to just taking a stroll of an evening. But thanks for this thread, OP. I'm definitely going to check out Frederick!

Agreed, it is too hard to walk around. Way too many cars and terrible drivers - it makes even crossing the street risky.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not to sound too much like a jerk, but also look at the people in Frederick, compared to the people in Bethesda.

I'm not judging one group as better or worse than other, but there's def a difference in personality type of people who live or socialize there.

The people in Bethesda just feel more comfortable in a chain (like other people have said, it only appeals to tweens and senior citizens).

The folks in Frederick wouldn't patronize those places.

For example, for all the great restaurants in Frederick, can you imagine 3 tattoo shops all thriving in downtown Bethesda?

This thread is started on the absurd notion that downtown Frederick is more desirable than Bethesda. I don’t care if they’re local or national chains, I would take Medium Rare, Anthony’s, Fish Taco, Phillz, Spanish Diner, Fresh Baguette, and even Guapos over almost every comparable restaurant in Frederick. Frederick is interesting for about two hours until you wake up and realize how depressing and provincial it is. OP is acting like it’s Flatbush or Ridgewood and is full of incomparable, unique boutiques and restaurants that everyone’s clamoring to visit. They’re not. It’s just Frederick.

Bethesda is more upscale. Frederick is charming but after a couple of hours, you're kind of over it. The downtown is small and there are only a couple of restaurants and few stores worth checking out. The rest to me are just tattoo shops. And yes, look at the people wandering around there and you'll see the difference that I'm talking about.

I used to live in Bethesda and live in Frederick now and there are definitely just as sketchy of people walking around downtown Bethesda as there are in Frederick. In Bethesda I always saw that guy with the long hair who paced Woodmont triangle with his head down and those 2 girls with hiking backpacks who would always be walking around that robbed someone at the metro fairly recently. I feel safer in Frederick than I do in Bethesda because it’s much more lively so there are more people to witness stuff. Wisconsin Ave between Bethesda metro and Harris Teeter was a ghost town where the heavily drugged people would come out to play.

Wow, I know exactly who you are referring to. Source that says they robbed someone?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The architecture is horrible. No sense of planning. Too expensive. Too many people with too little taste.

I agree this is the main/biggest problem. It is a really unattractive "downtown." Doesn't matter what you put in there - you are still stuck with the ugly 70-80s architecture/glorified strip mall look.

+1 -- We live within walking distance of "downtown" Bethesda and, yes, there are some restaurants that we quite like, but the whole area is visually unappealing and not conducive to just taking a stroll of an evening. But thanks for this thread, OP. I'm definitely going to check out Frederick!

Agreed, it is too hard to walk around. Way too many cars and terrible drivers - it makes even crossing the street risky.

The cars are not the reason, and thanks for constantly interjecting into anything - it’s not appreciated.

The reason it’s not appealing for walking is because you have to walk among these bland, hulking buildings. If the entire area was built up like a European village with 4-5 stories, it would be much enjoyable. There are only a couple blocks that have any interest for an enjoyable stroll.

Montgomery County has a long history of letting developers take liberties to the long-term detriment of any area and Bethesda is no exception and it’s only gotten worse. At this stage, they are trying to retcon what was once an interesting and vibrant commercial district into a simulacra of Pike and Rose.