NYAJ to Open Early July
At press time, Not Your Average Joe’s (NYAJ) was scheduled to open in Kentlands Square Shopping Center on July 4, with a ribbon-cutting planned for July 9. The new restaurant will be led by Executive Chef Scott Martin.
NYAJ has completely renovated the interior space of the former Chicken Out site and will offer expansive outdoor patio dining as well. The large inside bar will offer 20 beers on tap.
“At Not Your Average Joe’s, we build like we cook: creatively, from scratch, with guests in mind,” says the company’s website.
For more information, visit www.notyouraveragejoes.com.
Famous Dave’s to Stay in Kentlands
Despite whispers that it may be moving, Famous Dave’s will not be leaving its current location in Kentlands.
Jean Golden, public relations consultant and spokesperson for Famous Dave’s, confirmed that the restaurant is here to stay. “Famous Dave’s has no intention of leaving its Gaithersburg location,” Golden said.
Peppers Opens in Kentlands
In early June, Mike B. and his wife, Jyoti, opened a new restaurant in Kentlands. Peppers offers a unique menu, including both American and Indian fare.
The couple has more than 40 years of experience in the restaurant business, including hotel and university food service management. For the last year-and-a-half, they have offered Indian catering to grocery stores.
Peppers’ menu includes steaks, pasta, seafood and Indian food. The restaurant is open from 5 – 9 p.m. every day except Tuesday. Peppers currently offers carryout and delivery dining, although Mike B. envisions a future with a full-service dining room.
The owners have made an effort to keep their prices affordable and have priced all entrees at $10 or less. They offer a crab cake dinner for $9, and all pasta dishes are $7.
“Give us a try and decide for yourself,” said Mike B. who prefers not to use a surname. “We offered this concept in California eight years ago and it was very successful.”
Peppers is in the process of developing a website and can be reached at 240.888.1049. The restaurant is located on the second floor at 251 Market Street.
Kentlands Father Puts Engineering to Work in Montessori Classrooms
For many parents, asking your preschool child what happened during school is like pulling teeth: difficult, painful and you only get one thing out at a time. It was no different for Will Corbin, a software developer and father of two who set out to change things by inventing the MontesScoring System.
“Every time I asked my son what he did in school that day, the answer would always be ‘Nothin,’” said Corbin. “I wanted something more concrete.”
Corbin’s son attends The Franklin Schools, a Montessori school in Rockville. Montessori teachers make a special effort to communicate with parents on their child’s progress, Corbin didn’t always have the opportunity to catch up with the details of what his son was doing in the classroom.
So Corbin, who has his own software company called Creative Corbin Databases and has been creating customized database solutions for over 15 years, put his engineering background to work and developed the MontesScoring system, which involves a standard Montessori activity shelf equipped with a wireless sensing device that picks up on students as they work on activities from the shelf throughout the day without impacting the students’ learning experience. The system then uploads all the data about which student worked on which project and for how long to a secure webpage on www.MontesScoring.com for parents, teachers and school administrators. This data can be used for curriculum planning, as a basis for parent-teacher conferences, and as a resource for parents.
“The MontesScoring system gives busy parents a better understanding of what their child is working on. This kind of parent/student communication is very important in the Montessori method,” said Franklin School teacher Parastoo Safavimehr.
In March, Corbin’s MontesScoring system won the Dartmouth Entrepreneurial Network’s Business Competition for the Washington, D.C., region. For more information contact Will Corbin at 240.477.8910 or visit www.MontesScoring.com.
Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce Moves to New Location
The Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce (GGCC) has moved to 910 Clopper Road, Suite 205N in Gaithersburg. The chamber will celebrate its new location with a grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony in July.
“We are very excited about our new space. We have a fantastic chamber and now we have a fantastic new home. We look forward to everyone stopping by to see it,” said Marilyn Balcombe, GGCC executive director.
The GGCC provides business-to-business networking opportunities throughout the year; a collective voice in local, regional and state legislative affairs; professional development opportunities; and services that enhance the local business environment.
The GGCC can be reached at 301.840.1400 or www.ggchamber.org.