Taiwanese ghost kitchen Bao Bei will open its first brick-and-mortar restaurant in the Montrose Crossing shopping center in Rockville in early 2025, Federal Realty Investment Trust announced Thursday.

Since 2022, Bao Bei has operated a ghost kitchen at 11910 Parklawn Drive in North Bethesda serving bao buns, rice bowls, desserts and catering bundles. Bao Bei’s restaurant will open at 12055 Rockville Pike, next to Honey Pig Korean BBQ and Kosmo Nail Bar.

Federal Realty did not say whether the restaurant will keep the Bao Bei name or if the ghost kitchen will close.

Ghost kitchens are restaurants without dining space and no visible storefront, according to a release from Federal Realty, which owns Montrose Crossing and several other local shopping and dining developments. Food prepared in ghost kitchens is typically sold through third-party delivery apps.

“We welcome Chef Kevin and Bao Bei to Montrose Crossing,” Joseph Byrnes, vice president of regional leasing at Federal Realty, said in the release. “Bao Bei will be a savory addition to our merchant lineup offering another premium, innovative restaurant to this shopping and dining destination.”

The news of the upcoming opening follows Bao Bei’s recent participation in the 17^th season of Food Network’s The Great Food Truck Race, which brings together nine aspiring chefs from across the U.S. and challenges them in an elimination-style race to win $50,000, the release said. The season aired this summer and Bao Bei made it to the finale, winning second place.

Bao Bei was created by founder, owner and chef Kevin Hsieh. The graduate of Gaithersburg High School and University of Maryland Baltimore County had landed a job as a financial analyst but found himself considering a culinary career. He launched the eatery in September 2019 at a street market pop-up in Washington, D.C.

“The job didn’t occupy my mind as I wanted it to, so I got the idea to sell my nostalgic childhood food,” Hsieh said. “I grew up in the Rockville area, where there is a plethora of Asian food—Japanese, Korean, Chinese—but not much Taiwanese.”

Hsieh started Bao Bei guided by mentorship from his father—who manages a restaurant at the MGM National Harbor in Prince George’s County and was a chef at several Washington, D.C.-area restaurants—and a research trip to his parent’s hometown of Taipei City, the capital of Taiwan.

After debuting at the D.C. street market, Hsieh also focused on selling food at festivals and markets. In 2022 Hsieh moved the operation to its ghost kitchen in Rockville and now operates it with his childhood best friend Zakary Keres.

According to Hsieh, Bao Bei is a term of endearment in Taiwanese, describing someone or something that one deeply treasures.

“A tribute to my family, I will share my culture with the community through Bao Bei’s dishes,” Hsieh said in the Federal Realty release.

After The Great Food Truck Race season ended, Hsieh posted a video on Instagram thanking the show’s viewers and his supporters for rooting for the Bao Bei team as it completed challenges including creating meals for astronauts.

“I’m really glad that Food Network and Tyler Florence gave us an opportunity to showcase Taiwanese food to a larger audience,” Hsieh said in the video.

“I hope you’re excited to watch us expand our power and influence to the whole realm,” he added. “I appreciate all of you very much. Your support is amazing. It’s going to help me continue to live the dream of bringing Taiwanese food to every block of the world.”

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Little Miner Taco, which opened July 24 in Rockville Town Center, will hold a grand opening fiesta Aug. 28 with free birria tacos and agua fresca drinks – a Mexican fruit drink – to celebrate its newest brick-and-mortar location.

The fiesta will run from 1 to 4 p.m. at the eatery’s new location at 39 Maryland Ave., Suite A, in Rockville. At the event, a DJ will be spinning tunes and the first 50 guests who show up will receive a complimentary birria spice kit and $5 gift cards, according to the eatery.

Owner Kathy Voss told MoCo360 Wednesday that business in the first month since opening has been steady. “I’m super grateful to the neighbors, everyone at Rockville Town Center that’s helped out and not just helped out but just come to buy food,” she said, noting the area produces a large lunch crowd.

Little Miner Taco also operates a location in Brentwood in Prince George’s County and a ghost kitchen in Northeast Washington, D.C., which handles take-out and delivery orders only. It also has two food trucks serving the D.C. metro and Baltimore regions.

In addition to free food and drinks, music and gifts, the grand opening fiesta will welcome Rockville city officials, business leaders from the Rockville Chamber of Commerce and Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) officials, according to a press release. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at 1:15 p.m.

The event is also a celebration of the eatery’s new initiative to donate 100% of proceeds from its $3 kids meals to the MCPS Educational Foundation’s Dine with Dignity program, the release said. Dine with Dignity was established to “settle unpaid school meal balances,” according to the foundation website. Since 2018, the program has settled meal debt of $235,579 for more than 16,000 county students.

This coming school year, which starts Monday, the program aims to raise $170,000 to settle some of the $700,000 of unpaid meal debt accrued by MCPS students, according to the foundation website. At the fiesta, Little Miner Taco will present a check to MCPS foundation officials.

According to Voss, Little Miner Taco offered kids meals at no charge during the COVID-19 pandemic to help out families and children who were unable to receive free meals while schools were closed. After the pandemic, the program evolved into a $3 kids menu.

“The initial purpose was to really target those kids who didn’t have any nutritious food coming in other than at school,” Voss said. “So now that gap is filled, the schools are back, so now I want to help the schools fill the gap.”

The restaurant’s kids meals include cheese and chicken quesadillas served with rice and beans and pulled chicken and rice.

Little Miner Taco’s Rockville location features a colorful mural, a full salsa bar and indoor seating for 30. According to the release, the location will also have a full-service bar, which is expected to open in 2025.

In addition to the bar, another exclusive item at Little Miner Taco’s Rockville location will be vegan cheese. Voss said the eatery will serve plant-based cheese starting next week after hearing requests from patrons.

In the beginning

The eatery began as a food stall in miXt Food Hall in Brentwood in 2019 and quickly went viral on social media for its birria taco.

Voss said a viral photo of the birria taco dripping in consume sauce received more than 144,000 retweets within 24 hours. “It was really a blessing in disguise,” she said.

During the pandemic, the food hall shut down and Voss decided to take Little Miner Taco mobile, so she rented a food truck in April 2020.

“We ran it almost like a speakeasy. We would post [on social media] the general vicinity of where we would be and open up ordering at noon and we would be flooded with orders and have to shut it down by like 12:30 p.m.,” she said.

Voss said she chose to open the eatery in Rockville due to its proximity to North Bethesda’s Pike & Rose neighborhood, where the taco shop ran a food stall at the now-closed The Block food hall. She said she did not want to displace the staff who worked at the food hall and leave behind patrons in the neighborhood.

“Rockville Town Center, it just looked great. I mean the revitalization plan for it, having other really great restaurants open nearby, like Kusshi [Sushi], it just made it a very attractive space to want to open up,” Voss said. “I feel like I’m part of the revitalization.”

Since opening the eatery, Voss has been impressed with the lunch rush in Rockville Town Square–so much so that Little Miner Taco plans to offer a breakfast menu.

She said chef Joel Sanchez began this week conducting tastings for breakfast items–think chilaquiles, breakfast burritos and tacos–and hopes to launch the menu in early to mid-September.

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Two Montgomery County sheriff’s deputies will not face charges following an investigation of a police-involved fatal collision on Rockville Pike in April, according to Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown.

Deputies Connor Clifford – who has been employed by the county sheriff’s office since 2018 – and Paul Nelson – who has been employed since 2022 – have been under investigation by the Office of the Attorney General’s Independent Investigations Division since the April 27 two-vehicle crash in Rockville that resulted in the death of a 25-year-old woman. The division is charged with investigating police-involved incidents that result in the death of individuals or injuries likely to result in death, according to the attorney general’s office.

The fatal crash involving a Dodge sedan and a Honda sedan occurred at approximately 2:27 a.m. on April 27 on the 12200 block of Rockville Pike, according to county police. The driver of the Honda, Jasmin Gimon of Adelphi, was pronounced dead at the scene following the collision. Timothy Pack, 21, of McLean, Virginia, was identified as the driver of the Dodge.

“After completing its investigation and evaluating all the available evidence, the Office of the Attorney General has determined that the subject officers did not commit a crime under Maryland Law,” the attorney general’s office said Wednesday in a release. “Accordingly, the Attorney General has declined to prosecute either of the officers in this case.”  

Pack was arrested April 27 by county police and charged with negligent manslaughter by vehicle, failure to immediately return and remain at the scene of an accident involving death, assault in the second degree, attempt to elude an official police vehicle by fleeing on foot and several other traffic violations.

Pack is being held at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in Boyds where he awaits a December trial, according to the attorney general’s office.

The investigation by the Independent Investigations Division was focused on the “potential criminal culpability” of the on-duty deputies who had been pursuing Pack and did not examine the criminal culpability of Pack, according to the attorney general’s office.

According to the investigations division’s report, Pack was driving eastbound on Tuckerman Lane in North Bethesda at about 2:20 a.m. in his black Dodge with an unidentified woman in the passenger seat after consuming alcohol and attending a concert.

Pack then turned left to head northbound on Rockville Pike and allegedly began driving “at a high rate of speed,” the report states. Clifford, who was driving the deputies’ cruiser, and Nelson were driving southbound on Rockville Pike at about the same time.

At 2:26 a.m. Pack’s Dodge sped past the deputies’ cruiser in the opposite direction, causing Clifford to make a U-turn and to begin following Pack on Rockville Pike. “From that point until the collision, events unfolded in less than a minute,” the report states.

According to the report, the woman traveling in the Dodge with Pack allegedly told him to slow down after seeing the cruiser make a U-turn, but Pack allegedly continued to speed. Attempting to catch up to the Dodge, Clifford began driving up to 100 mph, the report states.

About 30 seconds later the deputies activated the police cruiser’s emergency lights and sirens and Clifford began driving faster – between 110 mph to 114 mph, according to the report. The deputy did not weave around other cars on the road during the pursuit, the report states.

About 15 seconds later, Gimon in her gray Honda began to drive away from a gas station on the 12200 block of Rockville Pike. According to the report, Gimon paused before making a left turn into the southbound lanes of Rockville Pike.

Pack’s car, now allegedly traveling at more than 110 mph and with the deputies’ cruiser more than 1,000 feet behind, then collided with the driver’s side of Gimon’s Honda as she was making the left turn, according to the report.

Electronic data recovered from the Dodge after the collision revealed Pack was traveling at 118 mph before the crash and never pressed on the brakes, the report said.

Immediately after the collision, the Honda “spun several times and crossed the median, coming to rest facing north in the southbound lanes of Rockville Pike” and the Dodge flipped over several times before stopping on its roof in a nearby shopping center parking lot, the report said.

Pack fled the scene on foot after the collision, leaving his passenger trapped in the Dodge, the report said. Gimon also was trapped in the Honda.

Clifford and Nelson arrived about 11 seconds after the crash and radioed for assistance from medics and other officers, the report said. While on the scene Clifford began speaking with witnesses and attempting to provide aid to the woman in the Dodge. Nelson took a medical bag from the cruiser to render medical aid to Gimon but was unable to get into the car due to the damage from the crash.

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS) crews arrived at 2:33 a.m. and later transported the injured woman in the Dodge to a local hospital. Gimon was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the report.

In body-worn camera footage of the incident released by the investigations division, Nelson and other responding officers can be heard in the video telling MCFRS crews that Gimon had a “very faint” pulse as she was trapped in the car. Camera footage shows the driver’s side door was smashed upon impact.

Responding officers apprehended Pack at a convenience store several blocks away.

The investigation into the incident solely focused on the possible criminal culpability of the deputies and examined whether they had driven negligently during the pursuit to cause a crash, according to the attorney general’s office. The investigation began April 27 and concluded Aug. 7, according to authorities. On May 24, the investigations division released the body-worn camera footage from the deputies.

According to the report, county sheriff’s office policy prohibits deputies from engaging in pursuits and if an attempted vehicle stop turns into a pursuit, deputies “must terminate their immediate effort to stop the vehicle.”

The policy does allow deputies to make traffic stops for “serious violations” such as “behaviors that pose a direct hazard to the safe and efficient flow of traffic,” such as speeding, according to the report.

The investigations division was considering whether the deputies should be charged with criminally negligent manslaughter by vehicle. “This offense requires proving that an accused person caused the death of another person by operating a vehicle in a criminally negligent manner,” the report stated.

According to authorities, the deputies were not charged “because there is insufficient evidence” to prove the cruiser was driven in a criminally negligent manner.

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Local police are investigating a stabbing Friday evening in Rockville that injured a 20-year-old man, according to police radio transmissions.

Around 3:57 p.m. a woman called 911 to report that her son had been stabbed, according to the transmissions. The dispatcher told police that the caller was “hysterical” and was in touch with her son through FaceTime, but she was not at the scene.

Minutes later, police and Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS) crews responded to a report of a stabbing at the Kanso Twinbrook apartment building at 12503 Ardennes Ave., according to the transmissions.

Police met the injured man outside of the apartment building and reported he had a stab wound in the abdomen, according to the transmissions. The man was transported to a local hospital by MCFRS crews.

As of 4:11 p.m., police were searching for suspects, according to the transmissions. No suspect description was provided.

Rockville City police did not immediately respond to MoCo360’s request Friday evening for more information.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

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Rockville City police are searching for a Washington, D.C., man who is wanted in connection to a shooting Friday afternoon that injured another man near Montgomery College’s Rockville campus, according to authorities.

Isaiah Warren Simpson, 33, was identified by Rockville detectives as a suspect involved in the shooting, Rockville police said Sunday in a statement posted on the city government’s website. According to police, Simpson is prohibited from possessing firearms, though the statement did not say why.

Police have obtained an arrest warrant for Simpson, charging him with attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault, second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, use of a firearm in a crime of violence, illegal possession of a regulated firearm and having a loaded handgun on [a] person, according to the statement.

At about 4:30 p.m. Friday, Rockville police and Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services responded to the 400 block of College Parkway for the report of a shooting.

Upon arrival, officers found a man outside of a residence suffering from a single gunshot wound to the abdomen, police said in a Friday statement. The man was transported to an area hospital and was originally listed in critical condition but is now stable and remains under hospital care, according to police.

The shooting prompted Montgomery College to place its Rockville campus, at 51 Mannakee St., on lockdown for at least 30 minutes while police searched the grounds and surrounding areas for suspects.

After the lockdown was lifted, a “heavy police presence” remained in the area of the campus, Route 355 and College Parkway, the community college said Friday on social media. In addition, campus safety officers maintained a heightened presence on campus for the rest of the evening.

Following the shooting, police searched for two suspects who fled on foot and the college released descriptions of the suspects on social media. Witnesses at the scene told police that they saw one Black male with dreadlocks wearing a navy hoodie, black pants with orange strips and a black satchel bag, according to radio transmissions.

Police set up a perimeter around the campus and searched for the suspects with the help of K9 officers and dogs, according to transmissions. By 5:17 police had cleared the campus area and notified the community college to lift the lockdown.

In a statement Friday evening, Rockville police said there was “no evidence to believe the shooting is connected to Montgomery College.” The college also has campuses in Takoma Park/Silver Spring and Germantown.

Police ask anyone with information on Simpson’s whereabouts to call 240-314-8900.

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Montgomery College’s Rockville campus was placed on lockdown for a report of an off-campus shooting Friday afternoon, according to a post on social media.

About 30 minutes later at 5:25 p.m., the college announced that the lockdown had been lifted and there was no longer a threat to the campus at 51 Mannakee St., but “a heavy police presence” would remain in the area of the campus, Route 355 and College Parkway.

In addition, campus safety officers will maintain a heightened presence on campus for the rest of the evening, the college said on social media.

Following the shooting, local police searched the campus and surrounding area for two suspects who fled on foot after they were allegedly involved in a shooting that occurred on College Parkway, according to the college. Police advised Montgomery College public safety officers of the incident and their search for the suspects on campus.

“A lockdown was initiated to secure the campus under an abundance of caution and to notify the campus of a potential threat,” the college said.

According to police transmissions, police responded to a report of a shooting at about 4:30 p.m. Two 911 callers reported the incident, saying they had heard people yelling and one person had been shot and was lying on the ground, according to the transmissions.

Upon arrival at the scene, officers found one person shot and the individual was later transported to a local hospital, according to transmissions.

Witnesses at the scene said they saw one Black male with dreadlocks wearing a navy hoodie, black pants with orange stripes and a black satchel bag, according to transmissions.

Police set up a perimeter around the campus and searched for suspects with the help of K9 officers and dogs, according to transmissions.

By around 5:17 p.m., police said they had cleared the campus and advised the college could lift the lockdown, according to transmissions.

According to the college’s social media post, police were searching for two suspects. One was described as a Hispanic male about 30 years old wearing a white T-shirt and gray pants. The other suspect was described as an African American person about 20 years old wearing a gray hoodie and black pants with an orange strip and wearing a black bag, according to the post.

Rockville City police officers responded to the shooting and are actively investigating the incident. “The public should avoid the area,” police said in a social media post.

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Rockville police arrested Tuesday night a suspect wanted in connection to a quadruple stabbing that occurred July 20, according to a department post on social media.

Ricky Lee Dyson Jr. of Rockville was arrested at 10 p.m. by police. He was taken into custody without incident, police said.

Dyson was charged with four counts of first-degree assault, four counts of second-degree assault, and four counts of reckless endangerment, according to court records.

Attorney information for Dyson was not available Wednesday afternoon.

On July 20, officers “found a large crowd and blood” when they responded to the report of an assault in the area of Dawson Avenue and Upton Street around 9:40 p.m., according to a news release.

The officers determined that a stabbing occurred and four adult victims suffering non-life-threatening stab wounds arrived at a local hospital shortly thereafter, according to the release.

Last week, Rockville police announced that detectives had identified the suspect in the stabbing and obtained an arrest warrant for Dyson.

Dyson is being held at the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit in Rockville where he waits for a bond hearing in Montgomery County District Court in Rockville.

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Potentially high levels of blue-green algae, also known as cyanobacteria, in Lake Needwood and Lake Frank in Rockville have Montgomery Parks officials warning residents and dog owners to avoid contact with the two bodies of water in Rock Creek Regional Park.

“As a precautionary measure, we are alerting the public of the risks associated with potentially high levels of cyanobacteria in these lakes,” Matt Harper, natural resources manager with Montgomery Parks, said in the Thursday release. “While we await the toxin testing results, we urge people to keep their dogs on leash and ensure they are not allowed contact with the water.” 

Cyanobacteria can produce a toxin called cyanotoxins, or microcystin, which is a “potent liver toxin and possible human carcinogen,” according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Cyanotoxins can kill livestock and pets that drink affected water.

Water samples from the lakes are being evaluated by the Maryland Department of the Environment to determine if the levels of algae are harmful, according to the release.

Parks officials have observed discolored water and algal mats in portions of both lakes, typical visual indicators of an algal bloom, the release said.

Algae blooms occur when there are warm temperatures and high levels of nutrients in the water and can also be identified from “floating mats of decaying, bad-smelling and gelatinous scum” in bodies of water, according to the EPA.

Cyanobacteria are naturally occurring algae but when grown in excess (a bloom), can produce microcystin toxins that are harmful to humans and pets, according to the release. Montgomery Parks’ primary concern with the high levels of cyanobacteria is off-leash dogs that may swim and/or drink from the lake, the release said.

Dogs are already prohibited from swimming in park lakes, but the department is urging visitors to take the following precautions: 

• Avoid direct contact with water while boating or fishing (swimming is always prohibited in lakes);
• Keep dogs on leash (per park regulations), and do not allow them to drink or be in contact with the water or algal mats accumulating on shorelines;
• If your pet has been in contact with lake water or algae, rinse fur with clean water and seek veterinary care if you are concerned;
• Wash hands thoroughly before eating, drinking or smoking if you have come in contact with the water; and
• Only eat properly cooked muscle meat of fish.

For now, recreational fishing and boating at the lakes will remain open, according to the release.

Rock Creek Regional Park manager David Quintanilla said signs about the potential risk of elevated microcystin in the water have been posted around the two lakes and along trails that access the lakes.

“Portions of both lakes may be contaminated for the rest of the season. We will continue to monitor and remove signs when the warning is lifted,” Quintanilla said in the release.

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Rockville police have identified a suspect in connection to a Saturday night stabbing in the city, according to a department post on social media.

Ricky Lee Dyson Jr. of Rockville, who remains at large, faces charges of first-degree assault, second-degree assault and reckless endangerment, police said.

At about 9:40 p.m. Saturday, officers responded to an assault in the area of Dawson Avenue and Upton Street, according to a Saturday news release.

At the scene, officers “found a large crowd and blood” and determined that a stabbing had occurred, the release said.

Shortly after officers responded to the scene, four adult victims suffering non-life-threatening stab wounds arrived at a local hospital, according to the release.

On Monday, Rockville police announced that detectives had obtained an arrest warrant for Dyson.

Police are asking anyone with information about Dyson and his whereabouts to contact the department at 240-314-8900 or to dial 911.

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The Rockville nonprofit Interfaith Works is asking local restaurants and the community for help in feeding 34 displaced residents and donations after a Fourth of July fire extensively damaged its women’s shelter.

“Not only are we looking for individuals to bring a home-cooked meal or to buy a [restaurant meal], but we’re also encouraging restaurants to raise their hand and say ‘Hey, I would love to be able to sponsor a meal, to deliver a meal,’ ” Interfaith Works CEO Courtney Hall told MoCo360 Monday. “I think that’s a great way for [them] to demonstrate that they’re excellent corporate citizens.”

Interfaith Works, which provides housing assistance, shelter programs, essential needs and employment services, runs the shelter for women at 16911 Crabbs Branch Way in Derwood. The shelter provides short-term, emergency housing and case management services ranging from medical care to legal, psychiatric and vocational services, according to the nonprofit’s website.

Thursday’s fire, which started midday and damaged the kitchen and bathroom areas of the center, was caused by an overheated fan motor in the ceiling of the facility’s bathroom, according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS). The blaze displaced the shelter’s 34 residents and 16 staff members.

Shelter residents were relocated to a county-owned office building in Rockville, according to Hall. The temporary shelter has sufficient space for the women to sleep and is equipped with bathrooms and showers, he said.

Interfaith Works is asking for donations as well as hot, prepared meals for the residents because the temporary shelter doesn’t have a kitchen, according to Hall.

As of Tuesday morning, more than $9,200 has been donated to Interfaith Works’ fundraiser. In addition, meals for this week have been covered by donations, however, the nonprofit is still looking for meal coverage over the next few months.

“We’re planning for two months so there won’t be any shortage of need for people to step in and raise their hand and say ‘I’ll help,’ ” Hall said.

According to Hall, most meals served at Interfaith Works shelters are donated by the community, while some food is purchased for residents by the nonprofit.

County residents looking to help out can prepare a home-cooked meal or order food from a restaurant to be delivered, Hall said. Those interested can contact Roslyn Roberts, Interfaith Works’ director of faith and community partnerships, at 240-468-6386.

The nonprofit plans to use monetary donations to buy food for residents when meal slots haven’t been filled; to pay for transportation for residents to doctor’s appointments, work and family gatherings; and for laundry services.

Hall praised the county’s swift action in helping Interfaith Works to find a temporary shelter for residents. Repairs to the Crabbs Branch Way shelter are expected to take at least two months, according to Interfaith Works.

Teri Blandon, director of development at Interfaith Works, wrote in an email to MoCo360 Tuesday that the nonprofit does not know the cost estimate of the damage caused by the fire yet. The county, which owns the shelter building, is still assessing the damage and Interfaith Works is “still figuring out what is lost and what is recoverable,” Blandon wrote. 

On Thursday, MCFRS crews responded to the women’s shelter for a report of smoke in the building just after 10 a.m., spokesperson Pete Piringer wrote on social media. As firefighters arrived at the scene, they encountered “smoke coming from eaves and fire in the attic area” of the building, he said.

Around 40 occupants, including Interfaith Works staff, were evacuated from the building when crews arrived and no injuries were reported, Piringer said.

While experiencing Thursday’s fire may have added to the trauma of being homeless, Hall said “everybody was doing fine” when he visited residents at the temporary facility on Saturday.

“Not only have I been impressed with the response from the community, with the response from my team members, [and] the response from the county, I’ve also been really pleased to see how all of that coming together has helped the women to feel some sense of stability, which is really important,” Hall said.

Also, he said he was happy that the “trauma didn’t derail” plans for four shelter residents to move into their own housing within the next two weeks.

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