Super-bright lights installed at Kenwood Station in Bethesda

A spotlight is being shone on the parking lot at the Kenwood Station shopping center in Bethesda - literally. Ultra-bright light towers have just been installed around the lot of the shopping center, which is anchored by the popular Whole Foods Market grocery store. Photos can't do the intensity level of the lights justice, which may shine into windows of the adjacent homes in Kenwood. 

Like many retail properties, Kenwood Station is responding to the increase in crime in Montgomery County, seeking to improve safety and security. While the shopping center is not known as a crime hot spot, police did fatally shoot a burglar behind the grocery store thirty years ago, in April of 1994. At the time, the store was a Fresh Fields supermarket.

Driver crashes car into Whole Foods in Bethesda (Photos)

A driver accelerated forward over the sidewalk at the Kenwood Station shopping center shortly after noon today, crashing through the front of Whole Foods Market at 5269 River Road, and driving all the way through the produce department. Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson Pete Piringer said one person was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The cause of the crash is still being investigated. A reader who was at the store forwarded these photos. 

Whole Foods/Kenwood Station renovations nearing completion (Photos)

It's a lot easier to get around at the Kenwood Station shopping center at 5241 River Road in Bethesda, now that all of the barrels, scaffolding, caution tape, etc., have been removed from outside the stores there. The remodeling of the exterior and roof at the Whole Foods Market-anchored center has been going on for a year. New signage for each business, lighting, and other finishing touches are all that remain for the project. It's now clear that the roofline is quite different from the previous design, especially at the corners.

Pickpocket strikes at Whole Foods in Bethesda

Montgomery County police were called to the Whole Foods Market at 5269 River Road in the Kenwood Station shopping center Thursday afternoon, after a pickpocket incident. At least one pocket was picked at the busy grocery store at 2:56 PM, according to crime data. Watch your wallet or purse; these have been snatched at an increased rate inside stores and restaurants over the last year in Bethesda and Chevy Chase.

Kenwood Station construction update (Photos)

When Kenwood Station on River Road placed a banner alerting patrons that all stores are "open during construction" at the entrance earlier this year, many asked themselves, "What construction?" Now that project is well underway, as you can see in these photos. The "whole front" of Whole Foods has been ripped off above the entrance, and the entire canopy facade above all storefronts is getting an update. 

It's unclear yet if we'll encounter any further archaeological finds from the shopping center structure's past as a Brunswick bowling alley in the 1970s. During a previous renovation, workers tearing up the floor inside Whole Foods discovered the original Brunswick bowling lanes still intact underneath the boards.