For those who haven’t heard yet, the historic Hank Dietle’s Tavern was destroyed this week in a fire caused by “discarded smoking materials” on the front porch. It’s unclear what will happen to the remains of the century-old dive bar, a Rockville Pike landmark that held the first liquor license in Montgomery County. The fire came just weeks after the closing of Helen’s, the neighboring restaurant that had been struggling to stay in business this past year. Owner Helen Wasserman had told Store Reporter that business was slow and she came close to closing several times before it finally happened. More in our Nov. 30th issue.
