Susan Whitney-Wilkerson/The Gazette As a passing thunderstorm drenches downtown Silver Spring June 9, diners sit beneath the umbrellas along the row of restaurants in Silver Plaza as Washington, D.C., resident Toni Garrett (left) and Roderick Davis of Durham, N.C., stroll to their dinner date in downtown Silver Spring under an umbrella of their own.

It can look like a summer block party when Ellsworth Drive closes.

On those weekend nights, couples stroll, then duck into stores. Families eat outside. Delighted children shriek and scamper in the fountain. Teenagers congregate outside the movie theaters.

Amid the laughter and shouts on a humid Friday night, Nigel Ash and Sheri Pegram enjoyed ice cream. The downtown area has been Ash's "hangout spot" for longer than Ruby Tuesdays has been at City Place Mall.

Now, he's watching a changed Silver Spring. What does he think of what he sees?

"Better: more to do, more activity, more places to see, more traffic, more people. Just better."

A nighttime destination

Not too long ago, most area residents did not go to Silver Spring for a night out.

They went to Bethesda, Adams Morgan, Olde Town Alexandria, Capitol Hill, Georgetown, even Baltimore. Not Silver Spring.

Silver Spring now is in the midst of its second summer after a redevelopment project that in total, cost private and public investors $1 billion. Finding nightlife is no longer a problem.

Bringing nighttime activity downtown was a main goal during the long planning process, said Gary Stith, director of the Silver Spring Regional Center, which serves as county government's link to the area.

"Five years ago, there were office activities and just a few restaurants, and so people would work down here, and after work leave because there wasn't anything to do here, or places to go." Stith said. "It was difficult to keep people down here."

Charles Atwell, a downtown business owner who is currently serving as a member of the Silver Spring Urban District, a board of business owners concerned about the downtown area, said Silver Spring's cleanup started long before construction broke ground.

"There were a lot of abandoned buildings, a lot of litter," said Atwell, who also has served stints as president for both the Greater Silver Spring and Montgomery County chambers of commerce. "It did not have a comfortable feeling. ... The urban district and the board made a conscious decision to start with the basics, which were clean and safe.

"For consumers as well as business owners, they needed to feel comfortable here. It was a multi-pronged approach: litter cleaned up, graffiti cleaned up ... we needed to see more police officers on the street, needed to deal with the homeless problem."

The changes particularly shine at Silver Plaza on Ellsworth Drive. From what were once gas stations, small shops and abandoned buildings have risen restaurants, shopping and entertainment venues.

On humid nights, lines at Cold Stone Creamery and Ben & Jerry's can run out the door and along the sidewalk. It's common to find all the outdoor tables at Austin Grill occupied. The typical Saturday wait at Red Lobster is 45 minutes, and can extend well past the typical American dinner hour.

Furthermore, the state has designated the downtown as an Arts and Entertainment district. Tax breaks attract entertainment venues, such as Majestic Theaters and the American Film Institute. Several restaurants offer karaoke and live music nights.

The entertainment takes to the streets on Thursday and Saturday nights with free concerts. On a recent Thursday, Gail and Jay Boyar, residents for 34 years, sat on the sidewalk in beach chairs, waiting for the music to start. While the concerts were held in the downtown area even before redevelopment, there was little else to attract the crowds.

"I used to shop at Hecht's, City Place," Gail Boyar said. But for a while, "I didn't come downtown 'cause it wasn't fun to walk around."

"It's not that we stayed away," Jay Boyar added. "There just wasn't much to come down here for. This is much nicer."

Over at Galaxy Billiards, which features sleek pool tables and a sports bar, York Van Nixon IV, 28, was playing on a back table during a recent Saturday evening. He described a very different Silver Spring when he was growing up.

"When I lived here, this used to be a drug store," he said. The change is reason enough to bring him back about once a month.

Others have stayed long enough to reap the benefits in their own back yards. Chris Stavash, 18, came to play pool with his father. For him, downtown Silver Spring is matter of convenience.

"I come down here a fair amount, a few times a week," he said. "I was just looking for something to do on a Saturday night, and it's right next to my house."

Adapting to the changes

The Tastee Diner could well tell the story of nightlife and development.

The 24-hour diner thrived on the corner of Georgia Avenue and Wayne Street since 1946, until four years ago when redevelopment -- in the form of the Discovery Communications building -- came knocking on the door.

The restaurant and its patrons rallied, petitioning the county for help. They were heard, and their original dining cab was ceremoniously transported to its new location on Cameron Street, accompanied by a police escort.

"It was scary, they were going to shut us down," said Lisa Wilkes, 34, a manager who is also the daughter of Tastee Diner owner Gene Wilkes. "Now we're glad the Discovery building was built."

While a forced move from the center of downtown to a tucked-away location could have crippled some businesses, that was not the case with Tastee Diner.

The restaurant has tripled its staff, menu and building size, while retaining the original historic dining cabin.

The crowd has changed. Wilkes gently describes it as more "well-mannered" on the whole. More families and business customers come. To compensate, especially for the later crowd, the expanded menu includes more lunch and dinner options.

"We have more and more restaurants in the area ... and that has not threatened us, it's helped, it brings more people by," she said.

Daisy Clark, 66, has been a Tastee Diner night manager since 1987. She remembers when disagreeable characters were dropped off at a nearby bus stop, and when homeless people would refuse to leave.

"It's better for us, I think," she said of the new location. "We feel safer now ... there's a lot of activity, there's always something going on with the neighborhood."

Clark's perception could serve as a mantra for the rest of the redevelopment project.

"When you look good, you feel good, you do good," Clark said. "I think that's how we're carrying on."

Activity spreads beyond

Georgia and Colesville

Beyond the noisy bustle of Silver Plaza, the rest of Silver Spring seems strangely quiet. Most foot traffic is limited to Silver Plaza and the sidewalks toward the Metro station, on Georgia Avenue and Colesville Road.

But don't be fooled.

"The destinations of the downtown Silver Spring project [at Silver Plaza] are certainly the most visible and what jumpstarted it," Atwell said. "But other restaurants began to open prior to that with the hope that there would be a major draw."

On Georgia Avenue in south Silver Spring, the bubblegum-pink and lime-green "Jackie's" sign points to such an enterprise. Spirited owner Jackie Greenbaum characterizes the opening of her namesake a product of both "design and accident."

The Silver Spring native had her first career in real estate, but when an old auto-parts building became available, she took a chance to fulfill a longtime ambition.

"I had wanted to have a business here and I had my opportunity," she said. "... [My business partner and I] had toyed with the idea of having a restaurant or bar in the past. We were strong believers in Silver Spring. I had been wanting for a long, long time to see its development. My mom used to take me here when I was a little kid...

"When we started, there was nothing here, just Discovery. AFI, even the shopping center ... wasn't here," she said. "It was quite a gamble, but we were pretty confident."

Since opening two years ago, they have rarely seen a quiet night.

"We opened on a Thursday and on a Friday we must have had over 200 people, and we didn't even announce that we were opening," Greenbaum said. "There was a huge pent-up demand in Silver Spring. We've been busy ever since."

Across the street and down the road, Mayorga Coffee Roasters also draws a loyal, local following. Many people who live in the nearby high-rise apartments gather at Mayorga for food and drink, or just some quiet time. Others come across the District line, eager to sample the sandwiches, the coffee and the new Silver Spring.

The county has taken notice. Nearby, an "arts alley" has been created with the hope of attracting more arts-related businesses. A local store for artists has opened across the street.

Connecting the two worlds

In between Silver Plaza and the new south Silver Spring establishments is the popular Half Moon Bar-B-Que. Its appeal, patrons say, comes from great food, a casual décor and live music five nights a week.

Although Half Moon is a little closer to the redevelopment area, owner Mark Gretschel said its effect on the business has been "about zero."

"Development stops at Wayne Avenue, and that's not a gripe, that's a fact, that's just where it's stopped," he said. "It's very self-contained. It really is two different worlds."

County officials and the Urban District Advisory Board are hoping to connect these two worlds.

"We started in the core and I think we see that spreading now," Stith said. "I think that over time and frankly not a lot of time, in a year or so, we will see a lot more activity."

Addressing safety concerns also will help. Lighting has been upgraded on several streets, including nearby Wayne Avenue.

One Saturday night, Half Moon's live act was the Lustre Kings, a rock band that also played there six months ago. Band member Mark Gamsjager, 42, has noticed the area's growth, but jovially added that the biggest difference was that his car wasn't broken into this time, as it was on his last visit.

"We've upgraded Urban District staff and the number and the level of the people that we've hired," Stith said. "There are more police than there used to be, and I think the critical thing is just the fact that there are things that attract people to be down here at night."

Balancing the chains

with the locals

Many say diversity is what attracts them here, and what sets Silver Spring apart from neighbor Bethesda.

However, some are concerned, like Mayorga patron Stacey Duffy, 39, who likes the growth but says she and her husband are worried about Silver Spring's possible "gentrification."

Atwell said that the county assumes an important role in providing an even ground for all ambitious businesses to develop.

"It's a delicate situation," Atwell said. "We don't want to be a brand new downtown without the culture and heritage and history that Silver Spring is so rich in.

"The county has ... a big responsibility and role in helping to ensure that the past is mixed well with the future."

Diversity is Silver Spring's strength, he noted, made especially apparent in its ethnic restaurants.

Now, new ones are getting in on the action.

Two years ago, parking headaches prompted Asfaw Amde to close his Ethiopian restaurant in the District. He opened a new one, Addis Ababa, on Fenton Street.

Like many Silver Spring restaurants, Addis Ababa offers outdoor seating. Amde says business improves during the summer because the rooftop doubles seating capacity.

However, unlike Silver Plaza, the view is not as eye-catching: a Safeway, an auto shop and a high-rise apartment complex.

But further development could remedy that. Plans include upgrading the Fenton Village area, right by the restaurant.

For now, Amde is happy to have found success where others may not have.

"Before, there were maybe two or three Ethiopian restaurants [in Silver Spring]," Amde said. "When they closed and people know we are here, I knew I am able to make it.

"So far I give it a B+," he said.

Still a work in progress

Praise for the new downtown nightlife is abundant, coming from both longtime residents and curious newcomers.

But every bit of praise comes with plenty of suggestions.

One Silver Plaza patron thinks Colesville Road needs to be more pedestrian-friendly. A Mayorga waitress thinks the establishments close too early. One local worker says that none of the establishments particularly appeal to him -- it's only convenience that brings him.

Stith and Atwell stress that redevelopment is not finished.

"It's important to realize that redevelopment project has only been in operation for about a year, and this is a big downtown," Stith said. "We can't change all of it overnight. We will see change continued throughout downtown over the next couple years.

"People need to be patient and understand that change is a process," he added. "We're going to get new restaurants, existing ones are going to do better. These things are coming."