New restaurants, shops and homes along the Route 1 corridor continued to be the biggest draws for readers of the Hyattsville Wire.

Our year-end review of the most-read stories showed that readers are most interested in everything from a new upscale restaurant to Trader Joe’s and townhomes and apartments being built along the Route 1 corridor.

Here’s a look at the top stories of 2022 on the Hyattsville Wire, starting with the most-read story of the year.

NFL Player-Turned-Chef Opens Upscale Hyattsville Restaurant This Week

Located in University Town Center, Huncho House is the creation of Chef Tobias Dorzon, who played with the Tennessee Titans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers before retiring from football in 2012.

Mall at Prince Georges Plans Apartments for Old J.C. Penney Site

The Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust has submitted a proposal to remove a chunk of the existing mall in order to build a 360-unit apartment building with 1,000 square feet of retail on the former site of J.C. Penney.

First Trader Joe’s in Prince George’s County Plans Opening in College Park

The Trader Joe’s location in College Park is the first in Prince George’s County, the 10th in Maryland and the 21st in the greater D.C. area, making it one of the largest grocery chains by sales in the area.

New Townhomes Coming Next to Mall at Prince George’s in Hyattsville

Stanley Martin Homes is building 331 homes in the Gateway West development, which will also have a playground and a wooded conservation area with walking trails next to the football field at Northwestern High School.

As City Mourns, a Look at Kevin Ward’s Legacy in Hyattsville

Ward was focused on several issues: promoting community-based policing, strengthening the city’s emergency preparedness, responding to the coronavirus pandemic, increasing affordable housing and improving education and youth services.

Other stories that drew a lot of interest over the last year included Hyattsville’s “secret” pizzeria, the urban legend of the Goatman, when slavery ended in Prince George’s County, Chick-fil-A’s plans for a “ghost kitchen” in College Park, the opening of Le Fantome food hall in Riverdale Park, Franklins’ plans to open an ice cream shop, and Hyattsville’s forgotten attempt to impose segregation block-by-block.

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Two new tenants are coming to the Station at Riverdale Park.

Frozen yogurt shop Yogi Castle, which closed its location in Hyattsville’s Arts District, and eyewear retailer LensCrafters are both slated to move into the mixed-use development by the Whole Foods grocery store.

Yogi Castle is slated to open between on the first floor of the Pilot House apartment complex, the first retailer farther down Van Buren Street.

LensCrafters will go between Habit Burger and Denizens Brewing Co.

Senior Property Manager Lydia Chandlee told the Hyattsville Wire that LensCrafters would begin construction on Jan. 17. Though no opening date is known, that kind of buildout typically takes about three months.

She added that Yogi Castle is still waiting for construction permits.

The two new shops would be fitting with the rest of the Station development, which leans heavily on “Amazon-proof” services and restaurants.

Yogi Castle’s former location in Hyattsville, meantime, is being turned into an outpost of Kung Fu Tea and TKK Fried Chicken.

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Pizza D’Oro is opening its third location in Mount Rainier.

The popular Shaw pizzeria will move into the one-story brick building at 4000 34th St., across from the Glut Food Co-Op, which was formerly home to ZZ’s Pizza.

After opening in 2011, Pizza D’Oro developed a loyal and diverse customer base ranging from off-duty cops to people leaving the nearby Nellie’s Sports Bar and is a popular late-night haunt for people in the food industry.

Owner Abdelilah Souada opened a second location on 14th Street in 2016.

Pizza D’Oro also offers delivery, though Souda has long been a critic of food delivery apps. Although the pizzeria is currently on GrubHub, he prefers that customers order directly from them to ensure prompt delivery.

Along with pizzas, the lengthy menu includes sub sandwiches, salads, buffalo wings, gyros and sides like fried mushrooms.

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An artsy new apartment building is coming to the area around the West Hyattsville Metro station.

Gilbane Development Co. is planning a five-story building with first-floor retail space and a parking garage that would open in the fall of 2024.

The Sovren Apartments would range from studios to three bedrooms, with 147 of the 293 apartments reserved for people making 80% of the area medium income or less — which is currently $103,200 for a family of four.

The affordable housing component is being paid for through loans from the Prince George’s County Housing Investment Trust Fund and Amazon’s Housing Equity Fund, which is also helping finance the Atworth apartments near the College Park Metro station.

There would be about 2,500 square feet of retail space and 298 spaces in the garage, which will have a colorful mural on the exterior.

The apartments are part of the broader Riverfront at West Hyattsville development, which includes townhomes and other retail space.

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The D.C. location of a popular Route 1 restaurant gained international attention this week.

During the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, President Hage Geingob of Namibia stopped by upscale Kenyan restaurant Swahili Village, located at 1990 M St. NW.

“When you dine here, you dine with delegates and dignitaries,” the restaurant boasted on Instagram earlier today.

Owner Kevin Onyona first opened the restaurant in College Park in 2009 before moving to Beltsville in 2016, adding a bigger and more upscale sister location in downtown D.C. in 2020 just days before the pandemic hit. It also has locations in Tyson’s Corner, Va.; and Newark, N.J.

It’s one of D.C.’s only black-owned fine dining restaurants and among the few serving upscale African cuisine.

You can dine in-person at Swahili Village at 10800 Rhode Island Ave. in Beltsville or find it on find them on UberEats, DoorDash, Postmates and GrubHub.

D.C.-Africa Leaders Summit kicked off Tuesday, Dec. 13 and runs through Saturday, Dec. 17.

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The only fully woman-owned record shop in the D.C. area is on the Route 1 corridor.

Located at 11011 Baltimore Ave. in Beltsville, Sonidos! Music & More first opened in October of 2019, but it had to shut down briefly during the coronavirus pandemic.

Owner Claudia Mendiola-Durán told the Hyattsville Wire that the record shop got its start when she mentioned to her friends next door at Atomic Music about her idea.

“I’ve been friends with the guys at Atomic for many years, and when I mentioned that I wanted to open a shop of my own, they offered to clear out a space they were using for storage so I could rent it out,” she said.

During the pandemic, Sonidos continued selling via mail order, but the brick-and-mortar sales continue to be unpredictable. Still, she says she’s optimistic about the future of physical media, even as streaming services have taken off.

“There’s something to be said for physical holding a record or CD in your hands,” she said. “You get the album art, the liner notes, all the little extra details that you just don’t get from an MP3 or a stream. It’s a much more immersive experience.”

Sonidos, which is named for the Spanish word for “sounds,” also buys vinyl, books and CDs as well as some videos. You can email sonidos.musicshop@gmail.com or call (240) 366-6886 with questions.

The shop also posts updates regularly on its Instagram page.

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Prince George’s County has dramatically eased rules that have hampered food trucks from operating along the Route 1 corridor.

The county council recently eliminated its system of “food truck hubs,” which included designated spaces in Riverdale Park, College Park, Greenbelt and Mount Rainier.

Instead, food trucks will be allowed to operate in business and industrial parks, shopping centers, faith-based organizations, food halls, active construction sites, government buildings, golf courses and dog parks.

The only requirement is that they have a mobile food permit and explicit permission from the property owner or manager.

David Iannucci, president of the Prince George’s County Economic Development Corporation, said the new rules would support the “entrepreneurial spirit of the food truck community.”

Food trucks have been a crucial part of the local restaurant scene, serving as incubators for businesses like Little Miner Taco and expansions for places like Federalist Pig and Sugar Vault, and allowing places like Streetcar 82 Brewing Co. to offer food more easily.

In recent years, food trucks have become a big business, with the industry projected to soon cross the $1 billion mark.

They encourage entrepreneurialism, with the average food truck costing $55,000 to $75,000 to get started, compared to $250,000 to $500,000 to start a traditional restaurant.

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