Rockville Pike/MD 355 bus lanes to be removed next week

Temporary bus-only lanes along Wisconsin Avenue in Bethesda and Chevy Chase, and along Rockville Pike in North Bethesda and White Flint, will be removed next week, the Maryland State Highway Administration announced yesterday. Starting Monday, September 7, all vehicles will again be able to use the lanes. MDSHA crews will work overnight between September 7 and September 11 to remove the bus lane markings, and restore painted lines destroyed by the project.

Montgomery County elected officials were applying heavy pressure to MDSHA behind the scenes to make the temporary bus lanes permanent as late as this week. When ABC 7 News reporter Tom Roussey asked MDSHA on Tuesday if the lanes would be left in place after the Metro station shutdown ended next week, the MDSHA spokesperson was unable to answer his question. This shows just how intense the pressure from County politicians was, as MDSHA had sworn up and down that these lanes were temporary, and would not typically be waiting until the last minute to schedule overnight road work.

By Thursday, MDSHA - in a rare return to professionalism in an agency that has become increasingly politicized over the last decade - declared that it would indeed be removing the lanes, as promised. MDSHA further told Roussey in a follow-up interview Thursday that the data the agency collected during the lane closures this summer "showed the best decision was to remove all bus-only lanes along Route 355." In other words, giving buses their own lanes does not generate more commuter throughput than automobiles can, no matter how many explainer graphics anti-highway radicals post on X. Of course, residents of Staten Island could have told them that ten years ago.

One of many Metro shuttles seen
traveling in the center or left lanes of MD 355,
despite having been given its own exclusive bus lane

Montgomery County's War-on-cars elected officials - all of whom hypocritically drive to "work" at their very-part-time Council "jobs" - must be furious with MDSHA at this hour. The agency not only vetoed their wishes, and foiled their Trojan horse scheme to achieve a permanent 33% in reduction of vehicular capacity on a major commuter route for two counties, but also made public that the data shows County officials are dead wrong in their claims regarding bus lanes and BRT. Again, this is how MDSHA and the Montgomery County Department of Transportation used to function up until the last decade. They would regularly veto and reject the wishes and whims of rabid, radical politicians when they conflicted with traffic engineering best practices. I would strongly encourage MDSHA to use Thursday's decision as a turning point to restore the agency's previously sterling reputation for professionalism and independence.

We've also got to credit the public for being more engaged this time, compared to when the County successfully cajoled MDSHA into making similar "temporary" lanes - in similar "Metro stations are closed!" Trojan horse fashion - permanent in Silver Spring a few years ago. MDSHA and WMATA heard loud and clear the outrage from drivers on the already-congested MD 355, on which MCDOT still does not synchronize the traffic signals during rush hour to not turn red at every block. Stay engaged, and make your displeasure effective by voting these bums out in November.

Pollo Campero closes at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Pollo Campero has permanently closed at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda, according to a sign posted at their stall in the Dining Terrace food court. The Guatemalan chicken chain opened this location in July 2024. From what I can tell, this is one of the rare closures we can't necessarily blame the Montgomery County Council for. I see that quite a few Pollo Campero restaurants have closed elsewhere across the country this year.

I recall that the chain went through a major expansion push in 2024, after celebrating record sales growth the previous year. Several of the planned 45 new locations were here in Montgomery County. I notice that a recurring theme in news articles about the other closures is that they all opened during that heady expansion year of 2024. 

Kareem's Lebanese Kitchen opens in Gaithersburg

Kareem's Lebanese Kitchen opened with a ribbon-cutting yesterday at 212 Boardwalk Place at Rio Lakefront in Gaithersburg. The dining room was packed this evening. Specialties include fresh breads, handmade mezze, Lamb Mouzat, Farrouj, and Kareem's signature hummus, which is prepared from scratch in a three-day process. 

"I'm proud to bring Kareem's to Maryland and share the food, traditions and hospitality that have been part of my family for generations," Chef Rachid Eido said in a statement. "Lebanese hospitality is about more than serving a meal. It is about opening your table, sharing generously and making people feel like they belong. That is what we want every guest to experience when they come to Kareem's."

Hong Kong Tea House opening in Rockville

Hong Kong Tea House is coming soon to Rockville. It will be located at 605 Hungerford Drive (MD 355). At Hong Kong Tea House, patrons will "indulge in Hong Kong's sweetest secrets," the local chain promises. Specialties include handcrafted milk teas, fruit teas, Vietnamese coffees, smoothies, desserts, and a wide selection of authentic Chinese street foods from a variety of regions. Hong Kong Tea House is currently hiring cooks, baristas, and assistant managers. 

Arby's construction begins in Derwood

Construction has begun on the future Arby's restaurant at 7200 Muncaster Mill Road at the Red Mill Shops shopping center. So far, they are demolishing the interior of the former McDonald's. They haven't added Arby's to the tenants on the shopping center's monument sign yet, but you can see the blank space where it will go. Here's a look inside:

Police called after assault at grocery store in Rockville

Rockville City police responded to a report of a 2nd-degree assault at a grocery store this past Saturday afternoon, August 29, 2026. The assault was reported at a store in the 200 block of N. Washington Street in Rockville Town Center at 3:01 PM Saturday. That is the new Trader Joe's store at The Square at Rockville.

Sneak peek: Bogotá Coffee House in Rockville

Bogotá Coffee House looks close to opening at 115 N. Washington Street in Rockville. Seating and equipment are now in place. Artwork and photos are in the process of being hung on the walls. So far, vintage photographs display scenes of the Plaza de Bolívar in Bogotá, the now-demolished Hotel Granada in that grand city, and the historic Pedro A. López Building on the Avenida Jiménez de Quesada. Here's a sneak peek inside: