Dawson's Market has closed at 225 N. Washington Street at Rockville Town Square. The permanent closure ends a long but tumultuous run for the grocery store at the struggling Town Center development. It also leaves an anchor retail space vacant at property that already has no shortage of empty storefronts. A bigger-name chain grocer could spur more shoppers to patronize Rockville Town Square, but property owner Morguard faces the same challenge as the original developer here, in that the poorly-designed-and-placed grocery space was turned down by many such supermarkets almost twenty years ago.
The space is well-sized for brands like Aldi, Lidl or Trader Joe's. If one of those can be attracted here, the famous brand will have to overcome the shortfalls of being hidden away from the busy state highway MD 355 at the very back of the development, and the almost universally-despised parking scheme at Rockville Town Square. The latter was improved in recent years by finally allowing free parking for 2 hours. But the dungeon-like garages, paid parking and validation memories of the past persist in the minds of many, and there is a Giant and a Food Lion with free, hassle-free surface parking only a short distance from Rockville Town Square.
end of an era that joint been there since I graduated high school in 2013
ReplyDeleteSobering, but that’s what we need to get past that pretentious BS that led us here. Pretty much every other shopping center on 355 works and does alright; if the City gets out of its awful urban planning and economic development charade, we can have the same between middle lane and Beall ave.
ReplyDeleteSo, tell us what plans you have between your two ears that are pining to get out. Plans that will set the retail and restaurant world on fire, drawing droves of community residents to your mecca. Waiting.
DeleteYou’re exactly missing and making the point. I don’t have plans, just like I don’t have plans for Ritchie Center or Congressional, or any other place along the Pike. Get out of the way and let businesses take root that can survive. Stop micromanaging and envisioning and failing. What distinguishes RTS is its failure and the outsized role of the City—good intentions and more involvement won’t fix it.
DeleteWhy are all these places closing? I love those places and they keep closing. What’s been going on? Give me an answer.
ReplyDeleteAmen, brother!
ReplyDeleteIn the case of Dawson's it may be mismanagement. They had an additional store in DuPont Circle, where a Safeway was located, and closed it June of last year.
ReplyDeleteI heard that Dawson's lease was not renewed.
DeleteThe City stopped giving them $400k/year to stay open…
DeleteThe City deals with under qualified architects and low budget construction contractors. This is just like the failure of the Rockville City Mall in the 1980s. This was a total failure and is typical of the third rate, poorly educated and alogether inept local politicians that somehow get elected in Rockville.
ReplyDeleteWho elects them?poorly educated voters.
DeleteAgreed. The City is good at a lot of things. Stuff like designing RTS is not one of them. Lose the hubris.
DeleteThe city totally botched the sale and management of Red Gate golf course which was once a gem! It closed before Covid and would have made a fortune had it survived since golf was one of the activities that thrived while all the panic, insane shutdowns and general left wing pant wetters that inhabit these parts allowed fear to overtake any rational thought.
ReplyDelete