Sears Gaithersburg closing, company spokesperson confirms

The Sears store in Gaithersburg will close by mid-December 2019, Sears/Kmart Public Relations Director Larry Costello confirmed to Suburban News Network, publisher of RockvilleNights.com. Located at Lakeforest Mall, the Gaithersburg store appeared on a list making the rounds of national news organizations, Reddit and Facebook groups, but the impending closure had not been officially confirmed by Sears until now.

Costello said a liquidation sale will begin mid-September at the Gaithersburg Sears and Stevensville Kmart stores. One Sears store in White Oak, and a Sears appliance outlet in Wheaton, will remain in Montgomery County after the Gaithersburg store has closed.

Silver Diner Rio review - Gaithersburg (Video+Photos)

Rockville Town Center just got even tougher free-parking-competition in Gaithersburg. The newest Silver Diner opens for dinner hours this week at Rio Lakefront, beginning tonight. Located in the old Cafe Deluxe space, but completely remodeled with new lakefront boardwalk patio seating, the restaurant will officially open on Monday, August 26, 2019 for breakfast, lunch and dinner service.

Rockville has its own Silver Diner with free parking just south of the city limits, of course. But Rio has pumped itself up further this summer, with a new boardwalk, concert stage, luxurious AMC cineplex with bar and restaurant-quality kitchen, Yard House and Dave & Buster's. With free parking, and now its own Silver Diner with waterside outdoor seating, the Gaithersburg development is now an even more dangerous competitor in the battle for local dollars.

I was able to test out the new menu at a soft opening night.  While the menu is not a book like The Cheesecake Factory, Silver Diner has the same ability to please a family or group of very diverse tastes. They also have even more options than the Cheesecake Factory for those on special diets. Whether someone wants a trendy, internationally-inspired dish, or old favorites like meatloaf, crab cakes or burgers, it's almost certain each diner will find something of interest,

For my dinner, I ordered Mom's Chicken Noodle Soup (a cup; bowl size is also available), the Chicken Tender Platter with crispy fries and coleslaw, and a seasonal dessert special, the Churro Doughnut Sundae, topped with Breyers vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, sprinkles, and drizzled with Nutella and raspberry sauce.

Mom's Chicken Noodle Soup

Watch my review of the new Silver Diner at Rio in Gaithersburg right now on the Robert Dyer Channel on YouTube, or at the bottom of this page.

Chicken Tender Platter

The platter includes organic, antibiotic-and-hormone-free
chicken tenders, honey mustard sauce, crispy fries,
and coleslaw for $13.99

Churro Doughnut Sundae

MINI OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY DEALERSHIP CLOSED IN ROCKVILLE, MOVING TO GAITHERSBURG (PHOTOS)

The Mini of Montgomery County dealership is moving way up the Pike to Gaithersburg. A new, larger Mini dealership will open today at
621 N. Frederick Avenue.

Meanwhile, the Rockville location has been cleared out, with the exception of 2 Minis, and will now become the Passport Premier Auto dealership.

MAGRUDER'S CLOSING IN ROCKVILLE

Magruder's supermarket in Rockville is closing, perhaps at the end of the month. Both Rockville Patch and Gaithersburg Patch are reporting store employees have told them Magruder's Rockville and Gaithersburg locations will close.

The corporate headquarters of the longtime, local grocery chain has not publicly addressed the issue as of press time.

If true, this is a sad day.  As a lifelong county resident, I have memories of several Magruder's stores, including the one in Northwest Washington.

What caused this? It sounds like a companywide problem.  But with Rockville customers so critical to the chain, it's worth considering its Rockville-specific troubles in recent years.

I think the condemnation of the Town Center location played a role. The City never was able to relocate Magruder's in the poorly-designed supermarket space in Rockville Town Square. In fact, no chain wanted the space until Dawson's Market finally agreed to move in.

But there was also the county's ill-advised, punitive Energy Tax.  Magruder's actually had to reduce its interior lighting at one point (so did Target) to save money. Like many county businesses, the Energy Tax devastated stores during an already-difficult recession.

As disgraceful as the County Council's Energy Tax is, there are also the factors of the newer Giant nearby on the Pike, and increasing costs.

Perhaps the company will explain the cause, but these are just some of my thoughts.

If Magruder's indeed closes, it is yet another Hot Shoppes, G.C. Murphy, Chuck E. Cheese, Century Ford, etc., etc. loss for Rockville - and the DC area in general.