New McDonald's to add roadside sign in Rockville

The new McDonald's restaurant at 11710 Rockville Pike has been hampered since its opening last May by a lack of signage easily visible to drivers traveling that busy commuter corridor. McDonald's is aware of the problem, and I've received word that they will be requesting permission from Montgomery County to install a freestanding pylon sign by the roadside. What dimensions the County will permit for that sign remains to be seen. I know that the pylon sign installed at the River Road McDonald's in Bethesda earlier this century, before the even-stricter sign rules were implemented by the County, is notably shorter than the typical Golden Arches sign seen elsewhere in the country. 

Xi’an Famous Foods to open first Maryland location in Rockville

Xi’an Famous Foods will open its first restaurant in Maryland at 12031 Rockville Pike at Montrose Crossing. The 1,718 square-foot western Chinese restaurant will be located next to RASA and Five Guys Burger and Fries. Xi’an Famous Foods was founded in 2005 as a 200 square foot basement stall in the Golden Shopping Mall in Flushing, N.Y. It claimed to have been the first restaurant to bring the little-known cuisine of Xi’an to the United States. Over the last twenty years, it has grown into 20 locations across the Big Apple, and was a favorite of the late Anthony Bourdain.

Signature dishes at Xi'an include:

Spicy Cumin Lamb Hand-Ripped Noodles: This is the dish the company says made Anthony Bourdain a fan. Thinly-sliced lamb, spiced with cumin and chili powder, mixed with chewy hand-pulled biang-biang noodles and topped with soy-vinegar noodle sauce. Like many menu items, this is an original recipe from the founder's family.

Stewed Pork Burger: A house-made crispy flatbread, stuffed with diced stewed pork belly, simmered with soy sauce and signature spices until tender.

Liang Pi "Cold-Skin Noodles”: House-made steamed wheat flour noodles are chilled, then served with bean sprouts, cucumber, cilantro, and spongy cubes of seitan (wheat gluten).

Spicy & Sour Lamb Dumplings: Ground lamb wrapped in homemade dumpling dough and infused with spices for even more flavor. Served with their signature spicy and sour sauces. 

“In 2026, as a 20-year-old, still-family-owned business, supported by sales (with no investors or franchisees), we are excited to open our first company-owned Maryland location in Rockville,” Xi'an Famous Foods CEO Jason Wang said in a statement yesterday. “We hope to be open by mid-2026 to share our food based on beloved family recipes.” Accomplishing all of this without outside investors certainly raises expectations ahead of the opening here on Rockville Pike. We often see well-funded chains with big investors that end up shuttering quickly, because it was all hype generated by expensive social media campaigns, rather than word-of-mouth based on the quality and flavor of the food.

Photos by Jenny Huang

Char'd opening in Rockville

Char'd is expanding to Montgomery County with a new location planned for 11881 Grand Park Avenue at Pike & Rose. It has a lot in common with the previous tenant of that space, BurgerFi. Char'd is a fast-casual burger chain, albeit one that is local in origin as a food truck, and orders are placed at electronic kiosks. The Char'd burgers are grass-fed halal beef, smashburger in style, and their fries are fried in duck fat. Prices are fairly nutty though, with the Original Char'd ringing in at $16.49 for the burger alone, a modest serving of fries at $8.99, and a milkshake for $10.49 (!!). 

It will be interesting to see if Char'd can thrive where BurgerFi failed. With no drive-thru, and parking at Pike & Rose being a nightmare, nobody but the shrillest New Urbanist YIMBY can say that lukewarm burgers and fries are appealing after the long struggle to get out and get home. That leaves dine-in and residents of the buildings at Pike & Rose to get the real Char'd dining experience, particularly at those high prices. And with demographic trends in the County heading steadily downward income-wise, can fast-casual at this price point draw a large enough crowd? 

First look: Bartaco in Rockville (Photos)

 Bartaco at 950 Rose Avenue at Pike & Rose in Rockville appears ready to open any day now. The taqueria chain's first Maryland location had a sign in the window last evening reading, "Closed for staff training." Only a couple of workers were visible inside, but every table was set for dining, and all furnishings, light fixtures, and equipment was in place. Here's a sneak peek of what Bartaco refers to as its "Southern California and Latin America-inspired" decor:

Police called after assault at movie theater in Rockville

Montgomery County police were called to a movie theater in Rockville after someone reported having been assaulted there this past Saturday night, January 3, 2026. The assault was reported at the iPic Theater at 11830 Grand Park Avenue at 8:10 PM. It was classified as a 2nd-degree assault by police.

Update on Bartaco in Rockville (Photos)

There's still no opening date for Bartaco at 950 Rose Avenue at Pike & Rose. But construction progress continues inside and outside of the former NADA space at the development along Rockville Pike. Permanent signage has been installed over the storefront. The location is also hiring staff, as you can see on the banner below. 

Mango Mango House of Desserts opening in Rockville

Mango Mango House of Desserts is coming soon to Rockville. It will be located at 1617 Rockville Pike at Congressional Plaza. Founded in New York's Chinatown in 2013, the Asian dessert chain has expanded into twelve states. As you might surmise, mango is their signature flavor. But you'll also find a wide variety of cakes, sundaes, snowclouds, and milk and fruit teas.

Police respond to assault in Rockville parking lot

Rockville City police responded to a report of a 2nd-degree assault in a parking lot on Christmas night. The assault was reported in a commercial parking lot in the 1000 block of Rockville Pike at 7:48 PM last Thursday night. An individual was also accused of several other offenses in the same incident, including obstruction of a police investigation.

Rockville road rage ends in BB gun shooting

A road rage incident in Rockville ended with one driver being shot with a BB gun on December 17, 2025. The incident took place in the 700 block of busy Rockville Pike at 11:14 AM. Rockville City police say that the shooter "became upset while driving," and proceeded to fire multiple BB pellets at another vehicle, shattering its driver's side window and striking the victim in the chest. The shooter then fled the scene. Police report that they have determined the identity of the alleged shooter.

Roy Rogers closes in Rockville (Photos)

Devastating news from Rockville Pike: Roy Rogers has permanently closed at 718 Rockville Pike in Rockville. It seemed like Roy Rogers had just returned to Montgomery County, and now it is retreating before even opening a location in every town in MoCo. There's no question the lack of a drive-thru was a very poorly thought out plan, when drive-thrus account for over 70% of sales at fast food restaurants, and it certainly significantly reduced the number of times I did business there. But if they can't make it on Rockville Pike, it raises serious questions about the brand's future. Customers are being redirected to the Lost Knife Road location, one of the highest-crime streets in the County, and definitely not "nearby."

Ace Hardware installs signage ahead of January opening in Rockville

Permanent signage has been installed at the future Ace Hardware store at 835 Rockville Pike at Wintergreen Plaza in Rockville. A secondary Benjamin Moore paint logo has also been attached above the storefront. The highly-anticipated hardware store is now expected to open in January 2026, missing the original target by only a few days or weeks, and just in time to stock up on snow shovels, snow blowers, sleds, and deicer. This will be the first Ace Hardware store in Rockville.

Dave's Hot Chicken opening today in Rockville (Photos)

 

Dave's Hot Chicken will open today, December 18, 2025, at 11564 Rockville Pike, according to a sign posted at the restaurant, which was conducting training for employees last night. After a languid construction process, an inspired burst of energy over the last week got all the equipment and menus into place. Speaking of menus, I was not familiar with Dave's, and am delighted to see milkshakes and Hi-C Orange and Fruit Punch "Slushers" among the beverage choices. Operating hours are 10:30 AM to midnight, seven days a week.

Go Fresh 365 supermarket opens in Rockville (Photos)

There's a new grocery store in Rockville. Go Fresh 365 has opened at 1800 Rockville Pike, at the Galvan at Twinbrook development. Last night, there were more helpful employees than customers in the store, which will have to fight the same nutty Montgomery County sign regulations that former tenant Safeway did - most safe drivers will pass the Galvan without seeing any of the businesses there because there is no monument or pole signage at the roadside, and the development is set back far from the road. 

The Long Island City, New York-based grocery chain boasts that it is the "No.1 Asian/Chinese Supermarket Chain" on the East Coast of the United States. Founded in 1995, the company has grown by leaps and bounds through a focus on freshness, and exclusive partnerships with businesses in the fields of fresh produce, livestock breeding, marine fishing, catering services, and commercial real estate.Its mission, it says, is to "create greater values for overseas Chinese and the American people." 

Dave's Hot Chicken's sci-fi salute to Rockville

Dave's Hot Chicken has been in a slow-motion construction process over the last few months, but some significant effort has been put into the exterior facades of the former McDonald's building at 11564 Rockville Pike in recent days. In contrast to the blank walls found at most fast food chains' buildings, Dave's has now emblazoned its walls with graffiti-style art. The stylings are capped off with a huge "Rockville" mural that takes up an entire wall. It's also a nice touch that the orangeish red paint on the roof overhang matches the scorching color of the Nashville Hot Chicken sandwich pictured on the sign out front.