Beauty Spot to replace Masica Diamonds in Rockville

A new tenant is coming to the Masica Diamonds storefront at 11763 Rockville Pike, in the ground floor of The Sterling at the Metro condominium building. Beauty Spot has leased the 1,559-square-foot space. The current status of the interior fit-out for Beauty Spot is unknown, due to the window coverings. However, a "coming soon" sign has been posted in the front window.

Subway nears return on Rockville Pike (Photos)

The newly-renovated Subway at 1402 Rockville Pike in Rockville looks very close to opening. Digital menu screens have been installed behind the counter, and are already operational. In fact, the shipping boxes for the screens by the Pennsylvania-based digital sign firm Scala are still visible in front of the counter. The company also manufactures touchscreen ordering systems, but none of those are visible yet inside the restaurant. This Subway store closed last December, and even the signage was stripped off of the building, with no message left for customers. Then this spring, a renovation project began and a Subway logo appeared on one of the interior walls.

Club Studio opening in Rockville

Club Studio is coming soon to 11416-A Rockville Pike. The gym will take over the vacant second floor space that previously belonged to L.A. Fitness in the NoBe Market apartment tower. Like L.A. Fitness, Club Studio is a national chain of fitness centers. It offers Reformer Pilates, CS4 cardio and strength workouts, spin classes, a boxing studio, traditional and hot yoga, and low-impact 45-minute cardio trampoline classes. A wait list for the Rockville location is now accepting online registration.

Assault at 7-Eleven in Rockville

Montgomery County police are seeking the public's help in identifying and locating the suspect in the May 7, 2025 aggravated assault at the 7-Eleven store at 11530-G Rockville Pike. Shortly before 7:30 PM that evening, police say, the suspect entered the store and dispensed a soft drink for himself at the soda fountain. When he allegedly began to drink the soda without paying for it, an employee confronted him to state that the beverages are not free. The suspect responded by striking the employee, police allege, and then began throwing merchandise at store employees. He proceeded to flee the store.

However, police say he then attempted to reenter the convenience store. Employees held the doors shut so that he could not. The suspect then pulled out a firearm and threatened to shoot them. But he instead ran toward the White Flint Metro station.

Police describe the suspect as a Black male, approximately 6'3" in height, with black hair and a beard. He was wearing black pants, a green shirt, a gray jacket, and a black Washington Commanders sweatshirt. The suspect was also carrying a pink shoulder bag and a black backpack.

Anyone with information regarding this suspect or this crime is asked to visit the Crime Solvers of Montgomery County, MD website at www.crimesolversmcmd.org (http://www.crimesolversmcmd.org/) and click on the “www.p3tips.com (http://www.p3tips.com/)” link at the top of the page or call 1-866-411-8477. A reward of up to $10,000 is offered for information leading to the suspects’ arrest. Tipsters may remain anonymous.

McDonald's On-the-Go, only the 3rd built in USA, opens in Rockville (Photos)

The new McDonald's On-the-Go restaurant has opened at 11710 Rockville Pike in Rockville. This is only the third of this new restaurant design concept from the chain to open in the United States, with the first two having been in California and Texas. The emphasis is on takeout, delivery, and - above all else - drive-thru service. There is no indoor dining area of the type that you have come to expect from the Golden Arches, and most other traditional fast food restaurants.

However, as you've seen in my ongoing updates during the construction of the building, there is one table in the small lobby. Customers are apparently allowed to dine indoors at that table on a first-come, first-seated basis, and were doing so last evening. All other patrons were standing, awaiting their orders to be handed out from the pickup window, which replaces the traditional open counter. "Fight for $15" touchscreen kiosks likewise replace the cashiers and cash registers of the past.

The two biggest upgrades for nearby residents with this McDonald's are the addition of a drive-thru (the old McDonald's just down the street did not have a drive-thru), and the fact that the drive-thru will be open 24 hours. A 24-hour McDonald's - or a 24-hour fast food restaurant of any brand - is a rare find in moribund Montgomery County. Speaking of which, the new restaurant's debut is being initially hampered by the County's anti-business sign code, which has steadily removed and banned most of the prominent and legible roadside business signage ubiquitous in the rest of the country. There were only four customers in the lobby last night, and few cars using the drive-thru, suggesting that few people driving past were aware the McDonald's was even there or open. A typical McDonald's has a steady line of cars at the drive-thru, even during off hours. Aside from those establishments who still have grandfathered roadside signage, a large percentage of businesses along the Pike are invisible to all but the most careless rubberneckers driving by. Heckuva job, Brownie!

Gaithersburg man dies after assault at Silver Diner in Rockville

A Gaithersburg man was the victim of a fatal assault at Silver Diner at 12276 Rockville Pike at Federal Plaza in Rockville on May 21, 2025, Montgomery County police say. Officers responded to a report of an assault at the popular restaurant at 11:52 PM that evening. When they arrived, they found Fredi Torres, 49, of Gaithersburg to be unresponsive. Officers immediately began lifesaving efforts, until Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Services personnel arrived. MCFRS transported Torres to a local hospital, where he tragically later passed away.

Detectives are urging any customers of the restaurant who may have witnessed the incident to visit the Crime Solvers of Montgomery County, MD website at www.crimesolversmcmd.org and click on the “www.p3tips.com” link at the top of the page, or call 1-866-411-8477. Tipsters may remain anonymous. 

Rockville Pike McDonald's construction update (Photos)

Construction of the new McDonald's restaurant at 11710 Rockville Pike is nearing the finish line. The Golden Arches are now in place on the front facade of the building, as are the ordering screens in the two drive-thru lanes - which are currently blocked off with tape. Last week I broke the news that this will be only the third of the chain's "McDonald's On-the-Go" store concept to open in the U.S., with a focus on drive-thru, takeout, and delivery orders only, and no indoor dining room. That means you will be one of the first to experience the new concept outside of Los Angeles and Fort Worth, when this location opens.

McDonald's opening prototype store design in Rockville (Photos)

The new McDonald's at 11710 Rockville Pike in Rockville will be the third of the company's prototype store design that focuses entirely on drive-thru and takeout orders, and entirely dispenses with indoor dining. Two previous variations on the "On-the-Go" store model have opened in Forth Worth, Texas in 2022, and in Los Angeles in 2024. The Rockville store will have two drive-thru lanes outside. But inside, there is only a small lobby with touchscreen kiosks for ordering purposes. Orders are placed via the kiosks, or in advance using the McDonald's app. Instead of a wide counter with multiple cashier stations, there is only a small window cut out of the kitchen wall, where a crew member will hand out your order when it is ready, using the pickup number you received when placing the order.

This new store model solves many problems at once. It streamlines ordering, and gets pickup and delivery orders out faster. Fewer employees are needed to operate the restaurant. And the issue of loitering is virtually eliminated, since there is no place to "hang out" inside the building. While bulletproof glass would be necessary to fully "crime-proof" the restaurant, it would be more difficult for robbers and other criminals to gain direct access to the employees than at a traditional McDonald's store.

The new McDonald's was already expected to be an improvement over the nearby location that closed last year, simply because this one will have drive-thru service. But the opening will be even more exciting now that the interior construction reveals that this is a rare and new McDonald's store design that few around the country have experienced yet, and the performance of which will influence future McDonald's store designs around the country.

Rockville Subway construction update (Photos)

Signage has been installed on the Subway store at 1402 Rockville Pike. Last night, it was already lit up in the familiar green and yellow Subway color scheme. The interior is close to finished, but menu screens, counter equipment, and maybe a bit more seating furniture are still to come before opening day. This location closed in December, and has undergone a major renovation.