Tropical Smoothie Cafe opens in Rockville

Tropical Smoothie Cafe is now open at 835-F Rockville Pike at Wintergreen Plaza. The cafe will host a special Grand Opening event this weekend to celebrate their arrival on the Pike. If you are one of the first 50 guests to enter the cafe this Saturday, May 9, 2026, you will win free smoothies for a year. Everybody will get one free 24 oz. smoothie with in-store ordering of any food or bowl from this Friday, May 8 through Sunday, May 10. 

Nordstrom Rack "coming soon" to Rockville

Nordstrom Rack is "coming soon" to Rockville, according to signage posted across its future storefront. It will be located at 1683 Rockville Pike at Congressional Plaza. This is the former Buy Buy Baby space.

What is the difference between Nordstrom at Westfield Montgomery Mall and Nordstrom Rack? Well, unlike a couple of competitors I recently wrote about, Nordstrom Rack actually does sell some overstock, clearance, and past-season items from the "real" Nordstrom. So this means that you actually are going to be able to find a significant number of Nordstrom-quality products by top labels at great savings at Nordstrom Rack.

However, like those other competitors, Nordstrom Rack also carries items specifically designed and manufactured for Nordstrom Rack. These are essentially going to be pieces that look like what you expect to see in the higher-end Nordstrom department store, but that might be made with a lower-cost material. You can quickly identify apparel made for Nordstrom Rack by checking the tag, which will say... Nordstrom Rack, not surprisingly.

You won't have the department store Nordstrom services like personal shoppers and alterations at Nordstrom Rack. And there won't be a cafe or somebody tinkling away on a grand piano. But bargain hunters won't mind, as they search for and score deals on items that might have been out of their price range at the department store a season ago.

Ten Ren Tea & Ginseng closes in Rockville

Ten Ren Tea & Ginseng has closed at 825-G Rockville Pike at Wintergreen Plaza. The tea shop operated for over 20 years. In addition to bubble tea and milk tea beverages, the shop was a popular place to purchase loose-leaf teas and ginseng. They sold a high-grade ginseng, as well as imported teas from Asia that weren't always easy to find elsewhere.

Brothers Sew & Vac opens in Rockville

Brothers Sew & Vac, one of the longest-operating family-owned businesses in Bethesda, has moved to Rockville. Formerly located at 4826 St. Elmo Avenue in downtown Bethesda, they have relocated and opened at 1067 Rockville Pike in the Talbott Center across from Taco Bell. The Morris family has owned and operated the business for seven decades. Brothers carries vacuum cleaners, sewing machines, and medical grade air purifiers. They also repair and service all brands of sewing machines and vacuum cleaners.

Hours of operation at the new Rockville store are 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Saturday. Right now, you can get 10% off anything in the store if you mention the code "Bethesda10" at purchase. Free shipping is also available on online orders. Another benefit of the Rockville location? Free parking!

Bonne Nail Bar "coming soon" to Twinbrook Quarter in Rockville

Bonne Nail Bar is "coming soon" to the Twinbrook Quarter development in Rockville, according to signage in the windows of its future storefront at 850 Festival Street. Permanent signage is also already in place above the storefront. Bonne Nail Bar is currently hiring nail techs. The nail spa joins Wegmans and several restaurants in the ground floor of the Milton apartments.

Update on Wonder food hall under construction in Rockville (Photos)

Construction is moving quickly on the Wonder food hall, opening this month at 12240 Rockville Pike at Towne Plaza in Rockville. The sign is up over the storefront. Inside, you can see a pick-up window and touchscreen devices. I "wonder" if it would be more accurate to call this a ghost kitchen than a food hall, however. Much like the short-lived Ensemble in Bethesda, the concept is more about pick-up and delivery meals mixed and matched from multiple well-known restaurant brands, as opposed to wandering through a large space and stopping at individual stalls. 

Man pulls knife when told coffee isn't free in Rockville

There's no such thing as a free lunch, or even a free cup of coffee, in Rockville. A man seeking just that barged into a business in the 800 block of Rockville Pike around 5:00 AM on April 1, 2026, Montgomery County police report. When he was told he would have to pay for the coffee, the man pulled out a knife and threatened the employee. Police located the caffeinated suspect outside the business, which police did not identify, and placed him under arrest.

Cycle Gear opening March 25 in Rockville

Cycle Gear will open for the first time on Wednesday, March 25, 2026 at 1500 Rockville Pike, according to a sign posted in the window. As you can see, the shelves and displays inside are just about fully stocked. Cycle Gear is America's largest retailer of motorcycle gear, apparel, parts, and accessories. The opening date was first reported by The MoCo Show. Here's a sneak peek inside:

Armed robbery in Rockville

Rockville City police responded to a report of an armed robbery Monday night, March 16, 2026. The robbery was reported in the 100 block of Rockville Pike at 7:33 PM Monday. A firearm was the weapon employed in the incident.

Strong-arm robbery in Rockville

Montgomery County police responded to a report of a strong-arm robbery in Rockville during the lunch hour yesterday, March 8, 2026. The assault and robbery took place in the 12200 block of Rockville Pike at 12:30 PM Sunday. It was reported along the street there. Another shocking crime committed in broad daylight, as Montgomery County's violent crime wave extends into a sixth year at the hands of our pro-criminal, anti-police County Council. Heckuva job, Brownie!

Char'd opens in Rockville, offering Ramadan specials

Char'd has opened at 11881 Grand Park Avenue at the Pike & Rose development on Rockville Pike. The fast-casual burger restaurant is also welcoming those breaking their Ramadan fast each evening. Through the end of Ramadan on March 19, the restaurant is offering complimentary dates and tea during Iftar hour, and will stay open until midnight each night. The Char'd menu is halal, including the grass-fed beef.

Assault at apartment complex in Rockville

Rockville City police responded to a report of a 2nd-degree assault at an apartment complex Thursday afternoon, February 26, 2026. The assault was reported in the parking lot of an apartment property in the 1000 block of Rockville Pike at 4:30 PM Thursday. Woodmont Park apartments are located on that block.

Rockville Pike Chick-Fil-A Grand Reopening set for March 5

After major renovations, the Chick-Fil-A at 12001 Rockville Pike at Montrose Crossing will reopen on March 5, 2026. The restaurant will hold a grand reopening event that day to celebrate. It will open at 6:30 AM, and the first 100 customers will receive a gift bag and a chance to win a year of free Chick-Fil-A. From 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM, customers who have downloaded the Chick-Fil-A app will be given the opportunity to spin a prize wheel to possibly win free food and merchandise. Customers dressed as cows between 5:00 PM and 8:00 PM will get a free Chick-Fil-A "BOG Card" while supplies last. Everyone will have a chance to take a selfie with the Chick-Fil-A Cow all day long.

Signage installed at Tropical Smoothie Cafe in Rockville

The sign is up at the future Tropical Smoothie Cafe at 835-F Rockville Pike at Wintergreen Plaza. TSC remains mum about the existence of this new location, much less the opening date. However, I searched their website and I see they are accepting employment applications for this store. There are two other Tropical Smoothie Cafes in Rockville, in White Flint and Shady Grove.

Ace Hardware opens in Rockville

Ace Hardware has opened at 835 Rockville Pike at Wintergreen Plaza in Rockville. This is the first Ace Hardware store to open in the city. A couple of target opening dates were missed, but they've opened just in time for today's Nor'easter. Time to stock up on snow shovels, ice melt, deicer, windshield scrapers, and snow blowers! Check out that early closing time, though. 

Gap Factory coming soon to Rockville

Gap Factory is coming this summer to Rockville. The store will be located at 1667 Rockville Pike at Congressional Plaza. That's the space recently vacated by Land's End, next to Hallmark. The interior has been gutted and construction on the interior fit-out appears to be getting underway.

Is Gap Factory yet another liquidation outlet? No, and I did not know this. Gap Factory does not sell anything sold at regular Gap stores. Instead, the products are designed with less-expensive materials at lower prices by Gap designers. Now, most of us would probably say, "Isn't that what Old Navy is?" The selling point seems to be that if you are fond of the styling of Gap clothes and find their designers' tastes to reliably match yours, Gap Factory is an additional line of their creations you can snag for less.

Wild Bean Coffee opens in Rockville

Wild Bean Coffee has opened at 1532 Rockville Pike. The coffee shop and smoothie cafe roasts its own beans in-house daily. It appears this weekend was a soft-opening, with the shop scheduled to reopen again Monday morning at 6:00 AM, according to their website - complete with countdown clock. In addition to beverages, Wild Bean offers a variety of build-your-own sweet bowls and baked goods.

Anthony Bourdain favorite Xi'an Famous Foods "coming soon" to Rockville

Xi'an Famous Foods is "coming soon" to 12031 Rockville Pike at Montrose Crossing, new signage posted at its future storefront advertises. 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.

Cycle Gear opening in Rockville

Cycle Gear is coming to Rockville. It will be located at 1500 Rockville Pike, in the former Party City space next to Tobacco King. The motorcycle parts, gear, and apparel retailer will be a classic Rockville Pike type of business in an age of luxury apartments gone wild. Cycle Gear was founded by motorcycle enthusiasts in California way back in 1974. Demolition of the interior is underway.