Always Ice Cream "coming soon" to Rockville

Always Ice Cream is coming soon to Rockville Pike, according to signage posted in its future storefront. It will be located at 11802 Rockville Pike at Pike & Rose. The Maryland-based chain manufactures over 250 handcrafted flavors in the state, but has attracted the attention of national media. Always Ice Cream is expected to open this fall. Most of its scoop shops are located in the Annapolis area, but the brand is now expanding into Montgomery and Charles counties.

Derwood luxury estate hits the market for sale

A unique 3.04-acre estate in Derwood has just gone on the market for sale. 17801-17805 October Court features a main estate home, an accessory building, and an eight-car garage. The secluded estate backs up to Rock Creek Park. Built in 1981, the home includes a dance studio that has hosted classes of 25+ students daily for thirty years. The online brochure targets wealthy buyers, alotting a significant amount of space to highlight the estate's proximity to the Montgomery County Airpark to prospective buyers who own private jets.

Just Salad opening in Rockville

Just Salad is "coming soon" to Rockville, according to signage posted in the windows of its future storefront. It will be located at 12242 Rockville Pike, right next to the recently-opened Wonder food hall. The fast-casual salad restaurant is the latest dining addition at the revitalized Towne Plaza development. Reusable bowls and a large number of plant-based alternatives to meat (the real thing is also still available at Just Salad, though) are part of what the chain calls "Earth-friendly" dining. Another location is "just down the Pike" in the Residences at Mazza in Friendship Heights NW.

Rockville Pike/MD 355 bus lanes to be removed next week

Temporary bus-only lanes along Wisconsin Avenue in Bethesda and Chevy Chase, and along Rockville Pike in North Bethesda and White Flint, will be removed next week, the Maryland State Highway Administration announced yesterday. Starting Monday, September 7, all vehicles will again be able to use the lanes. MDSHA crews will work overnight between September 7 and September 11 to remove the bus lane markings, and restore painted lines destroyed by the project.

Montgomery County elected officials were applying heavy pressure to MDSHA behind the scenes to make the temporary bus lanes permanent as late as this week. When ABC 7 News reporter Tom Roussey asked MDSHA on Tuesday if the lanes would be left in place after the Metro station shutdown ended next week, the MDSHA spokesperson was unable to answer his question. This shows just how intense the pressure from County politicians was, as MDSHA had sworn up and down that these lanes were temporary, and would not typically be waiting until the last minute to schedule overnight road work.

By Thursday, MDSHA - in a rare return to professionalism in an agency that has become increasingly politicized over the last decade - declared that it would indeed be removing the lanes, as promised. MDSHA further told Roussey in a follow-up interview Thursday that the data the agency collected during the lane closures this summer "showed the best decision was to remove all bus-only lanes along Route 355." In other words, giving buses their own lanes does not generate more commuter throughput than automobiles can, no matter how many explainer graphics anti-highway radicals post on X. Of course, residents of Staten Island could have told them that ten years ago.

One of many Metro shuttles seen
traveling in the center or left lanes of MD 355,
despite having been given its own exclusive bus lane

Montgomery County's War-on-cars elected officials - all of whom hypocritically drive to "work" at their very-part-time Council "jobs" - must be furious with MDSHA at this hour. The agency not only vetoed their wishes, and foiled their Trojan horse scheme to achieve a permanent 33% in reduction of vehicular capacity on a major commuter route for two counties, but also made public that the data shows County officials are dead wrong in their claims regarding bus lanes and BRT. Again, this is how MDSHA and the Montgomery County Department of Transportation used to function up until the last decade. They would regularly veto and reject the wishes and whims of rabid, radical politicians when they conflicted with traffic engineering best practices. I would strongly encourage MDSHA to use Thursday's decision as a turning point to restore the agency's previously sterling reputation for professionalism and independence.

We've also got to credit the public for being more engaged this time, compared to when the County successfully cajoled MDSHA into making similar "temporary" lanes - in similar "Metro stations are closed!" Trojan horse fashion - permanent in Silver Spring a few years ago. MDSHA and WMATA heard loud and clear the outrage from drivers on the already-congested MD 355, on which MCDOT still does not synchronize the traffic signals during rush hour to not turn red at every block. Stay engaged, and make your displeasure effective by voting these bums out in November.

Hong Kong Tea House opening in Rockville

Hong Kong Tea House is coming soon to Rockville. It will be located at 605 Hungerford Drive (MD 355). At Hong Kong Tea House, patrons will "indulge in Hong Kong's sweetest secrets," the local chain promises. Specialties include handcrafted milk teas, fruit teas, Vietnamese coffees, smoothies, desserts, and a wide selection of authentic Chinese street foods from a variety of regions. Hong Kong Tea House is currently hiring cooks, baristas, and assistant managers. 

Police called after assault at grocery store in Rockville

Rockville City police responded to a report of a 2nd-degree assault at a grocery store this past Saturday afternoon, August 29, 2026. The assault was reported at a store in the 200 block of N. Washington Street in Rockville Town Center at 3:01 PM Saturday. That is the new Trader Joe's store at The Square at Rockville.

Sneak peek: Bogotá Coffee House in Rockville

Bogotá Coffee House looks close to opening at 115 N. Washington Street in Rockville. Seating and equipment are now in place. Artwork and photos are in the process of being hung on the walls. So far, vintage photographs display scenes of the Plaza de Bolívar in Bogotá, the now-demolished Hotel Granada in that grand city, and the historic Pedro A. López Building on the Avenida Jiménez de Quesada. Here's a sneak peek inside:

College Plaza shopping center getting a facelift in Rockville

College Plaza, the venerable and popular shopping center at 15100 Frederick Road in Rockville, is getting an updated look. A significant remodeling project is underway at the property, which is anchored by a New York Mart grocery store. All tenants remain open for business during the renovations. Here's a look at the work in progress:

MangoLina dessert truck opening soon in Rockville

MangoLina has secured a spot for their newest location in Rockville. The dessert truck will be located at 2240 Veirs Mill Road, on the Shell gas station property in Twinbrook. This is the fifth location for the rapidly growing local business, which specializes in frozen and fruity treats. Menu items include ice cream, chocolate-covered frozen bananas with toppings, a pepino split, sorbete de carretón, frozen mangonada drinks, horchata, and smoothies. The MangoLina trailer is now parked on-site, but stay tuned for an opening date!

Regal Cinemas temporarily closed for renovations in Rockville

Regal Cinemas Rockville Center cineplex at 199 E. Montgomery Avenue is temporarily closed for renovations. The theater is scheduled to reopen on August 22, 2026. Some users of the Regal app have reported that the closure is not being shown on it. The good news is that renovations mean that the theater won't be permanently closing anytime soon.

Signage installed at Crust & Crumb Bakery Cafe in Rockville

The sign is up at Crust & Crumb Bakery Cafe at 718 Rockville Pike in Rockville. Tonight, it was already hooked up and lit. Inside, preparations continue ahead of the cafe's debut. I haven't come across any official website or social media pages for the business, so stay tuned for an opening date.

Subway to close Town Center location in Rockville

Subway will close its Rockville Town Center location by the end of this year, according to an auction announcement for the sub sandwich shop. Everything inside the restaurant, which is located at 2 N. Washington Street, will be auctioned off starting on December 31, 2026 at 9:21 AM. The Town Center Potbelly has been closed for an extended period due to water damage, meaning sub sandwiches may be increasingly hard to find in the center of town as 2027 dawns. But if you always wanted a lighted Subway sign on your wall, bidding starts at 50 cents! Subway fans will still have the store at 1402 Rockville Pike, which was recently fully renovated.

Rockville restaurant for sale

A longtime Rockville restaurant business is being offered for sale. Mosaic Cuisine, located at 186 Halpine Road, is listed as for sale with an asking price of $300,000. A French restaurant that opened in 2001, the business is being marketed as a turnkey operation, with two weeks of training offered to the ultimate buyer. The restaurant's owner is retiring, according to the online listing.

Bogotá Coffee House opening in Rockville

Bogotá Coffee House is coming to Rockville Town Center. It will be located at 115 N. Washington Street. Permanent signage has already been installed above the storefront. When you think of coffee, Colombia automatically comes to mind, so this could be a promising alternative to Starbucks in the Town Center area.

Huntington Learning Center opening soon in Rockville

Huntington Learning Center is coming soon to Rockville. It will be located at 36-F Maryland Avenue at The Square at Rockville in Rockville Town Center, right next to Kusshi. Huntington offers personalized K-12 academic tutoring, subject-specific help, and exam prep for the SAT, ACT, and other standardized tests. Operating hours will be 9:30 AM to 8:30 PM Monday through Thursday, 9:30 AM to 1:00 PM on Saturdays, and closed on Fridays and Sundays.

Bartaco adding mural to exterior in Rockville

Bartaco is adding a mural to the exterior of its restaurant at 950 Rose Avenue at Pike & Rose on Rockville Pike. Artists have been out working on the addition over the weekend. The new public art piece prominently features the chain's dragonfly logo. Overall, the imagery and colors reflect the brand's "coastal vibe" aesthetic, inspired by Brazil, Uruguay, and Southern California. The mural stands out on a block that has very nice looking storefront designs, but not much in the way of public art.

Sneak peek: Crust & Crumb in Rockville

Crust & Crumb looks like it is getting very close to opening in Rockville. It is located at 718 Rockville Pike, in the former Roy Rogers space. Everything appears to be in place inside, except for the baked goods. Still to come are exterior signage, and an opening date. In the meantime, enjoy this sneak peek!

Taiwan's MedVoyage Global chooses Virginia over Maryland for U.S. headquarters

Is Northern Virginia tired of winning yet? No! And fortunately for them, Montgomery County and Maryland elected officials aren't tired of losing. Thus it is that the Taiwanese firm MedVoyage Global has chosen Virginia, not Maryland, for its U.S. headquarters. The MedVoyage HQ will be at 10300 Eaton Place, at the Mason Enterprise Center (MEC) in Fairfax City. MedVoyage is a leading firm in the future of healthcare, using a low-Earth-orbit satellite network to deliver telehealth and pharmacy services to remote areas in 40 countries, to ships at sea, and to over 80 bricks-and-mortar medical centers across the globe, as well as connecting these remote customers with emergency response units.

Now MedVoyage is expanding into the North American healthcare market, and has chosen Northern Virginia as its base to scale up system and sales operations, as well as to navigate federal regulatory red tape. "Over the next two years, the company plans to scale its local workforce with systems engineers, clinical compliance specialists, and commercial sales executives," the Fairfax City Economic Development corporation said in a statement this morning. FCED added that this latest victory "further strengthens Fairfax City’s role within Northern Virginia’s innovation economy."

"Selecting Fairfax City for our U.S. headquarters is a foundational step in our global scaling strategy," MedVoyage Global CEO Nemo Teng said in a statement. "MEC Fairfax offers the ideal soft-landing environment and unparalleled access to the Northern Virginia tech ecosystem, placing us minutes away from critical federal and defense stakeholders such as the U.S. Coast Guard, Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Defense. This facility allows us to rapidly build strategic U.S. partnerships, access premier regional engineering talent, and deploy our emergency and maritime telehealth solutions across North America."

Anyone familiar with local geography will realize that Montgomery County is also in close proximity to these same federal and defense stakeholders. So, why does Northern Virginia keep winning, and Montgomery County keep losing?

You can look at the most obvious difference, which is the low tax environment of Virginia versus Montgomery County, which weighs down its residents and businesses with the highest total tax and fee burden in the region. But let's again go a step further, and see how once again Northern Virginia's superior infrastructure triumphs over Montgomery County's incomplete master plan highway system and poor airport access.

MedVoyage Global's new U.S. HQ will sit right beside an on-ramp to Interstate 66, and directly adjacent to U.S. Route 50. That will give MedVoyage a straight shot to Dulles International Airport via Route 50, or even faster with tolls via I-66. In contrast, Montgomery County and Maryland elected officials continue to block construction of the long-delayed new Potomac River crossing of I-370 from Gaithersburg to Dulles. 

As much as Northern Virginia enjoys winning, so do corporations that need to make something called profits. Winning is contagious. And winners like to have direct access to the only airport in the region with the frequency and variety of flights to international destinations that international businesspeople require to compete - Dulles International Airport. Thanks to our anti-business, Marxist "leadership," Montgomery County continues to lack that strategic advantage - by choice!!

In another delicious coincidence, did you know that Montgomery County's unfinished master plan highway system would have also extended I-66 access into Bethesda? The unbuilt Northwest Freeway, which would have paralleled Wisconsin Avenue through Bethesda, Friendship Heights and Tenleytown, would have crossed the Potomac on the also-unbuilt Three Sisters Bridge and (surprise!) also-unbuilt I-266 near Georgetown University. And you wonder where Montgomery County got all that land for tiny parks and big parking garages between Wisconsin Avenue and the Town of Chevy Chase!

By learning to love losing.

Rockville Taco Bell closes for remodeling

Taco Bell has temporarily closed at 1100 Rockville Pike for a complete remodeling of the restaurant. The demolition and construction are expected to take four to six months, according to a restaurant employee. This is, hands down, the best Taco Bell in Montgomery County, so it will be a long four to six months! Based on newer store models being rolled out elsewhere in the country, you can probably expect to find a dual lane drive-thru, more Fight For $15 ordering kiosks, and a design that favors speedy fulfillment of delivery and mobile orders. 

iSmash rage room "coming soon" to Rockville

iSmash rage room is "coming soon" to Rockville, according to signage posted in the windows of its future storefront at 36-C Maryland Avenue, at The Square at Rockville. Designed to let patrons blow off steam in a controlled, safe environment, iSmash also accommodates date nights, group events, and team-building exercises. "We’re building something Rockville hasn’t seen before…and trust us, it’ll be worth the wait," iSmash Rockville posted on their Facebook page earlier this month. Stay tuned for an opening date.