Daboba opening shop in Rockville

Daboba, a Malaysia-based tea chain, is opening a store in Rockville. It will be at 1079 Rockville Pike, in the Talbott Center. Daboba sets itself apart in a crowded field by offering unique flavors, textures and concepts in its beverages. Your drink might have giant boba, a scoop of bobazilla vanilla ice cream, or mochi on top. Daboba also offers limited-edition or seasonal beverages for Halloween, Christmas, and even boy band BTS. This will be Daboba's first location in the Mid-Atlantic U.S.

Pickpocket strikes in Rockville parking lot

Watch your wallet! Rockville City police responded to a report of a pickpocket incident in the Twinbrook area Sunday afternoon, May 28, 2023. The theft was reported in a commercial parking lot in the 2000 block of Veirs Mill Road at 5:48 PM.

Rockville Baskin Robbins grand opening this Saturday, June 3

Rockville has been one Baskin Robbins ice cream parlor short since their Congressional Plaza location closed in late 2019. That is now remedied with the new Baskin Robbins store at 1079 Seven Locks Road. It will be celebrating with a grand opening event this Saturday, June 3, 2023, from 12:00 - 4:00 PM. There will be a DJ, prizes, giveaways, and - of course - 31 flavors. Mention this Facebook ad below to get $2 scoops during the event. If you need a recommendation, it's definitely Baseball Nut season!

Rockville VFD to host first annual Flag Day at the Park on June 14

The Rockville Volunteer Fire Department announced yesterday that it will host its first annual Flag Day at the Park on June 14, 2023 from 5:00 to 8:00 PM. In addition to a ceremony and other activities, a Flag Day Walk will be held at Redgate Park at 14500 Avery Road at 6:00 PM. Tickets to participate in the walk will be $10 for adults and $5 for children. All proceeds from walk tickets will benefit the Rockville VFD. 

All of the evening's events besides the walk will take place at the Elks Lodge at 5 Taft Court in Rockville, which is adjacent to Redgate Park. Activities will include Queen of Heart and 50/50 drawings, a Flag Day ceremony, and a Flag retirement ceremony.  There will be an educational presentation on the history of the U.S. flag, including a visit by an American Revolutionary War soldier. For children, there will be some VFD fire and rescue equipment on hand.

Hot dogs, hamburgers and sausages - as well as beverages - will be available for sale at the Elks Lodge before and after the 6:00 PM walk. Walk participants can walk, jog, run or crawl along the route as they wish, the VFD said. Public parking for the event will be available at the Elks Lodge, and in lots nearby the lodge on Taft Court.

Rockville Memorial Day parade canceled

The City of Rockville announced this morning that the 2023 Memorial Day parade scheduled for today, May 29, has been canceled. A ceremony that was to be held along with the parade has also been canceled. The cancellation is due to the inclement weather, the city said.

DOD POW/MIA historian to be grand marshal of 2023 Rockville Memorial Day Parade

UPDATE: The Rockville Memorial Day parade and ceremony have been canceled due to inclement weather

Local Silver Spring resident and U.S. Department of Defense historian Stephen P. Johnson has been selected to serve as Grand Marshal of the 2023 City of Rockville Memorial Day Parade. The parade and ceremony will begin at 9:00 AM tomorrow, Monday, May 29, at Rockville Town Square with a musical tribute by the Rockville Concert Band and Chorus. A ceremony will be held at 9:30 AM, and the actual parade will start at 10:30 AM. Roads that will close for the parade will begin to shut down at 6:00 AM Monday, and will reopen at 2:00 PM.

The parade begins at N. Washington Street and Martins Lane, and heads south on N. Washington Street. Next, the parade turns left onto Beall Avenue, right on Maryland Avenue through Rockville Town Square, and left onto E. Montgomery Avenue. Free parking will be available at the Metro lots, Rockville City Hall lots and Montgomery County Courthouse jury lot. Paid parking will be available for $5 in the Rockville Town Square garage, which can be accessed from Route 355 or North Washington Street from 7:00 AM - 3:00 PM on Monday, May 29.

Grand Marshal Johnson works as a civilian employee in the DOD's POW/MIA Accounting Agency. He volunteered for the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy’s Personnel Accounting Consolidation Taskforce in 2014. As an enlisted member of the Air Force from 1977-1984, Johnson attained the rank of staff sergeant. His selection continues the City tradition of asking a local veteran or active military member to serve as the City's Grand Marshal, and lead the Memorial Day festivities.

Police called after assault at Rockville grocery store

Rockville City police were called to a grocery store Wednesday night, May 24, 2023, after an individual reported having been the victim of a 2nd-degree assault there. The assault was reported at a supermarket in the 1800 block of Rockville Pike at 7:35 PM. A Safeway store is located on that block, at the Galvan development.

TruBlue Total House Care opens in Rockville

TruBlue Total House Care, a handyman service focused on busy adult and senior citizen clientele, has opened a Rockville office. The local franchisee is Karen Kiley, a veteran of Warner Bros. Discovery. She got the idea for opening the franchise after helping her mother upgrade her home to facilitate aging-in-place. TruBlue offers handyman services, aging-in-place and senior home safety assessments and upgrades, house cleaning, yard work and landscaping services, deck building and repairs, kitchen and bathroom remodeling, and even hanging up your Christmas lights. 

“We are thrilled to bring TruBlue to Rockville as we continue to expand our footprint rapidly across the country,” TruBlue President Sean Fitzgerald said in a statement Tuesday. “As a country, we are experiencing a change in how and where people want to grow old. However, almost no one is offering home assessments, modifications and maintenance programs for seniors, despite the staggering demand. We’re virtually alone in this segment, and we’ve seen tremendous growth as a result.” Call TruBlue at 301-799-5958, or visit their website to schedule an appointment.

Buy Buy Baby, Bed Bath & Beyond closing in Rockville

Buy Buy Baby is closing its Rockville store at 1683 Rockville Pike, in the Congressional Plaza shopping center. A store-closing sale is underway. Savings are currently listed as being 20-40%-off storewide. All 122 Buy Buy Baby stores are closing as a result of parent company Bed Bath & Beyond's bankruptcy filing. 

Bed Bath & Beyond just happens to be a neighbor of Buy Buy Baby at 1519 Rockville Pike at the Congressional North shopping center. It's having its own closing sale. The savings are - surprise! - 20-40%-off storewide, as well.

Shoplifters strike at 2 Rockville liquor stores in 90 minutes

Surveillance camera footage has been showing us the recent handiwork of well-organized shoplifting teams in Montgomery County businesses. The County itself was the latest victim Friday afternoon in Rockville. Shoplifters hit two Montgomery County-owned liquor stores within 90 minutes. The first 911 call came from the 300 N. Washington Street store at 2:07 PM; the second, from the 14937 Shady Grove Road store at the Fallsgrove Village Center at 3:36 PM.

Altar'd State closing today at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Altar'd State is closing permanently at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda, at the close of business today, May 21, 2023. The Christian women's apparel boutique opened here in April 2018. This closure we can blame on Montgomery County's hostile business climate and County Council, as the brand is neither going bankrupt, nor closing stores elsewhere in the country. In fact, a company press release exactly one month ago described Altar'd State as "a rapidly growing women's fashion brand with 123 Altar'd State stores, 25 Arula boutiques, six Vow'd boutiques and two Tullabee boutiques in 38 states."

Lakeforest Mall owner wants to demolish mall sooner than planned

The now-shuttered Lakeforest Mall in Gaithersburg was not expected to be demolished until next year. But owner WRS Realty is now seeking to bring the building down much sooner. The rationale for waiting until 2024 was that the company would retain the fallback plan of reopening the mall, should the City of Gaithersburg not approve its plan to redevelop the site with thousands of residential units, along with new restaurants and retail. 

WRS Realty now says it would raze the mall sooner, if it could enter a binding contract with the City that provides a guaranteed right to redevelop the property, the Washington Business Journal reported this afternoon. If the City agrees, reporter Daniel J. Sernovitz wrote, it could speed up delivery of the new development by two years. The new plan by WRS Realty may explain why an auction of the mall's contents is now scheduled for next month. If WRS Realty were to reopen the mall, it would have to replace some amount of that stuff to do so.

Rockville Wegmans construction update, Twinbrook Quarter apartments branded "The Milton" (Photos)

The Wegmans grocery store-anchored Phase 1 building of B.F. Saul's Twinbrook Quarter development continues to progress towards completion at 1592 Rockville Pike. Among the latest news updates, the biggest is the revealed branding of the residential component of the building. The apartments are now being marketed as "The Milton." A new amenity for the building's residents has also been announced: a full-size, resort-style pool, with private cabanas.

Construction is now moving to the phase of applying the brick facade, which will utilize different colors of brick to add visual interest and define sections of the building. This can already be seen along the Chapman Avenue side of the property. Also outside, underground utilities are being installed, as are sidewalks, curbs, and traffic signals. 

Inside the building, interior wall studs, water and sewer pipes, mechanical ductwork and electrical systems are now being put into place. Ahead for the summer, installation of exterior walls and window glass will be two major projects. A 2024 delivery is anticipated for Wegmans and The Milton.

Journey Within Wellness Center to open in Rockville

Prepare to embark on the journey within. The Journey Within Wellness Center is moving into the former PureBeauty Salon in the ground floor of The Sterling at 11755 Rockville Pike. Services offered will include float therapy, massage therapy, cryotherapy, infrared sauna, steam room, Thai body stretch, and intravenous injection therapy. The original Journey Within Wellness Center in Columbia boasts celebrity clients from the Baltimore Orioles, NFL, USFL among others. Journey Within is expected to open in June 2023.

Lakeforest Mall contents to be auctioned off next month

Lakeforest Mall fans will have one last chance to grab a piece of memorabilia from their nostalgic past next month. After closing on March 31, the Gaithersburg mall was quickly boarded up and fenced off. Beyond security concerns, one reason for that was to preserve the remaining contents inside for future sale. That future is now set for June 21-30, 2023, when an auction of those contents will take place. 

The auction will include "furniture, fixtures and equipment from dozens of stores, restaurants [and] common areas" of the mall, according to the auction listing. June 21 will be the preview date, when all items being auctioned off will be displayed on the auction page. The auction will then close beginning on June 22. Winners will pick up their items from the mall between June 26 and June 30.

Lotus of DC advertising down the Pike in Rockville

Lotus of DC is advertising its presence further down MD 355 at the Ourisman Mazda/Volkswagen dealership at 801-A Rockville Pike. A Lotus with the dealership's website URL is parked out front in a Mazda-reserved space. The real dealership is further north at 15301 N. Frederick Avenue, where the old Ourisman Chevrolet showroom has been being remodeled for Lotus sales. It opened last year, and operates from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM Monday - Friday.

Burglars break into Rockville hotel room

Montgomery County police responded to a report of a burglary at a hotel in Rockville this past Saturday morning, May 13, 2023. The burglary was reported at a hotel in the 2600 block of Research Boulevard at 11:48 AM Saturday. There is an Extended Stay America hotel on that block. Officers responding to the scene found evidence of forced entry at the hotel room.

Luggage Plus relocating at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Luggage Plus is the latest tenant of Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda to enter the game of musical chairs. It will be moving from its current location outside of Nordstrom on Level 1. The new space will be on Level 2, next to Ricky Alessandro. Signage has been installed outside the new location, but as you can see here, the process of moving has just begun. Luggage Plus is the traveler's destination for the travel items and accessories you need, and the luggage to carry them in.

Cabinet Era opening in Rockville

Cabinet Era is opening its fourth area location at the Pike Center, at 12145 Rockville Pike. The wholesale cabinet retailer is aimed as much at builders and contractors, as to the individual resident seeking to upgrade their kitchen. Prepare to save as much as 65% on name brand cabinets and vanities, along with design services and delivery. Stay tuned for details on their grand opening event.

Oreo Frappe returns to McDonald's in Rockville

The Oreo Frappe has returned to the McCafe beverage menu at McDonald's. Originally released 7 years ago, it is scheduled to pop back up on menus nationwide May 17, 2023. But it appears to be arriving early here in Montgomery County. Check your local McDonald's location for this blend of mocha and coffee flavors, Oreo cookie pieces, and whipped cream, available for a limited time only.