T-Mobile, Häagen-Dazs temporarily close for renovations at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

T-Mobile and Häagen-Dazs have temporarily closed for remodeling at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. Neither has announced a timeline for reopening. T-Mobile does have a message posted reassuring customers that the closure is only temporary, while Häagen-Dazs has a generic Westfield "Something exciting is in the works" wall over its entrance that gives the false impression it has permanently closed. Only after going to the mall website do you see a message from Westfield stating the ice cream shop is being remodeled. This is the second time in a decade that this Häagen-Dazs has temporarily closed for renovations, while looking like it has closed for good. Holy fake-out, Batman!

Power outage at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda forces some businesses to close early

A power outage this evening inside Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda forced some tenants to close early. Nordstrom was pitch black and boutiques like Victoria's Secret and White House | Black Market decided to close for the night. Some of the affected businesses regained power by 8:30, but the Apple Store was still turning customers away and directing them to come back tomorrow, despite having its power restored. 

Westfield released a statement within the last hour: "Due to a power outage, some stores at Westfield Montgomery are closing early today. We’re sorry for the interruption and appreciate your patience as we work to get things back to normal." We're seeing the failure of the Maryland electrical grid in real time, folks.

Second assault in 8 days at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Montgomery County police responded to a report of a 2nd-degree assault at Westfield Montgomery Mall Sunday night, June 28, 2026. The assault was reported at 7:51 PM. This was the second assault to take place at the retail center in eight days, with the last having occurred on June 20. Six assaults have been reported at the mall so far this year, a pace on par with last year's grand total of twelve. 2024 saw eleven assaults, and 2022 brought twelve. A low of five assaults was recorded in 2023, when the police department opened a "resource room" at the mall.

K-Wave opening Saturday in Rockville

K-Wave will open its first Maryland store in Rockville tomorrow, Saturday, June 27, 2026, at 10:00 AM. It will be located at 5534 Randolph Road in the Montrose Shopping Center (home of MOM's Organic Market and KPOT Korean BBQ & Hot Pot). Free goodie bags will go to anyone purchasing more than $75 of merchandise "while supplies last." K-Wave will have the latest recordings by your favorite K-pop artists, artist merchandise, and a veritable arcade of Asian game machines: claw machines, vending machines, and Deco Station. Still to arrive are their gachapon machines and Photoism photo booth. 

You will also find a lot of South Korean pop culture merchandise, toys, and stationary. Popular South Korean beauty and skincare products, clothing, and home decor round out the inventory of products for the K-pop fan or Seoul aesthetic seeker. Operating hours for K-Wave will be 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM, seven days a week. K-Wave has an existing location in Centreville.

Drive-thru marijuana dispensary opening on Rockville Pike

A drive-thru marijuana dispensary is coming soon to Rockville Pike. Stash Cannabis Co. will be opening this summer at 1470 Rockville Pike. That is a former BB&T Bank branch building. Stash will serve recreational adult users, as well as medical marijuana patients. The dispensary has been in the works for over a year, but great progress on the construction has been made recently, and it's expected to be finished very soon.

The Container Store-Bed Bath & Beyond merger coming to fruition in Rockville

Bed Bath & Beyond has returned to Rockville Pike. This time, it is inside of The Container Store at 1601 Rockville Pike at Congressional Plaza. The struggling home organizing chain has turned to the defunct but well-known Bed Bath & Beyond brand to revitalize foot traffic to its stores. This transition is expected to be completed at all impacted Container Store locations nationwide by the end of next month. As you read this, Bed Bath & Beyond merchandise continues to arrive daily, and is being stocked on shelves that Container Store merchandise was liquidated from to make room. Now, can they fit Tower Records in there?

Police respond to assault at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Montgomery County police responded to a report of a 2nd-degree assault at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda this past Saturday night, June 20, 2026. The assault was reported at the mall at 8:21 PM Saturday. This was the fifth assault recorded at the popular retail center so far this year. Last year saw a total of 12 assaults reported at the property. County police officers were visibly on patrol inside the mall this past weekend.

Orange Pocket opening at Rio Lakefront in Gaithersburg

Orange Pocket is coming to Gaithersburg later this summer. The Asian variety store chain has leased a space at 30 Grand Corner Avenue at Rio Lakefront. Specializing in products imported from, or inspired by, Japan and South Korea, you might expect this to be a China-based chain like competitors who have recently arrived in Montgomery County. But Orange Pocket is actually based in Texas, like many other smart companies these days.

What does "Orange Pocket" mean? The company only describes it as "a small space packed with big finds." Those finds include blind boxes, Labubu toys, anime figurines, plush toys, sought-after Japanese and South Korean cosmetics and beauty products, house and kitchen wares, stationary, pet products, and Asian snacks. Customers can also pass the time playing the claw and Bandai Gashapon machines. Orange Pocket is currently promising an August opening.

Update on Gorjana at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Here's a sneak peek at the construction progress inside the future Gorjana boutique at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. The Laguna Beach-inspired jewelry retailer is appropriately expected to open this summer at the mall. A look inside the construction wall door that was hanging open reveals flooring, walls, and lighting fixtures in place. Now shelving and other displays are being installed, which means merchandise can't be far behind. When it opens, look for Gorjana on Level 1 of the mall, across from Lily Pulitzer in the Nordstrom wing.

Exotic Tobacco & Vape opens in Derwood

Exotic Tobacco & Vape is now open at 16803 Crabbs Branch Way at The Grove shopping center in Derwood. The smoke shop fills the space that was formerly home to Casey Management. This appears to be a local chain, with locations in College Park and Frederick, Maryland. ET&V carries a full line of vaping products and accessories, tobacco products, kratom, and cannabis paraphernalia.

Miniso returning to Montgomery Mall for cage match with Pop Mart

Miniso operated a store at Westfield Montgomery Mall from 2021 to 2025. But the company appears to have realized it might have made a hasty decision to exit, now that Pop Mart is preparing to open a store at the Bethesda mall. And it looks like they're reclaiming their old haunt on Level 1 near Macy's. Of course, Miniso sells a much wider variety of products than toy retailer Pop Mart, such as kitchenware, home goods, and health and fitness items. But a significant portion of its Japanese-inspired (don't tell Chairman Xi!) Chinese merchandise is dedicated to blind bag and oversized plush toys, making this a high-stakes faceoff for the toy collector's dollar at Montgomery Mall.

Sleep Number moves to Rockville

Sleep Number has closed at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. The showroom has been cleared out. However, it's not the end for the famous adjustable bed retailer in the immediate area. The company says the store has relocated to Rockville, in the Montrose Crossing shopping center. This is unexpectedly good news for fans of the Sleep Number Bed, as the brand is in significant financial difficulty, and has said a bankruptcy filing is not out of the question.

Assault at Montgomery Mall

Montgomery County police responded to a report of a 2nd-degree assault at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda Wednesday night, June 10, 2026. The assault was reported at the mall at 9:14 PM Wednesday. This is the fourth known assault to take place at the popular retail center so far this year. A total of twelve assaults were reported at the mall last year, so they are currently on a pace to improve on those numbers.

2 the 9s to reopen July 15 at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

2 the 9s has closed at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. However, the owner says the fashion boutique is changing hands, and is being remodeled by the new owner. The shop will reopen July 15 "with a fresh look." 2 the 9s opened here on Level 2 of the mall in the spring of 2023.

Hobby Lobby opens first Montgomery County store in Gaithersburg

Hobby Lobby is now open at 15750 Shady Grove Road at the 270 Center on the border of Gaithersburg with Rockville. This is the first Hobby Lobby store to open in Montgomery County. Right when you enter the vestibule, you are greeted with displays of decor and furniture that are currently on-sale. Operating hours for Hobby Lobby are 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM Monday through Saturday. The store is closed Sundays "to allow employees time for family and worship."

Armed robbery at Burlington in Rockville

Montgomery County police responded to a report of an armed robbery at Burlington in Rockville Wednesday night, May 27, 2026. Two suspects entered the store at 12089 Rockville Pike at Montrose Crossing at 10:24 PM. One of them brandished a handgun. They proceeded to fill bags with merchandise, and left the store. Police have not released a description of the two suspects, and did not indicate how they managed to avoid appearing on the many surveillance cameras inside the store.

Customer assaulted at grocery store in Rockville

Rockville City police responded to a report of an assault at a grocery store early yesterday afternoon, May 25, 2026. The assault took place shortly after 12:30 PM at the Aldi supermarket at 1501 Rockville Pike at the Congressional North shopping center. While shopping, an adult male customer was struck in the face by an unknown individual, leaving him with minor lacerations. The suspect was ordered to leave the store by management, and left the scene before officers arrived.

The suspect is described as a tanned White male approximately 50-60 years of age, bald, and 5'8" in height. If you have any information about this incident, call police at 240.314.8900. Let's note once again this troubling 2026 trend of violent crime taking place during daylight hours in Montgomery County.

EUG Apparel closes at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

EUG Apparel has closed at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. The sportswear and streetwear boutique launched a thousand discussions about its name, which appeared as Embrace Ur Greatness on the storefront, but which Westfield listed as EUG Apparel in its directories. Was the latter simply 3 initials - and if so, what did they stand for? - or a Trumpesque "Yuuuuuuuuge"? But as Jesse Jackson once declared, "The question is moot." The signage is gone, the space is cleared out, and the storefront windows are now blacked out. EUG opened here for the holiday shopping season in November 2024, and that's a pretty impressive run to last almost two years in Montgomery County's anti-business climate and moribund economy.

Pop Mart "coming soon" to Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Pop Mart is "coming soon" to Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda, according to signage posted across its future storefront. Specifically, the massively hyped and viral Labubu and blind box toy retailer is coming this fall, the signage promises. It will be located on Level 1 of the mall, next to Bath & Body Works. And there's nothing Bono Vox's attorney can do about it!

Kokosh relocates at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Kokosh has moved within Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. The cosmetics boutique debuted in the Macy's wing next to Purple back in December of 2023. It has stayed on Level 2, but now it is across from Uniqlo, next to LensCrafters. Carrying many of the top skincare products from South Korea has been a recipe for success for Kokosh at the mall, at a time when that country has become the standard for beauty and skincare across the globe. Kokosh also carries a line of jewelry reflecting the latest minimalist K-fashion trends in Seoul.