Police called after assault at Rockville hotel

Rockville City police were called to a hotel early Sunday afternoon, November 17, 2024, after someone reported having been the victim of a 2nd-degree assault there. The assault was reported at a hotel in the 16000 block of Shady Grove Road at 1:10 PM Sunday. Red Roof Plus+ is located on that block of Shady Grove.

Best Buy Gaithersburg store closing

Best Buy is closing at 15750 Shady Grove Road at the 270 Center, on the border of Gaithersburg and Rockville. The home electronics and entertainment chain has set a closing date of October 26, 2024. Their space has been marketed for lease for several months, but the store's lease does not end until February 1, 2025. 

Best Buy announced on a corporate earnings call that it planned to close 10 to 15 stores in 2025. Gaithersburg Best Buy customers are being redirected after October 26 to the big box chain's stores located at 1200 Rockville Pike in Rockville, and at 20914 Frederick Road in Germantown. The latter store is open, but is currently undergoing renovations.

Is Best Buy planning an exit on Shady Grove Road?

Is Best Buy's future at 15750 Shady Grove Road at the 270 Center in doubt? It sure looks like it from an online listing for the 270 Center. The big box store's "big box" is available for lease, according to the KLNB listing. Whoever the lucky next tenant is will be able to move into the 46,155-square-foot space on February 1, 2025. 

Best Buy announced on a corporate earnings call that it planned to close 10 to 15 stores in 2025. This one on the border of Rockville and Gaithersburg now appears to be one of them. Rockville has a venerable Best Buy store located at 1200 Rockville Pike. Living in the 90s!

Amazon Fresh Gaithersburg store posts opening date

Amazon has posted the opening date for its Amazon Fresh grocery store at 15790 Shady Grove Road at the 270 Center, on the border of Rockville and Gaithersburg. The long-delayed but highly-anticipated store will open at 8:00 AM sharp on August 8, 2024, according to the banner that has just been posted on the storefront. A grand opening of this supermarket has been years in the making, and the process has taken almost as many twists and turns as the 2024 presidential race. 

I broke the story about Amazon's plans way back in September of 2020. More than two years passed before a potential opening date was even hinted at, as Amazon itself kept total secrecy about its plans, even as it completed the interior fit-out of the store. The only public confirmation of the store came when signage was installed on the storefront. Yet, with all shelving in place but empty of merchandise, the company then announced it would be postponing the opening until 2023.

Amazon never stated publicly why it was postponing the opening of the Gaithersburg store, and several others around the country. In February of 2023, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy still wouldn't offer details on that front, beyond citing the impact of the pandemic (which had long been declared "over" by that point, even by the most fervent lockdown proponents at all levels of government, as political winds shifted). But Jassy did promise that the retail giant would "go big" on its push into bricks-and-mortar grocery stores in 2023.

That never happened.

Just two months later, Amazon ordered its expensive lighted signage to be removed from the building at 270 Center. It had hung on the unopened store so long that it had already been vandalized. The store was now officially canceled. 

Amazon continued to hold its cards close to its vest, even as pundits declared the firm's venture into physical supermarkets a flop, and even began predicting that the existing Amazon Fresh stores might all close. Was it going to wave the white flag, and stick to online grocery delivery? The company was silent.

But the epic story of Amazon Fresh in Gaithersburg wasn't over yet!

During the first week of June this year, Amazon's employment site suddenly listed jobs for an Amazon Fresh store in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Was this an error? On June 5, I emailed all three leasing representatives for 270 Center to ask if Amazon had reversed its plans. All three declined to respond.

Three weeks later, Amazon confirmed it indeed had changed its mind yet again. The company posted a "coming soon" banner on the otherwise blank storefront. A few days later, the lighted logo signage - either repaired or replaced - was installed on the building. Last night, the opening date banner was in place, the logo sign was lit up, and the lights were on inside the store. 

You can't completely divest Amazon from its penchant for secrecy, though: paper now covers the windows to block the public's view of the long-completed interior, and the status of possible inventory being placed onto those long-empty shelves. No more "spy photos" like those I was able to post a few weeks ago.

The lights are on...and somebody is finally home at Amazon Fresh in Gaithersburg.

Signage installed at future Amazon Fresh on Shady Grove Road (Photos)

The sign is (back) up at Amazon Fresh, opening soon at 15790 Shady Grove Road at the 270 Center on the border of Rockville and Gaithersburg. It's exactly the same logo sign that was vandalized, and ultimately removed, when Amazon paused - and then "canceled" - the opening of this store last year. The reversal of that decision became apparent earlier this month. There's still nothing on the bare shelves inside the store, but more signage has been added inside over the last few days, including a large banana image and other promotional images in the produce department.

We should soon see the grocery cart return out front in the parking lot. It was erected, and then dismantled, during Amazon's period of indecision in 2023. One wonders if anyone in Amazon's grocery division was fired as a result of the faux cancellation of this location. Nothing has changed over the last year, and Amazon only lost money over this period that the store didn't operate. If anything, the market is worse, as Americans have reduced their grocery purchases due to runaway inflation of prices, and price-gouging by greedy corporations.

Amazon Fresh Shady Grove Road store opening soon in reversal of plans by retail giant (Photos)

Amazon will open its Amazon Fresh grocery store at 15790 Shady Grove Road at the 270 Center on the border of Rockville and Gaithersburg after all, according to signage posted at the property. This saga began when I broke the story about Amazon leasing the space way back on September 1, 2020. The retail giant completed the interior fit-out of the store by the late summer of 2022, and spent months installing its Just Walk Out system electronics. It then postponed the grand opening to 2023, only to abruptly remove all signage from the building in April of 2023. Many other Amazon Fresh stores - some of them fully-constructed like the Shady Grove location - were also "paused" or canceled around the same time.

But after 14 months of abandonment of the project, Amazon suddenly posted help wanted ads for the Shady Grove Road store at the start of this month. Was this a glitch in Amazon's job site? On June 5, I emailed all three leasing representatives for 270 Center to ask if Amazon had reversed its decision. All three declined to reply to my inquiries. 

The secret can no longer be contained, however. On Sunday, a large banner was posted on the blank storefront with the familiar Amazon logo. Inside the store, more Amazon signage is visible. Parking space reservation signs for curbside pickup and Amazon Flex drivers are massed in the store's vestibule. And self-checkout machines are not only in place, but are activated with lit screens. 

Amazon's decision to go forward with the store is a triple win for the community. It will greatly increase foot traffic to 270 Center and its other tenants, a benefit the property owner has had to wait for nearly four years to realize. Second, Amazon Fresh delivery will now be extended to parts of the area where it has been unavailable. Finally, along with the new Aldi at the Walnut Hill Shopping Center, south Gaithersburg, Derwood, and upper Rockville residents will now have two grocery stores whose business models are centered around competitive pricing. Aldi is expected to open in July; Amazon has not announced the opening date for the Amazon Fresh as of this writing.

Red Lobster closes in Rockville as chain files for bankruptcy (Photos)

Red Lobster has closed at 15700 Shady Grove Road. The seafood restaurant chain announced late Sunday night that it is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. "This restructuring is the best path forward for Red Lobster," CEO Jonathan Tibus said in a statement. "It allows us to address several financial and operational challenges and emerge stronger and re-focused on our growth. The support we've received from our lenders and vendors will help ensure that we can complete the sale process quickly and efficiently while remaining focused on our employees and guests." As part of its bankruptcy filings, Red Lobster will close some locations, sell some - or potentially all - of its assets, and sell its business to a new entity "formed and controlled by its existing term lenders."

This is especially sad news for residents of the Upper Rock neighborhood. The closure removes one of the main dining options within walking distance of the apartments there. Can we get an Olive Garden or Texas Roadhouse into this empty building? Montgomery County may be the only jurisdiction of its size in America to have neither. The machinations of the Montgomery County Council against those brands, Walmart, Cracker Barrel, and modernity in general are truly bizarre! Believe it or not, your constituents want unlimited bread sticks, and to be able to buy beer and wine at Giant and CVS!

Armed robbery at Rockville home

Montgomery County police responded to a report of an armed robbery at a home in Rockville yesterday morning, December 1, 2023. The robbery was reported at a residence in the 14100 block of Chinkapin Drive at 4:14 AM Friday. Among the property reportedly demanded in the robbery was a vehicle. A firearm was the weapon employed in the incident. Chinkapin Drive is in the Willows of Potomac neighborhood, which is located off of Shady Grove Road.

Strong-arm rape reported at Shady Grove Road nightclub

Montgomery County police responded to a reported incident of strong-arm rape at a nightclub on Shady Grove Road Monday night, September 11, 2023. The sexual assault was reported at a club in the 15900 block of Shady Grove Road, on the border of Rockville and Gaithersburg, at 9:48 PM Monday. 

Assault at 7-Eleven on Shady Grove Road

Montgomery County police responded to a report of an assault at the 7-Eleven store at 15900 Shady Grove Road, on the border of Rockville and Gaithersburg, early Tuesday morning, May 16, 2023. The assault was reported at 1:43 AM Tuesday. 

Animal bites at Rockville hotel

A report of an animal bite drew Rockville City police to a hotel they're quite familiar with on Tuesday night, May 2, 2023. The chomp was reported at a hotel in the 16000 block of Shady Grove Road at 9:23 PM Tuesday. A Red Roof Plus hotel is located on that block.

Rockville Amazon Fresh store canceled on Shady Grove Road (Photos)

The long-anticipated Amazon Fresh store at the 270 Center on Shady Grove Road will not come to fruition. All signage has been removed from the building in stages, over the last 48 hours. This is a reversal of not only Amazon's strategy of using bricks-and-mortar stores to expand its warehousing capacity for same-day deliveries, but also of CEO Andy Jassy's recent bullish remarks that the e-commerce giant would "go big" on physical grocery stores in 2023.

Canceling the Shady Grove Road store, which is on the border between Rockville and Gaithersburg, represents a major financial loss for the company. The store was fully built-out inside as of late summer 2022, and it has sat empty with bare shelves since. That has been the case with several other Amazon Fresh stores that were on the verge of opening around the country.

Now the question would be, will Amazon use its lease of the former office supply store for another grocery or retail concept, or will it break its lease at 270 Center at further cost? Jassy said the firm had settled on a format they want to "go big" with, but he did not say if "Amazon Fresh" was that format. Montgomery County has two existing Amazon Fresh concept stores, at the Collection at Chevy Chase and Chevy Chase Lake.

Damaged Amazon Fresh sign as it
appeared April 13, 2023

The cancellation of this store is the latest retrenchment move by Amazon. It recently laid off a substantial number of employees, and has "paused" construction of several projects at its HQ2 property in Arlington, Virginia, including the centerpiece Helix building that was scheduled for a 2025 delivery. 

Bulbs exposed behind damaged area
April 13, 2023

Just a week ago, the main sign that has been lit on the front of the store was damaged. Green shards of the lower part of the logo lay on the sidewalk below the sign. The bulbs that had been hidden behind them glowed in the night, as empty shelves and navigational aisle signage remained visible inside the store. It was unclear if the sign had been vandalized, or if the damage was sustained during the recent high wind event.

Sign debris on sidewalk below on April 13

Bare shelves inside store

Signage for navigating aisles and
merchandise visible inside store

Rockville Amazon Fresh store: "Go big," or go home?

A long-completed but yet-to-open Amazon Fresh store filled with empty shelves on Shady Grove Road has become the local poster child for a nationwide freeze on Amazon's expansion plans in the grocery sector. Amazon successfully opened Amazon Fresh stores in Friendship Heights and Chevy Chase Lake, but the 270 Center store on the border of Rockville and Gaithersburg has been frozen in time since the fall of 2022. Yesterday, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy offered the first update on the cloudy future of the retail giant's bricks-and-mortar grocery adventure to the Financial Times, and it was a vaguely positive one.

Empty shelves inside the completed-but-unopened
Shady Grove Amazon Fresh store

Amazon plans to "go big" on expansion of its physical grocery stores this year, Jassy said in an exclusive interview with the FT. He said the halt he ordered on the openings and leasing of new locations cost the company $720 million in Q4 of 2022, and blamed the problems that warranted the pause on the pandemic. He said that now "we're hopeful that in 2023 we have a format we want to go big on, on the physical side."

That sounds like we can expect the Shady Grove store to go forward this year, and that the hysterical forecasts of all Amazon Fresh stores closing will prove to have been premature. Surprisingly, Jassy sounded more bullish on bricks-and-mortar stores than on the company's Amazon Fresh online delivery service, saying "people want to actually touch and feel" the foods they are buying before making a purchase. The FT noted that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos had promised to remain engaged on the grocery push after stepping aside as CEO in 2021. It's likely Bezos wasn't too pleased to hear the company hesitate on a plan that was meant to facilitate major growth in Amazon's online same-day-delivery service, which is dependent upon having neighborhood hubs like the Amazon Fresh grocery stores function as warehouses.

Bezos has a home in Washington, D.C. You can be sure he is going to be monitoring the progress of a Shady Grove store that is practically right under his nose in Montgomery County.

Rockville-Gaithersburg Amazon Fresh store opening postponed until 2023

There's been much anticipation of a grand opening announcement for the Amazon Fresh store on Shady Grove Road, on the border of Rockville and Gaithersburg. But excited grocery shoppers will have to cool their engines for at least three more months. Amazon has postponed the opening until 2023. This is surprising, as the construction has been completed, and all the shelving and display cases have been in place for months now.

Amazon Fresh Shady Grove Road store still has empty shelves (Photos)

There's still no official opening date for the Amazon Fresh store at the 270 Center on Shady Grove Road, on the border of Rockville and Gaithersburg. On my latest trip by, the shelves inside the store remained bare. An Amazon Fresh store opened recently at Chevy Chase Lake, so they may just be staggering the openings so they can focus on ensuring a smooth launch at each store, especially with all of the technology involved with the Just Walk Out checkout system.