Sprouts Farmers Market opening in Rockville

Sprouts Farmers Market, a rapidly-expanding organic grocery store chain, is expanding to Rockville. The supermarket has leased a space at 5296 Randolph Road at Loehmann's Plaza. This will be the third Montgomery County location for Sprouts. The first is already open in Burtonsville, and the second will be in the development that is replacing the beloved Lakeforest Mall in Gaithersburg. Construction on the Rockville store is anticipated to begin this summer.

Fatal shooting outside of Marriott North Bethesda hotel in Rockville

Yet another shocking violent crime has been committed in broad daylight in Montgomery County, a disturbing new trend in the County's six-year crime wave that has picked up steam this spring. An adult male was fatally shot outside of the Marriott North Bethesda Hotel and Conference Center at 5701 Marinelli Road in Rockville around 11:37 AM this morning. Yes, that's AM, not PM. One would like to assume it would be safe to walk outside this hotel at 11:37 PM. It's astonishing that one now must be hesitant to do so just before lunchtime under bright sunshine. 

According to Montgomery County police, officers were dispatched to respond to a report of a shooting outside the hotel. Upon arrival, first responders found an adult male in "serious condition." The victim was subsequently declared deceased, and police say they are investigating the case as a homicide.

@TheDMVLive reports on X that the victim was shot in the back of the head outside the hotel around 11:35 AM, and that the alleged shooter fled on foot toward the White Flint Metro station across Rockville Pike. 

Whether it is a gunfight inside a Silver Spring grocery store or outside of a Westbard Avenue bowling alley, a gun being fired at students in a downtown Bethesda park at lunchtime, or someone being shot in broad daylight outside a hotel in White Flint at 11:35 AM, these things were not happening in Montgomery County twenty - or even ten - years ago. 

What is happening to our community, and why do we keep electing the people who have done this to us?

Dave's Hot Chicken "coming soon" to Rockville (Photos)

Dave's Hot Chicken is "coming soon" to Rockville Pike, according to a banner posted on the restaurant building. It will be at 11564 Rockville Pike in Rockville. That was formerly an old-style McDonald's restaurant, until the golden arches moved a short distance north to the old Arby's site. Before expanding to Montgomery County, Dave's Hot Chicken was best known to Marylanders as the fast food company that promoted itself via influencer videos on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. Other Maryland locations have already opened in White Oak and Waldorf.

Harris Teeter closing in Rockville

Harris Teeter is closing its store at 11845 Old Georgetown Road in Rockville. The store will close "on or before July 20, 2025," according to a sign that also promotes a closing sale with prices up to 50% off. This store has been rumored to be one of the lowest-performing in the Harris Teeter chain. It also has fallen victim to Montgomery County's puzzling decision to place a homeless shelter nearby, frequent thefts of merchandise and shopping carts, the general moribundity of the stagnant Montgomery County economy, the County's highest-in-the-region tax and fee burden, and the failed 2010 White Flint sector plan. The recent arrival of a Wegmans just up Rockville Pike was likely the final nail in the HT coffin.

Metro Pike Center to get facelift in Rockville

Saul Centers is preparing to give a facelift to the Metro Pike Center at 11520 Rockville Pike in White Flint. The shopping center will receive a facade update in the coming months. Let's hope it is more retro than the replacement signage that was installed at the front of the property in the late 2010s. Lost were the totally 80s "Metro Pike Center" logo and background grid (see photo below), replaced by the most abominably-generic font and signage Max Headroom or Buckaroo Banzai could imagine in their nightmares (see photo at top). According to LoopNet, Metro Pike Center was constructed in 1990. White Flint is synonymous with the 80s, and that character should be retained to maintain the "sense of place" that Montgomery County planners give so much lip service to.

Construction advancing on Rockville's tallest senior housing project (Photos)

Here's a look at the latest progress on The Pinnacle, a senior housing project that is located at 11565 Old Georgetown Road, about a block west from Rockville Pike and a future north entrance to the White Flint Metro station. It is across the street from Pike & Rose. The 17-story building will house 113 independent living apartments, 40 assisted-living units, and 48 units reserved for memory care and early-stage-dementia Bridge patients. It will have its own 15,000-square-feet of restaurant and retail space, and will appear outwardly as a luxury apartment building, rather than a retirement or nursing facility. Developer Silverstone Senior Living anticipates a Q2 2026 delivery for the project.

Rockville Pike McDonald's construction advancing (Photos)

Here's a look at the progress on the new McDonald's restaurant at 11710 Rockville Pike in White Flint. New and improved, as this one - unlike the McDonald's that just closed nearby - will have drive-thru service. You can see the two drive-thru windows on the south side of the building now. Fast food restaurant construction is often measured in days or weeks, rather than the months this one has been. Another unusual aspect of this? I've never seen Home Depot protective wrap on a project like this before.

Rockville construction update: The Pinnacle (Photos)

The Pinnacle, a senior living apartment complex, is now about four stories above street level in White Flint. Located at 11565 Old Georgetown Road, it will eventually rise to 17 stories. Inside will be 113 independent living apartments, 40 assisted-living units, and 48 units reserved for memory care and early-stage-dementia Bridge patients. Residents who are still independent will be right across the road from dining, shopping, and entertainment at Pike & Rose, and walking distance to the White Flint Metro station. The building itself will have its own 15,000-square-feet of restaurant and retail space, and will appear outwardly as a luxury apartment building, rather than a retirement or nursing facility. Developer Silverstone Senior Living anticipates a Q2 2026 delivery for the project.