Kung Fu Tea closes in Rockville

Kung Fu Tea has closed its Rockville Town Center location at 275 N. Washington Street. Rockville Kung Fu Tea customers are being directed to the chain's Rio Lakefront and Pike & Rose locations. The closure is particularly surprising given that the store was just renovated earlier this summer. "Kung Fu Tea Rockville has closed its doors," the company said in a statement. "We sincerely thank you for your support and patronage over the years."

Wentworth Gallery, Nature's Elite close at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Wentworth Gallery has closed at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. The upscale art gallery has hosted many celebrity artists over the years, including Paul Stanley of KISS, Rick Allen of Def Leppard and Michael Cartellone of the 1990s supergroup Damn Yankees. It will be greatly missed for that star-drawing power alone. The Wentworth Gallery in Tysons remains open for business.

In other mall news, Nature's Elite has also departed. The facial spa's space next to Beauty Boss has been cleared out and walled off. 

Rockville Wendy's closed temporarily for renovations

Wendy's has temporarily closed at 808 Rockville Pike for a renovation project. If you're familiar with the Derwood Wendy's, you already know the drill. That Wendy's location closed for about 90 days for a similar project, before reopening this past January. 

It will be interesting to see what design changes are made to the exterior of the Rockville Wendy's, as it has a more unique building design. This is arguably the best Wendy's in Montgomery County, so it is about to get even better. Customers are being redirected to the Derwood Wendy's during the closure. Have a Baconator up there, but don't tell the County Council!

3 restaurants close at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Three tenants in the Dining Terrace food court at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda appear to have cleared out. Signage has been removed at Ya Mon Island Grill. Malia's Kitchen and Adonni's Desserts are still intact, but they haven't been open during operating hours for weeks. Coming soon to the mall are Pollo Campero and VinoRita.

Rockville Arby's building fenced off (Photos)

Construction fencing has been erected around the vacant Arby's restaurant at 11710 Rockville Pike. No new tenant has been announced, and the building is still being marketed for lease. Maryland property records do not show a sale of the property as of this morning. 

A Shake Shack restaurant had been proposed for the building, but those plans were, sadly, withdrawn. That was a huge mistake by the burger chain. They would have done massive business here, especially in drive-thru sales. If I was an investor in Shake Shack, I would be screaming. At least Tom Bodett left the light on for us in the kitchen. Hopefully a smart fast food chain like Jack in the Box or In-N-Out leases this building soon.

Greek Aroma closes at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Greek Aroma Mediterranean Grill has closed in the Dining Terrace food court at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. Their space has been walled off. Greek Aroma opened in November 2022. The small local chain has two other locations, in Frederick and Riverdale, Maryland.

Montgomery County sheriff orders restaurant to vacate at Montgomery Mall

Butter Me Up, a breakfast-themed restaurant, has been evicted from Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda less than a year after opening. A "final notice" from the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office is posted outside the restaurant ordering the business to "vacate premises." It states that "The Sheriff will use whatever force necessary to gain entry into the premises for immediate removal of all persons and property." Behind the closed storefront gate, the contents of the restaurant have been left behind.

The restaurant group that owns Butter Me Up also owned the HalfSmoke kiosk in the mall's food court. It has also closed. These developments raise serious questions as to whether the company's long-delayed HalfSmoke location at Rockville Town Square will ever come to pass. No construction inside that location has taken place in the three years since the Rockville outpost was announced.

HalfSmoke closes at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

HalfSmoke has closed at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. Its kiosk in the Dining Terrace food court has been totally cleared out, and signage removed. How this didn't work is a mystery, as they had a short but great menu. This venture opening and closing in the time since a long-delayed Rockville Town Square location of HalfSmoke was first announced does not bode well for that larger restaurant coming to fruition. No construction activity has been observed at the Rockville HalfSmoke space since "coming soon" signage was installed over the windows in November 2020(!!).

Tara Thai closes at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Tara Thai has closed at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. Signage has been removed from the exterior of the restaurant. This ends a long run in Bethesda by the local Thai chain, which was at Bethesda Row until 2015, when it relocated to the mall. Tara Thai's Rio location in Gaithersburg has also closed. The only good news is that this opens up a fairly large restaurant space at the mall for a new tenant. Which restaurant chain would you like to see here?

Loyal Companion pet store closes in Rockville

Loyal Companion has closed at 1643-A Rockville Pike at the Congressional Plaza shopping center. Its space has been cleaned out. Loyal Companion's parent company, Independent Pet Partners, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. As part of its bankruptcy plan, it is closing many of its stores under the brands of Loyal Companion, Kriser's, Especially For Pets, Bark! Dogma – Life, With Your Pet, Pet Source, Pet Life and Whole Pet Central.

JK Beer & Wine closes in Rockville

JK Beer & Wine has closed at 800 Rockville Pike, in the Golden Arcade strip mall. Signage has been removed from the storefront (or maybe just covered over, for now). A sign in the window states the space is now available for lease. JK Beer & Wine opened here in November 2021, but is still open at its 331 Kentlands Boulevard location in Gaithersburg.

Kay Jewelers "temporarily closed" at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Kay Jewelers is "temporarily closed" at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda, according to a sign posted on the shuttered entrance to the store. The ubiquitous mall jeweler being closed is like a Cinnabon or Auntie Anne's being closed at your local mall - all is not right with the world. No reason for the closure is stated on the sign, and no reopening date is given. It invites customers to shop their website in the meantime.

Stuart Weitzman closes at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

The long and painful death of Stuart Weitzman at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda has mercifully come to an end. Its space on Level 2 was cleared out and stripped of signage yesterday. Customers - or potential customers - of the upscale shoe boutique often found the store closed during its stated business hours starting in December. Bizarre indeed, as this was at height of the holiday shopping season. So, while this is a stunning development, it's not much of a surprise to regular readers of this website.

One reader commented, as the often-reduced hours of the store continued last month, that there were staffing issues there. Stuart Weitzman opened exactly ten years ago at the mall. This was a coup for Westfield at the time, as you might have expected a brand like this to land at Bethesda Row. Perhaps it was a ten-year lease, and the chain decided to stick it out to the end, rather than close last month. Regardless, it was a very solid run in the very business-unfriendly climate of Montgomery County, and those who managed and worked at this store over the last decade can certainly be proud of that.

Sameday Health closes; T-Mobile, Everything But Water temporarily close at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Three businesses have closed their doors at Westfield Montgomery Mall this week, but only one is permanent. Sameday Health has cleared out its space. The COVID-19, flu, strep and STD-testing clinic appears to have consolidated its Bethesda operations at its 5826 Nicholson Lane location in White Flint. 

T-Mobile and Everything But Water have temporarily closed for renovations. T-Mobile has been rolling out a new store-interior design that some have compared to the Apple Store. Everything But Water promises it will "reopen with a splash" in late February. T-Mobile has not set a reopening date yet.

Currency Exchange experiencing staffing shortages at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

The Currency Exchange kiosk at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda will be closed today, Thursday, January 12, 2023, due to a shortage of staff. They are hoping to reopen at 11:00 AM tomorrow for normal business hours. You may want to call the mall's main number (301-469-6000) before going, if you are only going there to exchange currency.

See's Candies closes at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

See's Candies has closed at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. The store was a pop-up shop for the holiday shopping season. See's Candies knows what it's doing, as the company had generated $401 million in revenue by the time last December came to an end. But don't they know Christmas doesn't end until January 6?

Popeyes "temporarily closed" at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Readers have been asking what is going on with the Popeyes in the Dining Terrace food court at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. Their stall has been closed during normal operating hours for at least a week. According to the restaurant locator page on the Popeyes website, this location is "temporarily closed," with no reason given for the closure. Last evening, during Popeyes' operating hours, they were closed again. However, nothing had been removed inside their space, and the menu boards were still operating.

King Buick GMC closes in Rockville (Photos)

It's the end of an era at King Buick GMC at 16200 Frederick Road in Rockville. The dealership has closed permanently, although some vehicle inventory remains on the property. King Motor Company was born in 1928, but it was in the 1950s that King family scion Conrad V. Aschenbach opened his first dealership in Olde Towne Gaithersburg. His son, Bill Aschenbach, said the family was forced to sell the dealership because it could not find another location in the area. The dealership's property will become an EYA townhome development, and be annexed into the City of Rockville.

Bill Aschenbach says that he will join a new dealership group founded by his son, Conrad. That group expects to have nine dealerships by December 31 of this year. The existing King franchise is being acquired by Criswell Automotive at its Gaithersburg Chevrolet Buick GMC dealership. But many of the King employees from this location will be moving to the Ideal Hyundai Buick GMC dealership in Frederick, Maryland, Aschenbach said.  

This is the second venerable car dealership to be lost along this stretch of MD 355 in the last decade. Reed Brothers Dodge at 15955 Frederick Road was the first Dodge dealer in Montgomery County. Today, the Bainbridge Shady Grove apartments stand on its former site.