New McDonald's "coming soon" to Rockville Pike (Photos)

The structural form of a new McDonald's restaurant is shaping up at 11710 Rockville Pike in White Flint. Cinderblocks remain visible, however. A banner just posted at the construction site promises the new McDonald's is "coming soon." When this McDonald's opens, the existing one at 11564 Rockville Pike will close. 2025 is sure to bring a new McDonald's, as well as the return of McDonald's Snack Wraps, and new-and-improved chicken tenders under the McCrispy branding.

Rockville Pike Arby's-to-McDonald's conversion update (Photos)

The transformation of the former Arby's at 11710 Rockville Pike into a McDonald's has been more of a demolition project than a simple conversion. Rather than merely updating the facade and interior, a substantial portion of the building was first destroyed. You may recall that the construction plans called for adding about 170 additional square feet to the restaurant. It's almost certain that the drive-thru configuration will be updated to the dual-lane system now employed at most McDonald's locations in America. And the reconstructed building will go from a very outdated Arby's design to the latest McDonald's concept.

This is ultimately a move for McDonald's rather than a new location on the Pike. The existing Golden Arches restaurant down the street at 11564 Rockville Pike will move from its Saul Centers-owned site to this Polinger Company property. But it does bring the major bonus of a drive-thru, which the current White Flint McDonald's does not have. Contrary to the Montgomery County Council's war-on-cars logic, but consistent with its total lack of knowledge of the business world, the vast majority of fast food sales come via the drive-thru window.

Progress on Rockville Town Center road diet (Photos)

The road diet strategy in Rockville Town Center continues to be implemented. Beall Avenue is now getting the treatment alongside Rockville Town Square, between MD 355 and N. Washington Street. In addition to reconfiguring the uses and capacity of the street, as was done on E. Middle Lane and N. Washington, flowery artwork is also being applied to the roadway. The City of Rockville received a Bloomberg Philanthropies Asphalt Art grant for this artwork in 2023, "to draw attention to Town Center and highlight the multimodal facilities."

Sneak peek: Teso Life Japanese Super Store in Rockville

Construction is well-advanced inside Teso Life Japanese Super Store at 1701 Rockville Pike at the Shops at Congressional Village. About half of the interior has wall decoration. Merchandise is being placed on the shelves. They are now hiring sales associates, cashiers, and merchandise stackers. Interestingly, for a Japanese Super Store, the help wanted notice states that bilingual fluency in English and Mandarin is preferred.

Signage installed at Kapow Buddy at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Signage has been installed at Kapow Buddy Thai Street Bowl at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. The signs have been placed on the mall exterior, as well as outside the fast casual restaurant's space indoors. In recent weeks, the restaurant has been serving its bowls at various events and venues to obtain feedback, which has been quite positive from the reactions shown on their social media accounts. When it opens, look for Kapow Buddy Thai Street Bowl on Level 1 of the mall, diagonally across from Yogi Castle in the Old Navy wing.

First Wegmans signage installed in Rockville

The first permanent signage for the future Wegmans grocery store has been installed at the Twinbrook Quarter development at 1600 Rockville Pike. It is at the entrance to the development's public parking garage on the new Festival Street. The garage lies beneath the Wegmans, a Class-A office building, and The Milton apartments. Wegmans itself is not expected to open until next year at the Saul Centers development, while the office space and apartments are now being marketed for lease.

Festival Street looking west toward
Rockville Pike and Congressional Plaza

Signage installed at Kura Revolving Sushi Bar in Rockville

The sign is up at Kura Revolving Sushi Bar, which is expected to open by the end of summer 2024 at Federal Plaza in Rockville. Kura is splitting the former Chuy's space with Torchy's Tacos. Asked for an update, a Torchy's spokesperson says only that they are still scheduled for a fall 2024 opening; there is still not an official opening date on the calendar. The windows at Kura remain covered, so we can't yet get a sneak peek at the progress inside, which is to include sushi conveyor belts and KuraBot robots. 

Rockville Pike Arby's conversion to McDonald's moving forward

The conversion of the vacant Arby's restaurant at 11710 Rockville Pike into a McDonald's has stalled out since the lease of the building by the Golden Arches came to light this past February. Construction work is now expected to begin by early fall. The nearby McDonald's at 11564 Rockville Pike will move to this location when the work is completed, with the major benefit of now offering drive-thru service, which is great news for McDonald's fans in the White Flint area. I've learned that the planned addition to the Arby's building will expand its size by about 170-square-feet.

Arby's closed here in May of 2021. Shake Shack was said to have interest in leasing the building a month later, but ultimately decided to settle for locations at Cabin John Village Center and Westfield Montgomery Mall, and pulled out by September of 2021. Despite its prime location and drive-thru configuration, the Polinger Company-owned building then sat vacant until McDonald's came aboard this year. Saul Centers owns the existing McDonald's property at 11564 Rockville Pike.

Update on Mia Cane Juicery and Açaí Bar in Rockville

The window coverings have been removed at Mia Cane Juicery and Açaí Bar at 785-I Rockville Pike at the Ritchie Center. Inside, juicing equipment and cash registers are in place around the front counter. There is some seating in the dining area. All that's missing at the moment are the menu boards or screens. Outside, the operating hours have been applied to the glass entrance door, along with an Instagram account that isn't yet functional as of this morning.