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.

Ebisu Life Store Japanese supermarket expanding in Rockville (Photos)

Ebisu Life Store, the Japanese supermarket at 836 Rockville Pike, has been so successful that the store is now expanding in size. A banner on the front of the vacant Mattress Frame space, located right next door at 832 Rockville Pike, says Ebisu Life is "coming soon." Inside, it looks like they are getting ready to punch through the wall separating the spaces.

Rockville Wegmans construction update (Photos)

The skeletal frame of the future Wegmans grocery store at Rockville Pike and Halpine Road is now in place. It will be on the ground floor of this Phase 1 building at the Twinbrook Quarter development. Wegmans will likely have its own construction contractor to complete the interior fit-out of its store. Based upon the current progress, an early 2024 opening for the Wegmans appears likely at this point.

Rockville Wegmans construction update (Photos)

Construction of the Rockville Wegmans grocery store at the corner of Rockville Pike and Halpine Road has really picked up steam since my last update. For the first time, the structure is actually rising above street level, particularly along Halpine near the Twinbrook Metro station. There, the framework is already two stories tall. Along the Pike, the first columns are rising about one story above street level.

Update on new Dunkin' Donuts/Baskin Robbins in Rockville (Photos)

The drive-thru menu board has been installed at the future Dunkin' Donuts/Baskin Robbins at 16268 Frederick Road in Rockville. It is located on the Shady Grove Road side of the property. The existing Dunkin' Donuts at 16220 Frederick Road will relocate over here when it is completed. We now can see which Baskin Robbins items can be ordered at the drive-thru, a rare amenity for an ice cream shop.

Warby Parker aims to open this month in Rockville

Warby Parker is aiming to open by the end of the month at 11811 Grand Park Avenue at Pike & Rose. The hipster eyeglass frames chain already has locations north and south of Rockville, at Bethesda Row and Downtown Crown. Here, they will take on an immediate competitor in the Pike & Rose development, the new LensCrafters at 901 Rose Avenue.

Rockville Wegmans/Twinbrook Quarter construction update (Photos)

A complex job of concrete pouring is the major task at the Phase 1 construction site of B.F. Saul's Twinbrook Quarter development in Rockville, at the corner of Rockville Pike and Halpine Road. Below-grade concrete pours are now 50% complete at the mixed-use development, which will be anchored by an eagerly-awaited Wegmans grocery store. B.F. Saul anticipates all below-grade concrete pours to be complete by the end of the summer. 

Pouring for all three levels of the parking garage is already complete at one corner of the site, and is slowly progressing across the rest. If you'd like a sample of what to expect when Wegmans opens here, check out the new Wegmans at City Ridge in Northwest Washington, D.C. when it opens July 13, 2022.

Rockville Amazon Fresh update (Photos)

The cart return, and signs for curbside pick-up customers, are now out in the parking lot in front of the future Amazon Fresh grocery store in the 270 Center on Shady Grove Road, on the border of Rockville and Gaithersburg. A sign inside the store now reads "Gaithersburg," so that's where Amazon comes down on the subject (and leaves the door open for a more centrally-located Rockville store in the future). More has been added to the interior, but there still isn't anything on the many shelves yet. so opening day is still a ways off.

New Dunkin' Donuts/Baskin Robbins with drive-thru nearing completion in Rockville (Photos)

Signs and banners are up at the new Dunkin Donuts/Baskin Robbins with drive-thru at 16268 Frederick Road in Rockville. However, as I predicted, the store is oriented toward Shady Grove Road more than MD 355. The existing Dunkin' Donuts at 16220 Frederick Road will move into this one. Parking spaces are painted, and the ordering canopy is in place, but they still have to install the drive-thru menu board and speaker.