Signage installed at LaserAway in Rockville

The permanent sign has been installed at LaserAway, opening soon at 926 Rose Avenue, in the ground floor of the Canopy by Hilton hotel at Pike & Rose. This was previously the location of Taylor Gourmet.  LaserAway is a laser hair removal practice with locations in 24 states and the District of Columbia. It also offers botox treatments, tattoo removal, photofacials, dermal fillers, Thermage skin tightening, Coolsculpting fat removal, Clear + Brilliant laser treatments and other skincare services. 

Update on RASA Indian restaurant, opening soon in Rockville (Photos)

Construction of RASA Indian restaurant continues at the Montrose Crossing shopping center at 12033 Rockville Pike. Additional signage - a pedestrian-facing blade sign, and some of the "coming-soon" variety - has been installed on their future storefront. A new front door has been installed. RASA replaces Slapfish, which closed last November.

Rockville Wegmans-anchored Twinbrook Quarter development tops out

Construction of Phase 1 of B.F. Saul's Twinbrook Quarter development has topped out at the corner of Rockville Pike (MD 355) and Halpine Road in Rockville. Clark Construction, the lead contractor on the project, made the announcement this afternoon. Twinbrook Quarter has been the most highly-anticipated development in the city since Rockville Town Square, in no small part because its retail anchor will be a Wegmans grocery store. Clark nodded to that by noting that the amount of concrete it has poured for the 12-story building would fill 29,166 Wegmans shopping carts.

Photo courtesy Clark Construction

Signage installed at Jolly Yolly in Bethesda

The permanent sign is up at Jolly Yolly Kids at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. An indoor gym, playground and learning center for children, Jolly Yolly can also host birthday parties. Look for Jolly Yolly on Level 1 next to The Cheesecake Factory, in the Old Navy wing of the mall.

HalfSmoke at Rockville Town Square - is this happening? (Photos)

One of the great mysteries of our times - at least since September 2020 - has been, "When is HalfSmoke opening at Rockville Town Square?" There have been no official answers, and it's been impossible to know what is going on inside the space at 36-A Maryland Avenue, as the windows have been tightly covered for most of this time. Little activity has been seen at the space, and the lights inside are usually off. But they were suddenly on this week, and a small area of one of the window coverings apparently came loose, and we are getting our first look inside since 2020.

The good news is that the lights are on. The bad news is that HalfSmoke won't be opening anytime soon, from what you can see here. The worst news at the moment is that the rear wall with the diamond shapes, the blue right interior wall, and the black texture on the front of the bar...those are not newly installed, but are left over from previous tenant Pandora Seafood House & Bar, as you can verify in my photos from the opening of that restaurant. In the center of the floor, which appears to still be Pandora's old flooring, is a pallet stacked with Sheetrock.

In the time since this location of HalfSmoke was announced, the chain's owners have opened two eateries at Westfield Montgomery Mall, including a HalfSmoke kiosk in the Dining Terrace food court. That revived questions about what in the world is going on at the Rockville location, which have since died down again. Is it time to start getting excited about HalfSmoke at Rockville Town Square again? Stay tuned!

Rockville Wegmans construction update (Photos)

Phase 1 of the Twinbrook Quarter development at the corner of Rockville Pike and Halpine Road is now more than 8 stories above ground level. The 9th floor of the building is currently being constructed. Wegmans will be the retail anchor on the building's ground floor. 

Concrete framing and pouring is anticipated to be completed by late spring or early summer, developer B.F. Saul says. Work on the building facade is to begin soon. B.F. Saul says that when Phase 1 is complete, there will be more than three times the pervious surface on the property than when it was a shopping center

Construction of RASA Indian restaurant begins in Rockville

Construction is underway at the future location of RASA at 12033 Rockville Pike, in the Montrose Crossing shopping center. This will be the fifth location of the local Indian restaurant chain in the Washington, D.C. region. It replaces Slapfish, which closed in November. Signage for RASA has been installed above the storefront, and you can see that the Slapfish interior has been gutted to make way for the new interior fit-out.

Hangry Joe's Hot Chicken Rockville Pike update (Photos)

Here is a look at the latest progress inside the future Hangry Joe's Hot Chicken at 718-B Rockville Pike. They still look very close to opening. Hangry Joe's is tight-lipped about an opening date, however, and is so far not responding to messages on that topic. A sign in the window indicates they are still hiring staff for this location.

Rockville Hangry Joe's Hot Chicken update (Photos)

The interior fit-out of Hangry Joe's Hot Chicken at 718-B Rockville Pike appears to be nearing completion. Kitchen equipment and seating are already in place. The white tile interior is similar to the Wheaton location, although the chairs look like they are a darker shade of red. This will be a great showdown of chicken sandwiches up and down the Pike, with the recent arrival of Roaming Rooster at Pike & Rose, Chick-fil-A at Montrose Crossing, and the OG Gold Rush Chicken Sandwich at Roy Rogers next door.

Rockville Wegmans construction update (Photos)

With the excitement for the new Amazon Fresh store on Shady Grove Road now on hold until next year, attention returns to the construction site of the future Wegmans at the corner of Rockville Pike and Halpine Road. Wegmans will be the anchor retail tenant in B.F. Saul's Twinbrook Quarter development, and will be in the ground floor of the Phase 1 building of that massive project. Twinbrook Quarter is the most highly-anticipated real estate project in Rockville since Rockville Town Square, nearly two decades ago, and Wegmans is the jewel in the Twinbrook Quarter crown as far as Rockville residents are concerned.

Concrete pouring continues for the third level slab, and a new covered walkway will protect pedestrians on Halpine Road through the end of construction in late 2023. The Rockville Wegmans opening date will likely be sometime in early 2024 at this point.