Trader Joe's construction advances at Rockville Town Square (Photos)

Trader Joe's is inching closer to opening at Rockville Town Square. Any Trader Joe's regular will quickly recognize the wood checkout counters and wall trim now visible inside the former Dawson's Market at 225 N. Washington Street. Some refrigerated displays and shelving are in place. There is another Trader Joe's down the Pike at Federal Plaza, but this one will be much closer to many Rockville neighborhoods, and walking distance for residents in the Town Center area. Don't expect the other to close, as Trader Joe's has recently adopted a CVS Pharmacy/Starbucks geographic strategy, as demonstrated by its opening of two more locations near its longtime Bethesda store.

No opening date has been announced by the grocery chain. It has confirmed that, under Montgomery County's antiquated liquor laws, no beer or wine will be sold here. There are several beer and wine retailers in the Town Center vicinity, but your elected officials want to ensure that you will not just be able to grab a bottle of wine conveniently when you purchase your dinner at Trader Joe's!

"At Trader Joe's in Rockville Town Square, we see ourselves as your neighborhood grocery store," the company says. "Step inside and you'll find unconventional and interesting products in the Trader Joe's label like Mandarin Orange Chicken and Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate, as well as everyday basics like milk, eggs and fresh produce. Most importantly, we offer all of our delicious, quality products at the very best prices. We’re happy to be part of your community, and proud to offer you unique products and an exceptional shopping experience, every day."

Rockville Wegmans signage installed + a sneak peek inside (Photos)

Permanent signage has been installed on the exterior of the future Wegmans grocery store at 1590 Rockville Pike, at the new Twinbrook Quarter development. It includes a sign for the store's Market Cafe. Some new "coming soon" window screens also say, "We are so grateful to be a part of your neighborhood." A peek inside (see photo at bottom) shows that a significant amount of shelving and refrigerated cases is now in place. The signage will serve more as an attention-getter for now, as the store's official opening date remains more than three months away.

Wegmans Effect: Rockville Safeway store closing before nearby Wegmans even opens (Photos)

The Rockville Wegmans hasn't even opened yet, and the competition is already starting to move out of town. Safeway at 1800 Rockville Pike is closing, and a closing sale is underway, according to a sign posted at the supermarket. That Safeway is only a couple of blocks south of the future Wegmans store, which is opening later this year at the new Twinbrook Quarter development. Don't expect massive savings, as the closing sale is currently touting only 30%-off "selected merchandise," meaning most of the store's inventory is likely to be transferred to other local Safeways or other Albertsons-owned stores.

This Safeway was so new that there is probably very little nostalgia about the store, compared to the Veirs Mill Road Twinbrook Safeway it replaced last decade. Not only is Wegmans roaring into town, but Montgomery County's crime wave that is entering its fifth year was often in evidence at this Safeway. A number of assaults were reported at the store each of the last few years, in addition to the rampant shoplifting that has plagued nearly all retail businesses in the county this decade. 

When this store closes, there will be two Safeway stores left in Rockville, at the Rock Creek Village Center and at the King Farm Village Center. If you get your prescriptions filled at this store, your file will be transferred to the Rock Creek Village Center Safeway pharmacy at 5510 Norbeck Road.

69% of Montgomery County voters oppose bag tax hike - but County Council passed it anyway

Over two-thirds of registered voters in Montgomery County oppose raising the bag tax to ten cents, a Washington Post/University of Maryland poll found, but the Montgomery County Council unanimously passed it anyway on Tuesday. The poll found that 69% of voters oppose the tax increase on paper bags, and that a minority 47% of voters support the plastic bag ban that was passed alongside it Tuesday. But, as the Council has done increasingly since defeating the Columbia Country Club with its 2009 Purple Line vote that brought no electoral consequences, the Council put its legislative steamroller in gear and floored the accelerator.

Interestingly, the Post declined to print the results of its bag tax/ban poll questions until the day after the Council voted, despite having taken the poll in late January, a clear attempt to tamp down opposition ahead of the Council vote. Tuesday's vote spoke deafening volumes about the deepening radical political trends in Montgomery County, trends that suggest the moribund jurisdiction is on-track for further and accelerating economic decline in the years ahead.

Montgomery County has acquired an international reputation as an anti-business jurisdiction. Not surprisingly, it has failed to attract a major corporate headquarters in over 25 years. Since the last decade, it ranks at or near the bottom by every relevant measure in economic development and job creation in the D.C. region, based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. It has long ago fallen out of the Forbes Top Ten Richest Counties in America list, as the wealthy flee to lower-tax jurisdictions in the region. In 2010, stores like Target and Magruder's in Rockville turned their interior lights down, posting apologetic signs explaining it was due to the County's new Energy Tax.

Tuesday's decision won't change the world's perception of us.

According to Wednesday's Post article, Councilmember Marilyn Balcombe (D - District 2) demanded Tuesday that the County begin to go after businesses "more aggressively" if they don't comply with the new ban and tax collection, despite the even-more-complicated regime of mandates imposed by the new law.

Okay, the Council is going to hound your business "more aggressively." But if you're thinking of starting a business, or moving it to Montgomery County, surely you can trust that the local Chamber of Commerce will have your back against the tinfoil dictators of the County Council, right?

Wrong.

The Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce supported the Council's vote. Yes, you read that right. "We worry about Montgomery County being in a position that it's not competitive with surrounding jurisdictions [and] that's not what this bill does," Chamber spokesperson Brian Levine told the Post. 

That's nice, but it's actually false, as Washington, D.C., Arlington County, and Fairfax County do not have bans on plastic bags, and only charge 5 cents per bag, not 10 cents. So putting us in a position that's "not competitive with surrounding jurisdictions" is exactly "what this bill does."

Imagine paying dues to a Chamber that kneecaps you in order to keep political favor with the County Council when the rubber meets the road. This isn't the first time. How many Chamber members wanted this bag law to pass? The Chamber's written testimony goes so far as to declare the organization "applauds the sponsor and co-sponsor for proposing this commonsense policy change." Applauds?! Such kowtowing to an rabidly-anti-business Council is embarrassing for a business organization. Yet again, we cede competitive economic growth territory to Northern Virginia and D.C.

It's bad enough that this is yet another tax hike, at a time when a majority of Montgomery County taxpayers are struggling with already-outrageous grocery prices, and Maryland is about to raise taxes and fees at the state level. But it's also another example of our megalomaniacal elected officials, who have a psychological need to control other people. Council President Kate Stewart (D - District 4) said the new bag law will "change behavior." Voters didn't elect you to "change behavior." They elected you to execute the basic functions of government in a competent manner, foster a favorable climate for business, provide necessary infrastructure and a functioning transportation system, and enforce the laws to protect the safety of the public - - all things this Council hasn't been able to do in this century. 

Assault at grocery store in Rockville

Rockville City police responded to a report of a 2nd-degree assault at a grocery store Thursday evening, January 30, 2025. The assault was reported at a supermarket in the 1800 block of Rockville Pike at 8:34 PM. There is a Safeway store at 1800 Rockville Pike. An individual was also accused of shoplifting in the same incident.

Police called after assault at Rockville grocery store

Rockville City police were called to a grocery store last Wednesday evening, January 8, 2025, after someone reported having been assaulted there. The assault was reported at 6:53 PM at a supermarket in the 1800 block of Rockville Pike, near the Twinbrook Metro station. There is a Safeway store on that block. An individual was accused of shoplifting in the same incident.

Rockville Wegmans now opening "late summer 2025"

The Wegmans store in Rockville is now anticipated to open in "late summer 2025," the company said in a job announcement linked to an online banner ad Friday. It is one of three Wegmans stores expected to open in the United States in 2025. Rockville's will be the smallest of the three at 80,000-square-feet, but will serve as the retail anchor of the new Twinbrook Quarter development. It appears it will not have the Market Cafe found in other, larger Wegmans locations, including the other two opening this year on Long Island and in Norwalk, Connecticut. 

Wegmans also announced that Rockville Wegmans customers will receive 90 minutes of free parking in the underground parking garage. Signage for the garage has already been installed.

Training for the more than 500 positions at the store is apparently quite intensive. It will begin long before the store opens, and will be conducted at an off-site location through June 2025. Some potential training locations for prospective Rockville Wegmans employees include the Wegmans stores in Frederick, Germantown, Woodmore, Washington, D.C., and Tysons, the company said. The Rockville Wegmans will be located at 1590 Rockville Pike, near the Twinbrook Metro station.

Assault at grocery store in Rockville

Rockville City police responded to a report of a 2nd-degree assault at a grocery store on Tuesday evening, November 24, 2024. The assault was reported at a supermarket in the 1800 block of Rockville Pike at 6:16 PM. There is a Safeway store on that block of Rockville Pike. An individual was also accused of shoplifting in the same incident.

Police called after assault at Rockville supermarket

Rockville City police were called to a grocery store in the Twinbrook area early Monday evening, October 21, 2024, after an individual was allegedly assaulted there. A 2nd-degree assault was reported at a supermarket in the 1900 block of Veirs Mill Road at 6:36 PM. An individual was also accused of theft in the same incident. The business in question was not identified by name, but Lotte Plaza Market is located on that block.

Aldi opens at Walnut Hill Shopping Center in Gaithersburg

Aldi is now open at 737 S. Frederick Avenue at the Walnut Hill Shopping Center in Gaithersburg. The grocery store is the new anchor tenant for the retail center, which has undergone major renovations to update the property. Aldi hopes to succeed where previous grocers like Weis Markets failed here, and will also have to compete with the new Amazon Fresh opening nearby on Shady Grove Road on August 8. Still to come at Walnut Hill is a Sheetz convenience store and mega gas station. 

Amazon Fresh Gaithersburg store posts opening date

Amazon has posted the opening date for its Amazon Fresh grocery store at 15790 Shady Grove Road at the 270 Center, on the border of Rockville and Gaithersburg. The long-delayed but highly-anticipated store will open at 8:00 AM sharp on August 8, 2024, according to the banner that has just been posted on the storefront. A grand opening of this supermarket has been years in the making, and the process has taken almost as many twists and turns as the 2024 presidential race. 

I broke the story about Amazon's plans way back in September of 2020. More than two years passed before a potential opening date was even hinted at, as Amazon itself kept total secrecy about its plans, even as it completed the interior fit-out of the store. The only public confirmation of the store came when signage was installed on the storefront. Yet, with all shelving in place but empty of merchandise, the company then announced it would be postponing the opening until 2023.

Amazon never stated publicly why it was postponing the opening of the Gaithersburg store, and several others around the country. In February of 2023, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy still wouldn't offer details on that front, beyond citing the impact of the pandemic (which had long been declared "over" by that point, even by the most fervent lockdown proponents at all levels of government, as political winds shifted). But Jassy did promise that the retail giant would "go big" on its push into bricks-and-mortar grocery stores in 2023.

That never happened.

Just two months later, Amazon ordered its expensive lighted signage to be removed from the building at 270 Center. It had hung on the unopened store so long that it had already been vandalized. The store was now officially canceled. 

Amazon continued to hold its cards close to its vest, even as pundits declared the firm's venture into physical supermarkets a flop, and even began predicting that the existing Amazon Fresh stores might all close. Was it going to wave the white flag, and stick to online grocery delivery? The company was silent.

But the epic story of Amazon Fresh in Gaithersburg wasn't over yet!

During the first week of June this year, Amazon's employment site suddenly listed jobs for an Amazon Fresh store in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Was this an error? On June 5, I emailed all three leasing representatives for 270 Center to ask if Amazon had reversed its plans. All three declined to respond.

Three weeks later, Amazon confirmed it indeed had changed its mind yet again. The company posted a "coming soon" banner on the otherwise blank storefront. A few days later, the lighted logo signage - either repaired or replaced - was installed on the building. Last night, the opening date banner was in place, the logo sign was lit up, and the lights were on inside the store. 

You can't completely divest Amazon from its penchant for secrecy, though: paper now covers the windows to block the public's view of the long-completed interior, and the status of possible inventory being placed onto those long-empty shelves. No more "spy photos" like those I was able to post a few weeks ago.

The lights are on...and somebody is finally home at Amazon Fresh in Gaithersburg.

Dawson's Market closes in Rockville (Photos)

Dawson's Market has closed at 225 N. Washington Street at Rockville Town Square. The permanent closure ends a long but tumultuous run for the grocery store at the struggling Town Center development. It also leaves an anchor retail space vacant at property that already has no shortage of empty storefronts. A bigger-name chain grocer could spur more shoppers to patronize Rockville Town Square, but property owner Morguard faces the same challenge as the original developer here, in that the poorly-designed-and-placed grocery space was turned down by many such supermarkets almost twenty years ago.

The space is well-sized for brands like Aldi, Lidl or Trader Joe's. If one of those can be attracted here, the famous brand will have to overcome the shortfalls of being hidden away from the busy state highway MD 355 at the very back of the development, and the almost universally-despised parking scheme at Rockville Town Square. The latter was improved in recent years by finally allowing free parking for 2 hours. But the dungeon-like garages, paid parking and validation memories of the past persist in the minds of many, and there is a Giant and a Food Lion with free, hassle-free surface parking only a short distance from Rockville Town Square. 

Signage installed at future Amazon Fresh on Shady Grove Road (Photos)

The sign is (back) up at Amazon Fresh, opening soon at 15790 Shady Grove Road at the 270 Center on the border of Rockville and Gaithersburg. It's exactly the same logo sign that was vandalized, and ultimately removed, when Amazon paused - and then "canceled" - the opening of this store last year. The reversal of that decision became apparent earlier this month. There's still nothing on the bare shelves inside the store, but more signage has been added inside over the last few days, including a large banana image and other promotional images in the produce department.

We should soon see the grocery cart return out front in the parking lot. It was erected, and then dismantled, during Amazon's period of indecision in 2023. One wonders if anyone in Amazon's grocery division was fired as a result of the faux cancellation of this location. Nothing has changed over the last year, and Amazon only lost money over this period that the store didn't operate. If anything, the market is worse, as Americans have reduced their grocery purchases due to runaway inflation of prices, and price-gouging by greedy corporations.

Amazon Fresh Shady Grove Road store opening soon in reversal of plans by retail giant (Photos)

Amazon will open its Amazon Fresh grocery store at 15790 Shady Grove Road at the 270 Center on the border of Rockville and Gaithersburg after all, according to signage posted at the property. This saga began when I broke the story about Amazon leasing the space way back on September 1, 2020. The retail giant completed the interior fit-out of the store by the late summer of 2022, and spent months installing its Just Walk Out system electronics. It then postponed the grand opening to 2023, only to abruptly remove all signage from the building in April of 2023. Many other Amazon Fresh stores - some of them fully-constructed like the Shady Grove location - were also "paused" or canceled around the same time.

But after 14 months of abandonment of the project, Amazon suddenly posted help wanted ads for the Shady Grove Road store at the start of this month. Was this a glitch in Amazon's job site? On June 5, I emailed all three leasing representatives for 270 Center to ask if Amazon had reversed its decision. All three declined to reply to my inquiries. 

The secret can no longer be contained, however. On Sunday, a large banner was posted on the blank storefront with the familiar Amazon logo. Inside the store, more Amazon signage is visible. Parking space reservation signs for curbside pickup and Amazon Flex drivers are massed in the store's vestibule. And self-checkout machines are not only in place, but are activated with lit screens. 

Amazon's decision to go forward with the store is a triple win for the community. It will greatly increase foot traffic to 270 Center and its other tenants, a benefit the property owner has had to wait for nearly four years to realize. Second, Amazon Fresh delivery will now be extended to parts of the area where it has been unavailable. Finally, along with the new Aldi at the Walnut Hill Shopping Center, south Gaithersburg, Derwood, and upper Rockville residents will now have two grocery stores whose business models are centered around competitive pricing. Aldi is expected to open in July; Amazon has not announced the opening date for the Amazon Fresh as of this writing.