Rockville construction update: Aldi (Photos)

Construction of Rockville's newest grocery store continues at the Congressional North shopping center on Rockville Pike. Aldi has promised to open by the end of 2018. Do you think they can do it?

Adarash Market to open in Twinbrook

Adarash Market is opening a new Rockville location, in the Twinbrook Center at 2000-B Veirs Mill Road. The Ethiopian market chain already has stores in Long Branch and White Oak. Adarash will provide some international competition to Lotte Plaza Market, already open in the former Twinbrook Safeway building.

Demolition begins for Aldi in Rockville (Photos)

If you thought Aldi was just going to convert the old Circuit City/hh gregg building on Rockville Pike into their new Rockville grocery store, think again. Instead, major demolition is underway at the site. I'm starting to question if they will meet the projected 2018 store opening as promised at this point. The store site is located in the Congressional North shopping center.

MOM's Organic Market in Upper Rock to open June 1

The long-awaited opening of MOM's Organic Market at 10 Upper Rock Circle is almost here. It will open June 1, 2018, and the local chain will be holding an opening weekend celebration at the store from June 1 to June 3.

Officially designated as MOM's Gaithersburg store, the market is located in JBG Smith's Upper Rock development, which is within the city limits of Rockville. A historic office building was torn down to clear the way for this new retail center, which is convenient from both the adjacent Gables Upper Rock apartments and I-270 (just take the Shady Grove Road exit and head east, and it's the first thing you see on the right past the interchange [you'll see the CVS Pharmacy, which is in the same shopping center]).

Opening weekend will include tastings of local foods, kids' activities and giveaways. You'll also have the opportunity to meet representatives from environmental organizations like Waterkeepers Chesapeake and Trash Free Maryland, and staff from Montgomery Parks' Brookside Gardens.

The new MOM's will feature only the highest-quality organic produce, an all-organic vegetarian eatery called Naked Lunch, sustainable insect proteins, a Backyard Beekeeping section with everything you need for this important environmental activity, free car-charging stations, only sustainable seafood (including canned tuna), a wide selection of GOTS-certified organic and sustainable clothing, a liquid bulk section featuring goods like vinegar and honey, a recycling center that can handle household items like cell phones and household batteries, and a large Health and Wellness department, where you can find everything from bulk organic herbs to bulk soap, bath salts and body scrubs.

MOM's does not carry any products that use cartoon characters to target children, and this location will be no exception. 5% of the grand opening sales will be donated to Waterkeepers Chesapeake. MOM's is one of the more on-target tenant choices in Upper Rock, considering that the city envisioned the development as a community for the "creative class" of young professionals. It sounds like they have a wider variety of merchandise than Whole Foods, as well.

Aldi to open Rockville store

German supermarket chain Aldi will open a Rockville location in 2018. The grocery store will be located in part of the former Circuit City space in the Congressional North shopping center. Aldi has opened several stores in Montgomery County, most recently in the Montgomery Hills area of Silver Spring.

Rockville construction update: MOM's Organic Market at Upper Rock (Photos)

The exterior shell and windows of the future MOM's Organic Market at JBG Smith's Upper Rock development are completed, and HVAC and some lighting are in place. There's still a long way to go inside of the store, which will eventually be a convenient grocery store for Upper Rock residents in this growing community off Shady Grove Road at I-270.

Lotte Plaza Market replacing old Twinbrook Safeway (Photos)

The question of what would replace the vacant Safeway in Twinbrook has been answered. Lotte Plaza Market, a local Asian grocery store chain, is the new tenant. Coincidentally, the very first Lotte Plaza Market opened in Rockville in 1976.

Signs are out in several different languages, including English, Korean, Spanish and Vietnamese. I risk sounding like a broken record to say that this opening will further solidify Rockville's place as one of the largest and fastest-growing Asian communities in the region. Stay tuned for an opening date.

New York Mart opens in Rockville (Photos)

It's been a long road, but New York Mart has finally opened in the College Plaza shopping center at MD 355 and College Parkway. I was out of town for a large part of Saturday when it opened. But Rockville City Councilmember Tom Moore was among the first day's customers, and sent several photos (below). I went by yesterday and found the parking lot had many more cars than it has had on a Sunday since Magruder's closed, and quite a few people going into the store.

Hours will be 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM, and as you can see in the bottom photo, there will be a prepared food section in addition to groceries.

Photos:
Top: Robert Dyer
Bottom 3 photos: Tom Moore

SIGN INSTALLED AT NEW YORK MART IN ROCKVILLE (PHOTOS)

The permanent sign is up at New York Mart, the Asian grocery store coming to College Plaza on Route 355 in Rockville. It is taking over the space formerly occupied by Magruder's - and yes, those are vintage Magruder's shopping carts outside. They are now collector's items.

The store's building permit

Vintage! Magruder's shopping carts
still on site!

MAGRUDER'S CLOSING IN ROCKVILLE

Magruder's supermarket in Rockville is closing, perhaps at the end of the month. Both Rockville Patch and Gaithersburg Patch are reporting store employees have told them Magruder's Rockville and Gaithersburg locations will close.

The corporate headquarters of the longtime, local grocery chain has not publicly addressed the issue as of press time.

If true, this is a sad day.  As a lifelong county resident, I have memories of several Magruder's stores, including the one in Northwest Washington.

What caused this? It sounds like a companywide problem.  But with Rockville customers so critical to the chain, it's worth considering its Rockville-specific troubles in recent years.

I think the condemnation of the Town Center location played a role. The City never was able to relocate Magruder's in the poorly-designed supermarket space in Rockville Town Square. In fact, no chain wanted the space until Dawson's Market finally agreed to move in.

But there was also the county's ill-advised, punitive Energy Tax.  Magruder's actually had to reduce its interior lighting at one point (so did Target) to save money. Like many county businesses, the Energy Tax devastated stores during an already-difficult recession.

As disgraceful as the County Council's Energy Tax is, there are also the factors of the newer Giant nearby on the Pike, and increasing costs.

Perhaps the company will explain the cause, but these are just some of my thoughts.

If Magruder's indeed closes, it is yet another Hot Shoppes, G.C. Murphy, Chuck E. Cheese, Century Ford, etc., etc. loss for Rockville - and the DC area in general.