Pickpocket strikes at Rockville grocery store

City of Rockville police responded to a pickpocket incident at a grocery store in King Farm Wednesday evening. The pickpocket struck at a store in the 400 block of Redland Boulevard around 5:30 PM. There is a Safeway store on that block.

Lidl proposes Rockville store in King Farm, Derwood area

German grocery chain Lidl is proposing a Rockville store in the King Farm-Derwood area. The store would be on the former CarMax property at 15931 Frederick Road, near the Shady Grove Metro station. As part of the proposal, an affordable housing development with 200-250 units would later be constructed on another part of the property. The grocer is also promising to upgrade the streetscape along the Frederick Road side of the property, to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists.

Amazon Fresh grocery store to open on Shady Grove Road

Amazon will open one of its new Amazon Fresh grocery store concepts in Gaithersburg. The store will take over the Office Depot building at the 270 Center on Shady Grove Road.

First opening in California, the stores will offer the Amazon Dash Cart, which identifies the items you place in it. Customers can then push the cart through the Dash Cart checkout lane for instant checkout when leaving the store.

Fresh foods are prepared daily in-store. Amazon Fresh stores will emphasize low prices, compared to the company's higher-end Whole Foods Market chain. Expect a 2021 opening for the store.

Rockville Aldi to open Thursday

Rockville lost a grocery store this past weekend, but it's gaining one later this week. Aldi will open in the former hhgregg/Circuit City building in the Congressional North shopping center on Rockville Pike this Thursday, November 1, 2018 at 8:00 AM.

This is the first Aldi store in Rockville. As you can see, the store's team has already been at work stocking the shelves. Get your quarters ready for a Supermarket Sweep this Thursday.

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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!