Sweetgreen Rockville opens at Pike & Rose

Sweetgreen opened yesterday at Pike & Rose in Rockville. The upscale, fast casual salad restaurant donated the proceeds of the grand opening sales to the non-profit FoodCorps. Some lucky patrons received free baked goods from Sweetgreen's future next-door neighbor, Sunday Morning Bakehouse. Sweetgreen is located at 11875 Grand Park Avenue.

Rockville construction update: BBQ Chicken & Beer (Photos)

BBQ Chicken & Beer has installed a permanent sign on the facade of their storefront at 9712 Traville Gateway Drive in Rockville. Work continues on the interior of the restaurant, which is taking over the vacant Quench space.

If you're interested in working here, they are currently hiring kitchen staff, servers and a bartender. Get a sneak preview of the BBQ Chicken & Beer Rockville menu by checking out the menu from their existing Centreville location.

Icon Bridal & Formal expanding to Rockville

Award-winning local bridal shop Icon Bridal & Formal is expanding down the pike to the Pike District. They've leased space for a new store at 11771 Rockville Pike, across from Pike & Rose.

Icon currently has a Darnestown location, which has won three awards from wedding planning website Wedding Wire. This space was last home to David Blair's almost-successful campaign for Montgomery County executive last year.

Performance Bicycle closes at Congressional Plaza

Performance Bicycle Shop has closed at Congressional Plaza. The closure was expected, as I reported last December. Everything has been cleared out of the space. It's especially notable that just as Montgomery County claims bicycle use is surging, bike shops across our moribund county are closing, including here and in downtown Bethesda.

White House Black Market closes Rockville store

White House Black Market, a solid-performing women's apparel boutique for many years, is the latest victim of the moribund Montgomery County economy. They have just closed their Congressional Plaza store in Rockville. Montgomery County has suffered a net loss of over 2100 retail jobs since 2000, according to the Maryland Retailers Association.

KC Filipino nears opening in Rockville

KC Filipino looks about ready to open in the College Plaza shopping center in Rockville. The restaurant has completed its pre-opening health inspection by Montgomery County, and all of the furniture appears to be in place. KC Filipino is located at 15108-A Frederick Road, most recently home to Matt's House of Kabob, which closed in November.

Rockville acquires 6 Taft Court property

The City of Rockville has completed its purchase of 6 Taft Court, a 2.29 acre property that includes a 64,995-square-foot, three-story building. It is located in the industrial area along Gude Drive, and will relieve overcrowding at the present location of the city’s maintenance and emergency operations, the city announced Tuesday.

Those functions are currently housed at the city's Gude Drive Maintenance Facility on Rothgeb Drive. However, that facility has grown too small for these expanding divisions. It was never meant to hold two different departments of government when constructed, and is not ADA-compliant.

The city plans to move snow removal, street maintenance, recycling and refuse, parks and facilities maintenance operations, as well as water, sewer and stormwater maintenance, and other public services to 6 Taft Court. Emergency operations, as well as some storage and maintenance functions, will remain at 14625 Rothgeb Drive. As a bonus, vehicular access exists between the two properties, which are adjacent.

Rockville paid $5.88 million for the property to seller M8 Property Group, LLC — $220,000 less than the appraised value. That's quite a contrast to Montgomery County, which often overpays landowners who contribute to elected officials' campaigns when acquiring property, and sells public land to developers at sweetheart low prices.