Partial power outage last night at Rockville Town Square

Power appeared to be out to several businesses on the west side of Gibbs Street early last night at Rockville Town Square. The businesses impacted were those between SunTrust Bank and Five Guys.

Five Guys Rockville Town Square closes for renovations

You'll have to head north or south on Rockville Pike to satisfy your appetite for Five Guys in the coming days. Their Rockville Town Square location has temporarily closed for renovations. It will reopen September 23, 2019 at 11:00 AM.

MOD Pizza Rockville opening date set

Last week, I showed you a preview of the interior of MOD Pizza at the Montrose Crossing shopping center on Rockville Pike. Now they have announced their opening date - next Tuesday, August 27, 2019 at 10:30 AM. The first 50 people through the doors when they open will get free pizza.

White Flint Mall site reclaimed by nature (Photos)

The former site of White Flint Mall on Rockville Pike has been reclaimed by nature. Several years have passed since the mall was demolished, and now it is an overgrown field guarded by hyperaggressive security. Perhaps they fear a giant rabbit may jump the fence and munch on the vegetation. The heady greed that led the owners to pull the plug on a fully-leased mall, with crowded parking lots and popular restaurants, has dissipated. Replacing it is stagnation and malaise. And lots of weeds.

An area touted as Montgomery County's answer to Tysons fell victim to MoCo's moribund economy, corrupt and incompetent County Council, and hostile business climate. Tysons is booming, while White Flint Mall's former site is only blooming with weeds and brush. Developers and investors have fled, abandoning or downsizing their plans. Only Federal Realty moved forward with a fully-realized development, leading their CEO, Don Wood, to criticize County officials for not delivering on their end of the bargain in White Flint.

The Montgomery County Council hasn't taken a single action to address our economic development crisis since taking office last December, as MoCo stagnates with the lowest-ranked economy in the region by every relevant measure. No major corporation has moved its headquarters to Montgomery County in over twenty years. County taxes are at an all-time high, but tax revenue is declining, as the ultra-rich flee to lower-tax jurisdictions in the region.

Yet our elected officials have decided to simply put a piece of carpet tape over the "Check Engine" light screaming at them from the civic dashboard. It's intriguing that Lerner is compelled to provide entertainment for the public on a future development site they own in bustling Tysons, but here the Council allows them to leave us an overgrown field. That says a lot about the difference between the two jurisdictions, and the competency of their respective leadership.

This stretch of Rockville Pike looks
exactly the same as it did over nine years
ago, when the White Flint sector plan passed

Silver Diner Rio review - Gaithersburg (Video+Photos)

Rockville Town Center just got even tougher free-parking-competition in Gaithersburg. The newest Silver Diner opens for dinner hours this week at Rio Lakefront, beginning tonight. Located in the old Cafe Deluxe space, but completely remodeled with new lakefront boardwalk patio seating, the restaurant will officially open on Monday, August 26, 2019 for breakfast, lunch and dinner service.

Rockville has its own Silver Diner with free parking just south of the city limits, of course. But Rio has pumped itself up further this summer, with a new boardwalk, concert stage, luxurious AMC cineplex with bar and restaurant-quality kitchen, Yard House and Dave & Buster's. With free parking, and now its own Silver Diner with waterside outdoor seating, the Gaithersburg development is now an even more dangerous competitor in the battle for local dollars.

I was able to test out the new menu at a soft opening night.  While the menu is not a book like The Cheesecake Factory, Silver Diner has the same ability to please a family or group of very diverse tastes. They also have even more options than the Cheesecake Factory for those on special diets. Whether someone wants a trendy, internationally-inspired dish, or old favorites like meatloaf, crab cakes or burgers, it's almost certain each diner will find something of interest,

For my dinner, I ordered Mom's Chicken Noodle Soup (a cup; bowl size is also available), the Chicken Tender Platter with crispy fries and coleslaw, and a seasonal dessert special, the Churro Doughnut Sundae, topped with Breyers vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, sprinkles, and drizzled with Nutella and raspberry sauce.

Mom's Chicken Noodle Soup

Watch my review of the new Silver Diner at Rio in Gaithersburg right now on the Robert Dyer Channel on YouTube, or at the bottom of this page.

Chicken Tender Platter

The platter includes organic, antibiotic-and-hormone-free
chicken tenders, honey mustard sauce, crispy fries,
and coleslaw for $13.99

Churro Doughnut Sundae

Edmonston Drive bridge rehabilitation project completed in Rockville

The rehabilitation of the John C. Brown Memorial Bridge on Edmonston Drive in Rockville is now complete. New support pillars, new bridge fencing, a new road surface, and a new plaque honoring Brown are among the upgrades to this heavily-traveled bridge over the CSX and WMATA tracks. Brown was the first Marylander killed during the Korean War.

Photo courtesy City of Rockville

Bangkok Garden sign installed in Rockville

The sign is up at Bangkok Garden's new restaurant at Wintergreen Plaza at 891-D Rockville Pike. It looks like the construction on the interior is pretty close to finished, as well. This will be their second venture in Montgomery County; the original Bangkok Garden is in downtown Bethesda.