Home Depot Design Center sets opening date at Montrose Crossing in Rockville

The former Golf Galaxy space at the Montrose Crossing shopping center at 12087 Rockville Pike has been leased by a Home Depot Design Center. An opening date has been set for September 7, 2020. In contrast to a full-scale Home Depot big box store, this concept focuses on design and remodeling of kitchens and bathrooms. This will be only the second of this concept store in the country, following the first in San Diego. Here's a sneak peek:

Wentworth Gallery reopens, Elite Jewelers coming soon at Montgomery Mall

Wentworth Gallery, an art gallery featuring works by celebrity artists, has reopened at Westfield Montgomery Mall. The gallery is located on Level 2, right outside of Nordstrom.

Coming soon to Montgomery Mall will be Elite Jewelers. The chain features GIA-certified diamonds, handmade Italian 18k gold and platinum jewelry, and high-end watches like Movado, Bulova and pre-owned Rolexes. Elite Jewelers will be on Level 2 near Auntie Anne's.

TL Transportation to close Rockville location this fall, lay off 70 employees, filing says

TL Transportation will close its Rockville location on October 15, 2020, according to documents filed with the Maryland Department of Labor. Seventy employees will be laid off in the closure, the documents indicate.

The downturn for a last-mile delivery business is somewhat surprising, given that online shopping has been booming during the pandemic, and drivers have been highly sought after in that sector. TL Transportation is a third-party courier for Amazon.com, which has been one of the biggest winners in the coronavirus economy.

Supercuts has closed in Rockville

Supercuts has permanently closed at 211 E. Middle Lane in Rockville Town Center. The hair salon opened four years ago in the Cambria Suites hotel. It wasn't Montgomery County's moribund economy to blame this time, nor the struggles of the town center area, as the entire chain was impacted by the coronavirus lockdown that forbid haircuts. That temporary closure is now permanent, and the signage has been removed.

Blinds to Go coming to Rockville

Blinds to Go will be opening soon at 12204 Rockville Pike. The New Jersey-based blinds retailer is taking over a building that formerly housed Next Day Blinds. Next Day Blinds has gone out of business, and the new chain is not affiliated with them. Blinds to Go was founded in 1954 and now touts itself as the largest "manufacturer-retailer of direct-to-the-customer custom window coverings" in North America.

Montgomery County Public Schools not the top school system in Maryland, analysis says

Prominent data analysis firm Stacker has used hard numbers to determine the best school district in each state across America. Montgomery County Public Schools was not the winner.

Stacker says Howard County public schools are the best in the state. They determined this by reviewing statistics from the U.S. Department of Education, SAT/ACT scores, college readiness, teacher quality, and graduation rates.

MCPS has been in a steady decline since 2010, despite record spending on public schools over that same time. County elected officials have panicked this fall as a sizable number of parents transferred their MCPS students into private schools, and only a fraction of the anticipated number of new students materialized on the MCPS 2020-21 student roster.

Fallsgrove crime wave continues with another stolen car

Montgomery County police responded Wednesday to the report of a car being stolen in Fallsgrove, the fourth significant crime in the community since July 26. The vehicle was parked in a commercial parking lot in the 9400 block of Blackwell Road. It was stolen sometime Wednesday evening. Another car was stolen in Fallsgrove Sunday, and two armed robberies have occurred there in the last three weeks.