Montgomery Village McDonald's to add 2nd drive-thru lane

The menu items at McDonald's keep getting smaller, but the drive-thru at the Montgomery Village location is about to get bigger. A second lane will be added to the drive-thru later this summer. This will bring the fast food restaurant in line with current McDonald's drive-thru standards, and with the dual-lane capacity of rivals like Chick-fil-A. McDonald's is located at 19388 Montgomery Village Avenue, and is one of the few 24-hour drive-thru fast food restaurants in Montgomery County. Don't tell the County Council!

Rockville crime victim alleges China law enforcement officer is operating here

A complainant who alleged they were the victim of long-term currency fraud told Rockville City police that the suspect in the case was a law enforcement officer from the People's Republic of China, the Rockville City Police Department says. The alleged victim claimed to have been defrauded of unspecified currency between August 1, 2024, and June 23, 2025. They reported the alleged fraud to the RCPD three days ago on July 7, in the unit block of Maryland Avenue.

The alleged victim told officers that the unknown suspect was "Chinese law enforcement, who threatened action against the victim for defrauding others with fake investments." American officials have accused China of sending police officers to the U.S. to intimidate or harass Chinese dissidents, or to persuade Chinese expats who have committed crimes to return home to face charges. 

China has strongly denied engaging in such activity, and has said facilities U.S. officials have referred to as "police stations" in American cities with large Chinese populations are nothing more than volunteer-staffed service centers, which assist Chinese citizens or tourists overseas with basic matters like renewing driver's licenses. A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C. told Newsweek in 2023 that the accusations by U.S. officials have been "sheer political manipulation, and the purpose is to smear China's image."

Arc'teryx opening at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Arc'teryx has signed a lease to open a store at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. The outdoor apparel store will open this fall, according to signage posted across its future storefront. Arc'teryx was founded in North Vancouver, British Columbia in 1989 by Dave Lane and Jeremy Guard. Their techwear and streetwear lines have become popular with outdoor adventures and urbanites alike, with the latter viewing Arc'teryx clothing as a status symbol, the Financial Times and New York Times have noted. When it opens, look for Arc'teryx on Level 1 of the mall, next to Sleep Number.

Harris Teeter closing in Rockville

Harris Teeter is closing its store at 11845 Old Georgetown Road in Rockville. The store will close "on or before July 20, 2025," according to a sign that also promotes a closing sale with prices up to 50% off. This store has been rumored to be one of the lowest-performing in the Harris Teeter chain. It also has fallen victim to Montgomery County's puzzling decision to place a homeless shelter nearby, frequent thefts of merchandise and shopping carts, the general moribundity of the stagnant Montgomery County economy, the County's highest-in-the-region tax and fee burden, and the failed 2010 White Flint sector plan. The recent arrival of a Wegmans just up Rockville Pike was likely the final nail in the HT coffin.

ZeniMax to lay off 164 employees in Rockville

ZeniMax Media, located at 1370 Piccard Drive in Rockville, has announced it will lay off 164 employees on September 1, 2025. The parent company of Bethesda Softworks and Bethesda Game Studios is being hit hard by Microsoft's workforce reduction plans, which is impacting Microsoft's game development operations more than many expected. Among the "fallout" of the ZeniMax downsizing are the layoffs of an additional 30 employees at one of its contractors, TCWGlobal, also based in Rockville. Another loss is a massively-multiplayer-online (MMO) game that was under development at ZeniMax, code-named "Blackbird," that emerged from secrecy as a result of the layoffs.

Metro Pike Center to get facelift in Rockville

Saul Centers is preparing to give a facelift to the Metro Pike Center at 11520 Rockville Pike in White Flint. The shopping center will receive a facade update in the coming months. Let's hope it is more retro than the replacement signage that was installed at the front of the property in the late 2010s. Lost were the totally 80s "Metro Pike Center" logo and background grid (see photo below), replaced by the most abominably-generic font and signage Max Headroom or Buckaroo Banzai could imagine in their nightmares (see photo at top). According to LoopNet, Metro Pike Center was constructed in 1990. White Flint is synonymous with the 80s, and that character should be retained to maintain the "sense of place" that Montgomery County planners give so much lip service to.

Vine Alley, Brews & Barrels spaces marketed for lease at Kentlands Market Square

Kimco Realty is marketing the spaces currently occupied by Vine Alley and Brews & Barrels at Kentlands Market Square in Gaithersburg as "available" for lease. Both spaces have a notation that parties interested in leasing either storefront "do not disturb" the current tenants, who are still open for business. In addition, both businesses have been removed from the tenant roster in Kimco leasing materials for the property. Brews & Barrels opened at 625 Center Point Way in 2020, and Vine Alley opened two years later at 114 Market Street.