Tato's potato bar opens at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

A first-of-its-kind eatery has just opened at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. Tato's is a potato bar that flips the script on the usual fast-casual bowl concept. Here, proteins are what you add to your choice of starch, not the other way around. Menu boards help you build your ideal loaded potato, but it seems Russia was overlooked on the international options menu, despite being an obvious choice. This space was formerly home to 7-Eleven at a busy entrance to the Dining Terrace food court.

Kami Ramen Bar "coming soon" to Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Kami Ramen Bar is coming soon to Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda, according to signage posted at its future space. It will be located between Wetzel's Pretzels (wow - what happened to them? They announced their arrival ages ago and still haven't opened) and Cinnabon near the entry to the Dining Terrace food court on Level 2 of the mall. Kami Ramen Bar is kind of behind schedule, as well. But it now has a target opening date of spring 2026.

Shoplifting incident leads to drug bust in Rockville

A shoplifting incident escalated at a grocery store in Rockville yesterday, when the suspect had more than store merchandise on their person. Rockville City police responded to a shoplifting report at a grocery store in the 1500 block of Rockville Pike at 10:48 AM Sunday. Officers determined the suspect possessed drug paraphernalia, and an individual was accused of obstruction in the same incident. Wegmans is located at 1590 Rockville Pike.

Derwood business burglarized

Montgomery County police responded to a burglar alarm at a business in Derwood in the early morning hours of January 19, 2026. The alarm was set off in the early morning hours at United Electric Supply, which is located at 104 Derwood Circle. Officers arriving at the scene found evidence of forced entry at the business, and determined that property had been stolen from inside. Police have no suspect descriptions at this time; it is unclear how the intruder(s) were able to evade security cameras. If you have any information that could assist detectives in closing this case, call police at (301) 279-8000. 

Assault at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Montgomery County police responded to a report of a 2nd-degree assault at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda on January 26, 2026. The assault was reported at the mall at 3:15 PM Monday. This is the second assault reported at the mall this year, with the first having taken place on January 10. The mall is now on-pace for 24 assaults this year at this rate; 12 took place at the property in 2025.

American flag burned in Rockville

Rockville City police are investigating the burning of an American flag on Rockville Pike last week. The flag was torched in the 1200 block of Rockville Pike sometime between 9:00 PM on January 22, and 10:00 AM on January 23, police say. Detectives do not have any suspect descriptions or motives in the case at this time. If you have any information about this incident, call police at 240-314-8900.

Amazon Fresh closing in Rockville

The Amazon Fresh grocery store at 15790 Shady Grove Road at the 270 Center will permanently close this Sunday, February 1, 2026. Amazon is closing all of its Amazon Fresh and Go grocery stores across the country, as a very expensive experiment with Amazon-branded physical grocery stores by the retail giant concludes. In Montgomery County, that means the losses of Amazon Fresh stores at Chevy Chase Lake, Friendship Heights, Shady Grove Road on the border of Rockville and Gaithersburg, and White Oak. It's an especially raw deal for all involved at the Chevy Chase locations, as residents of Chevy Chase Lake had expected to have an on-site grocery store, Friendship Heights residents will now have only the hipster house brands of Trader Joe's and Whole Foods Market as full-size supermarkets within walking distance, and the Chevy Chase Land Company was counting on both to anchor their respective developments of Chevy Chase Lake and the Collection at Chevy Chase.