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.

CBD Wellness opens in Rockville

Cannabidiol oil is the latest hot cannabis consumer product in the United States. But CBD, as it is known, is not the same as medical marijuana because it has no psychoactive effects. It has anti-inflammatory properties, with uses ranging from pain and swelling relief to cancer treatment.

CBD Wellness has just opened a retail location in the Ritchie Center in Rockville at 765-L Rockville Pike. Their products use a proprietary blend of cannabinoids and terpenes, in salve and tincture form. They've taken over the vacant space that was recently home to a tobacco shop.

Regal Row surface parking lot closes in Rockville for the last time

It's the end of an era in Rockville Town Center. The last remaining half of the surface parking lot across from the Regal Cinemas and Cambria Hotel that once also hosted large Hometown Holidays concerts has permanently closed. Drivers are being directed into the adjacent hotel garage to park.

The closure comes as a new mixed-use project by developer Duball, LLC approved for the site begins to gain momentum. Once a popular and convenient parking destination for moviegoers and diners, the two-step closure of the lot has thrown gas on the dumpster fire that is parking in Rockville Town Center. It has also rendered Hometown Holidays a shadow of its former self.