Bank with drive-thru proposed for site of shuttered Rockville supermarket

A bank branch with a drive-thru has been proposed for the former Meixin Supermarket location at 460 Hungerford Drive in Rockville. It's interesting to see another Town Center Phase II property going to a low-density, traditional automobile-oriented MD 355 use. Their application has been deemed incomplete by planning staff, however, so there may be at least a brief delay in this moving forward.

Panera Bread closed for renovations in Fallsgrove

Panera Bread has temporarily closed for renovations at the Fallsgrove Village Center in Rockville. No reopening date has been announced. You can see a lot has been removed from the interior.

Sears Gaithersburg closing, company spokesperson confirms

The Sears store in Gaithersburg will close by mid-December 2019, Sears/Kmart Public Relations Director Larry Costello confirmed to Suburban News Network, publisher of RockvilleNights.com. Located at Lakeforest Mall, the Gaithersburg store appeared on a list making the rounds of national news organizations, Reddit and Facebook groups, but the impending closure had not been officially confirmed by Sears until now.

Costello said a liquidation sale will begin mid-September at the Gaithersburg Sears and Stevensville Kmart stores. One Sears store in White Oak, and a Sears appliance outlet in Wheaton, will remain in Montgomery County after the Gaithersburg store has closed.

TPB approves funding to improve Stonestreet pedestrian access to Rockville Metro

Park Road near the Rockville Metro station

The National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments has approved $280,000 in funds to provide better pedestrian and bicycle access to the Rockville Metro station from the east side. They especially focus on the area of Park Road between N. Stonestreet Avenue and S. Stonestreet Avenue.

Including wider sidewalks, a new intersection alignment, and bike lanes, the improvements were among the recommendations of the Stonestreet Corridor Study. They also again show the benefit of Rockville having an active seat at the table - Mayor Bridget Donnell Newton has been a member of the TPB, and was elected as its chair for 2017.

Kneipp closes at Montgomery Mall, EJJI Ramen reopens

Kneipp, a German retailer of natural, vegan bath and body products, has closed at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. The shop was the latest victim of the moribund Montgomery County economy, which has suffered a net loss of over 2100 retail jobs since 2000, according to the Maryland Retailers Association. Kneipp's storefront is now blacked out, but inside it has been cleared out.

Another closure at the mall earlier this week was temporary. EJJI Ramen was closed at the beginning of the week. But the company, which has another location in Baltimore, says they had to close due to a mechanical problem. EJJI Ramen is now open again in the Dining Terrace.

Chase Bank coming to Rockville?

Chase Bank is aggressively expanding across the country, having already opened two branches in downtown Bethesda alone, with a third Bethesda location in the works. But they don't yet have a Rockville branch. Now I'm hearing they will open a future branch at Pike & Rose, on a pad site along Prose Street.

Rockville Mayor & Council TV debate schedule set

Before Rockville residents vote by mail on who will become the next Mayor and Council, three live, televised candidate forums will be held. The public can attend in person, or watch live on Channel 11 or on a livestream on the City website. They will also later be uploaded to YouTube.

Here is the debate schedule, with more community and organization-hosted non-televised debates likely to be added in the coming weeks:

• 6:30-8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 24 at the Rockville Senior Center, 1150 Carnation Drive. Presented by the League of Women Voters.
• 1-2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 2 at Thomas Farm Community Center, 700 Fallsgrove Drive. Presented by the Rockville Chamber of Commerce.
• 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 15 at the Twinbrook Community Recreation Center, 12920 Twinbrook Parkway. Presented by Twinbrook Village in association withTwinbrook Community Association.