Friendship BBQ opens at Rockville Town Square

Friendship BBQ has opened at 33-E Maryland Avenue at Rockville Town Square. It's not Carolina or Texas barbecue, but Chinese barbecue. The cuisine, and even the wood used to grill the skewers, are native to the Xinjiang region of China, according to property owner Federal Realty.

Rockville construction update: Jersey Mike's Fallsgrove (Photos)

Jersey Mike's looks pretty close to the finish line for opening at the Fallsgrove Village Center. Even the chip bags are in place. What's better - Jersey Mike's at Wintergreen Plaza or Firehouse Subs at Upper Rock? Let me know in the comments below.

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.