Lego Store opens at Montgomery Mall

What has been the most-anticipated store opening of 2020 at Westfield Montgomery Mall has happened. The Lego Store is now open. You'll find it on Level 1 near Forever 21 and Build a Bear.

Yi Fang Taiwan Fruit Tea opening Rockville location

Yi Fang Taiwan Fruit Tea is coming to Rockville. The shop will be located at 777 Hungerford Drive, near 7-Eleven and Flagship Car Wash north of Rockville Town Center. Yi Fang has a fascinating history going back prior to World War II in Japanese-occupied Taiwan. The founder's grandmother one day added water to pineapple jam to make a cool drink for her husband, who was working in the hot weather on a pineapple farm, and ended up being credited for the invention of Taiwanese fruit tea.

All Yi Fang beverages use seasonal fruit ingredients, and jams are boiled without chemical concentrated juices. The company says their flagship fruit tea drink uses the founder's grandmother's exact recipe for a genuine Taiwanese fruit tea experience. This location will be in the space vacated by Dunkin' Donuts/Baskin Robbins late last year.

Rock Grove shopping center construction rounding the turn in Rockville (Photos)

The transformation of the aging strip mall at the corner of MD 355 and Shady Grove Road into the new Rock Grove shopping center is nearing completion. Property owner JBG Smith's makeover is showing its true colors with multi-shade facade treatments and surfaces. Even the Jiffy Johns match!

Crumbl Cookies sets opening date at Federal Plaza in Rockville

Crumbl Cookies is finally ready to open its first D.C.-area location at Federal Plaza at 12266 Rockville Pike. The store and delivery business will open this Friday, October 2, 2020. Cookie lovers will love the hours, as the store will be open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 8:00 AM to midnight. Additionally, cookies can be delivered from 8:00 AM until 10:00 PM, Monday through Thursday. On the weekend, deliveries will be available from 8:00 AM to midnight. 

Crumbl will offer four limited-time cookie varieties each week, along with their two standard cookies: warm chocolate chip and chilled sugar cookie. Limited-time flavors will include Muddy Buddy, Biscoff Lava, Funfetti, Snickerdoodle, Coconut Lime, Chocolate Caramel, Cranberry Vanilla, Nutella Sea Salt, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip, Rocky Road, S’Mores, Orange Creamsicle, and more. 

Customers in the store - who will have to wear masks and observe capacity limits due to covid-19 protocols - can watch the cookies being made in the open bakery. “Having our customers see every cookie being made is one of the best experiences of our stores,” Federal Plaza Crumbl location owner Robert Davis said this morning. “Each ingredient is carefully chosen to provide customers with the highest quality cookie on the market.” 

Duball brands Rockville Town Center project as the Ansel Apartments (Photos)

The latest look at the construction in Rockville Town Center comes with some breaking news. Developer Duball, LLC has announced the branding for the previously nameless project. It will be known as the Ansel Apartments.

Ansel will have studio and 1, 2, and 3 bedroom units available. Delivery is expected in Fall 2021, and the property will be managed by Bozzuto.

Award-winning Rockville police officer does it again

Rockville City Police Department Corporal Brandon Thomas has twice received awards for saving lives in the line of duty, in 2018 and 2019. Now he has a third. Two weeks ago, Thomas was awarded a Distinguished Service Citation at the Rockville Public Safety Awards.

Thomas received the recognition for saving the life of a customer who stopped breathing at a fast food restaurant. Finding no pulse on the patient, Thomas performed CPR for seven minutes until paramedics arrived at the scene. That action made it possible for the patient to survive the medical emergency, making for three people who are still alive today as a result of Thomas' quick thinking and lifesaving efforts.

Photo courtesy RCPD 

Montgomery County partners with Main Street Apartments to provide "digital equity" for residents

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich announced Wednesday that the County is partnering with Main Street Apartments to provide internet and WiFi service to up to 70 apartments in the new, inclusive housing development at 50 Monroe Place in Rockville. The service will provide upload and download speeds of 50 Mbps+, and is made possible through private sector partners Plume and Positron Access Solutions.

“Affordable access to the internet is crucial and the need for a safe and reliable connection is more important than it has ever been,” Elrich said yesterday. “With the help of our partners, we are excited to bring robust internet connectivity and home Wi-Fi to eligible residents of Main Street Apartments at absolutely no cost. We believe that the internet should be accessible for everyone and we are happy to be working with Main Street Connect to offer it to their residents, many of whom depend on the internet to work, learn and grow.”