Gold's Gym renewing lease at Rockville Town Square

Rockville Town Square has suffered another round of business closures over the last year, but the development is going to hold on to one of its biggest tenants. Gold's Gym is going to renew its lease at the Federal Realty property, according to an agenda item for the October 5 meeting of the Mayor and Council. 

This is good news for several reasons. First, it is one of the largest spaces at the development. Second, it is a major traffic generator for the other businesses in the Town Square. And it is an important amenity for residents in the Town Square and immediate area around it, where there is not a huge number of other gym options.

Rockville to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples' Day

Days before Columbus Day 2020, the City of Rockville will give Cristóbal Colón the boot. Tonight, the Mayor and Council will officially proclaim October 12 as "Indigenous Peoples' Day," replacing the city's celebration of Columbus Day. According to the agenda item about the proclamation that will be read near the beginning of tonight's meeting, the change will "avoid celebrating Columbus and the European colonization of the Americas."

Image via U.S. Library of Congress

President Trump taken to Walter Reed less than 24 hours after testing positive for coronavirus (Video+Photos)

President Donald Trump was taken by helicopter to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda tonight, less than twenty-four hours after he tested positive for the coronavirus. White House representatives had maintained through the day Friday that Trump's Covid-19 symptoms were mild. 

Many observed on social media that Trump was not posting on Twitter on Friday since his virus announcement tweets. Trump did enter the hospital under his own power upon arriving from the White House. Curious observers joined a rapid media deployment across MD 355 from Walter Reed. 

Some Trump supporters - including a pickup truck flying a Trump flag - tried to be visible to the president as he disembarked from Marine One. Traffic was stopped in both directions on 355 throughout the president's arrival, and while Marine One took off again.

Trump supporters drive past
Walter Reed as president disembarks
from Marine One

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Trump will be admitted to Walter Reed for at least several days. No medical details about why the president is being moved there have been released, but McEnany said it was under the advice of White House physicians that Trump would transfer his work to offices available for presidential use at the hospital.

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.”