Assault reported at Rockville hotel

Rockville police were called to the Red Roof Inn to investigate a 2nd-degree assault at the hotel at 16001 Shady Grove Road yesterday morning, March 8, 2022. The assault was reported at 7:05 AM, according to crime data. 

Ebisu Life Store opens in Rockville (Photos)

Ebisu Life Store has opened at 836 Rockville Pike. This is the third location in the United States for this Japanese grocery chain, following New York City and Aurora, Colorado. Large anime figures watch over the store, which also carries kitchen, home, health and beauty products from Japan. A very welcome addition to retail on the Pike!

Strong-arm rape and robbery reported in Derwood

Montgomery County police responded to a report of a strong-arm rape and robbery at a home in Derwood on Sunday afternoon, March 6, 2022. The incident was reported at a home in the 16200 block of Carnegie Avenue at 4:05 PM, according to crime data. No further information is available at this time.

Flagship proposes demolition of self-service carwash bays at Rollins Avenue location in Rockville

Flagship Car Wash is proposing to demolish the self-service carwash bays at its 975 Rollins Avenue location in Rockville. The proposal is part of a plan to update the existing mechanical carwash, and improve vehicular circulation through the property. Under the latest Rockville zoning, a carwash is a non-conforming use now at this location. Flagship can continue operations here, as its last approvals from the late 1990s are grandfathered in, as the property was under a different zoning then.

Existing site configuration with the
self-service carwash bays

If approved by the City of Rockville, Flagship will demolish the self-service bays, and replace them with 25 vacuum spaces and an unspecified number of full-service carwash finishing spaces. The vacuum space area will also contain seating for Flagship customers. 

Proposed configuration with new
vacuum lanes and updated traffic pattern

A new traffic circulation pattern would also be established for the property. Customers would continue to enter with their vehicles from the Rollins Avenue driveway. They would initially be in a single line, but then be funneled into one of three stacking lanes. At the direction of an employee, the customer would exit their stacking lane, and enter a roundabout. From the roundabout, the customer would drive into one of the lanes for the mechanical car wash tunnel. After exiting the wash tunnel, the customer would have the choice of turning into the new full-service finishing lanes and vacuum space area, or exiting the property altogether onto Rollins Avenue.

Close-up of proposed queue and roundabout
for vehicles entering mechanical car wash tunnel

No changes are planned for the mechanical car wash, which will continue to operate. Flagship says it will coordinate the demolition process with its contractor, so that the disconnection of water and electrical utilities from the self-service bays will not affect service to other utilty customers in the area. If approved, the changes are expected to reduce traffic to the site, as Flagship will lose all self-service customers who do not switch to the mechanical carwash.

Close-up of proposed vacuum lanes area
and full-service finishing lanes

Burlington sets opening date for Rockville store (Photos)

It's been over a year since I broke the story that Burlington (a.k.a. Burlington Coat Factory) would be opening a store at the Montrose Crossing shopping center on Rockville Pike. Construction is now underway on the interior, which used to be part of Barnes & Noble (now up the Pike at Congressional Plaza). Burlington says this store will open on April 22, 2022.

The permanent sign has been installed on the facade of the store. Barnes & Noble's escalators are still in place beyond the main entrance, which has boards over it. The rest of the bookstore's former space is now occupied by Home Depot Design Center.

Burlington's stores have been steadliy shrinking since it reported a mammoth 78,000 square foot average size in a 2015 U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing. By last year, the average size of its new stores was half that. Despite its space being two stories, the Montrose Crossing Burlington may be one of the chain's smallest yet, at only 33,948 square feet.

Robbery in Twinbrook area of Rockville

Rockville police responded to a report of a robbery in the Twinbrook area of Rockville Thursday afternoon, March 3, 2022. The robbery was reported in a wooded area in the vicinity of the 2100 block of Veirs Mill Road at 2:45 PM, according to crime data. A weapon was utilitzed in the robbery, but it was not a firearm.

Color Me Mine to close at Rockville Town Square

You hate to see another vacant storefront on Maryland Avenue, but Color Me Mine is closing permanently at 33-F Maryland Avenue at Rockville Town Square. It looked like work had begun on breaking down the interior of the space yesterday. The ceramic art studio says that you have until Sunday, March 6, 2022 to pickup any outstanding orders from the store. Pickup hours will be 12:00-6:00 PM daily through Sunday.