New and Coming Soon to Rio in Gaithersburg (October 2023)

Below is a list of businesses that have recently opened, or are coming soon to Gaithersburg’s Rio.
Now Open: Spirit Halloween
Spirit Halloween is now open at 30 Grand Corner Ave. This will be the only Montgomery County Spirit location for 2023.  New at Spirit this year will be a buy online/pickup in-store option, as well as delivery through DoorDash. A sneak peak of the Rio location can be seen below. During the Halloween season, Spirit operates over 1,400 stores in North America. The Spirit Halloween website is open year-round, offering its in-store products online. The store usually open 30-60 days prior to Halloween.

Coming Soon: Han Spot
Back in May we let you know that the owner of popular dim sum restaurants China Garden (Rockville) and Han Palace (Tysons, Woodley Park, Barracks Row) announced that she is bringing a new restaurant to Rio– taking over the space that was previously home to Union Jack’s until June 2020. It has now been confirmed by Rio that the restaurant will be known as Han Spot. 

Chris Zhu made the announcement via social media in May, “Another milestone. New baby from Han Palace coming to Rio Gaithersburg. Next to AMC theater & Guapo’s 🤗🤗🤗.” One of Zhu’s other restaurants, Han Palace, offers an all-day dim sum menu. Scallops, shrimp, pork/crab dumplings, rice rolls, barbecue pork buns, lobster sticky rice, Han-style filet mignon, and Peking duck are included on the Han Palace menu.

Coming Soon: IKEA Gaithersburg: Plan & Order Point with Pick-Up
Earlier this year, IKEA announced plans to open new format IKEA stores in Fairfax, Virginia (now open), and Gaithersburg, Maryland, in fall 2023.  Signage is now up at the Gaithersburg location located at 101 Boardwalk Place Ste 102– the former home of Charming Charlie. This new customer meeting point, called a Plan & order point with Pick-up, will  include home furnishing inspiration and personalized interior design planning, with the addition of an IKEA Pick-up point, allowing customers to pick up their purchases made online or purchased at either Plan & order point location. Purchases made at IKEA Fairfax and Gaithersburg can also be arranged to be conveniently transported to a customer’s home or to another convenient point of delivery.

Coming Soon: Copper Canyon Dining Pier on the Lake
In April we let you know that Copper Canyon Grill is requesting approval for a 1,012 square foot covered dining pier to be located on the RIO Lake. The restaurant submitted its final site plan back in July and the planning commission approved it unanimously in September. Renderings of what the pier will look like can be seen below.

Access to the outdoor dining area/pier will be via two gangways attached to the existing boardwalk. The new structure projects 10’-2” from the boardwalk and will be 12 feet tall from the finished floor. Gaithersburg Planning Staff supports the proposal for a dining pier in the Rio Washingtonian Lake, finding it in compliance with the approved sketch plan and Schematic Development Plan SDP- 9462-2023. “The dining pier will provide additional outdoor seating for Copper Canyon and will enhance the use of lake. There remains adequate parking for the proposed commercial addition and all applicable development standards have been met.” No timeframe for the pier has been announced.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CtueW05vdyd/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Coming Soon: Sportrock Climbing Center
Sportrock Climbing Centers will be opening in the space that was previously occupied by Sport & Health. Sportrock opened the first commercial climbing gym in the DC metro area approximately 28 years ago in 1994, when it opened its Rockville. That location closed in 2006, but Sportrock has continued to operate successfully in Alexandria, Virginia. Now, it’s bringing rock climbing back to Rio, where many remember the much smaller walls that were a part of Sportland in the 90s. The Sportrock founders met while training together at Zich’s (pronounced Zeke’s) Garage, a handmade climbing gym in Washington, DC. When Zich was 19 he was looking for a place to train in the wintertime. Zich convinced his supportive parents to let me build a DIY climbing space in their freestanding car garage. When the demand outgrew the space, Sportrock founders broke off and formed Sportrock’s first location in Rockville (14708 Southlawn Ln) so they would continue to have a place to climb and train together. An opening date is not yet available.

@themocoshow

Sportrock is aiming for a late 2023 opening. Sportrock opened the first commercial climbing gym in the DC metro area approximately 28 years ago in 1994, when it opened its Rockville. That location closed in 2006, but Sportrock has continued to operate successfully in Alexandria, Virginia. Now, it’s bringing rock climbing back to Rio, where many remember the much smaller walls that were a part of Sportland in the 90s. #MoCo #RioLakefront #Gaithersburg

♬ Ain’t No Mountain High Enough – Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell

Coming Soon: Le Macaron
Permanent signage is up at Le Macaron at 7 Grand Corner Ave (next to BurgerFi). The shop is expected to open in the coming months, and is owned by MoCo residents Natalia Mejia and Camilo Beltran. Le Macaron, a Florida-based pastry shop now has more than 70 locations across the US, with more locations on the way as franchisees are opening in shopping centers like Rio, food trucks, and kiosks in malls. Menu items at the upcoming Rio location will include macarons (available in 20 flavors), gourmet chocolates, French gelato, specialty European style coffees, classic French pastries, and homemade candies.

Taste of Rio
The first ‘Taste of Rio’ will take place on Sunday, October 15th from 2:00 pm – 6:00 pm. The “foodie celebration” will take place on the lakefront featuring bites from rio restaurants, live music, craft cocktails and more. Participating restaurants include: AMC, Auntie Anne’s/Cinnabon, BurgerFi, California Pizza Kitchen, Charley Prime, Chipotle, Copper Canyon Grill, Corner Bakery, Dave & Buster’s, Donutchew, Fantasticks, FineWine.com, Guapo’s, Han Spot, Kung Fu Tea, Lanzhou Pull Noodle, Le Macaron, Miss Toya’s Southern Kitchen, Muse Paint Bar, Nando’s Peri-Peri, Poki DC, Potbelly, Silver Diner, Starbucks, The Bench, True Food Kitchen, Uncle Julio’s, and Yard House.

Recently Opened:

• Auntie Anne’s/Cinnabon
• Miss Toya’s Southern Kitchen 
• Red Door Escape Room