Author: MCS Staff

Business

MoCo’s Only Moe’s Southwest Grill Available For Sale

By MCS Staff

Updated to include a statement from part of the current ownership group

Moe’s Southwest Grill made its triumphant return to MoCo when the fast-casual Mexican restaurant opened in the Wheaton Mall food court in late 2019. In early 2022, a new Moe’s location opened in the recently renovated Montgomery Village Center, around the same time the Wheaton Mall store closed. The Montgomery Village store, now the only Moe’s Southwest Grill location in Montgomery County, is available for sale according to a business listing.

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Potomac

Whelan’s Potomac to Host Grand Opening Event on August 26

By MCS Staff

Whelan’s Potomac, a family owned and operated Beer & Wine store, recently opened at 9812 Falls Road in Potomac Village. “With our onsite bar with 12 fresh beers on tap as well as curated wines by the glass, we can’t wait to share our space with you.” The beer and wine wrote on its social media. “Whether you’re calling in for a pint or grabbing a few 6-packs and bottles of wine to-go, we aim to offer some of the best selections available in the Village”. The beer and wine is hosting a Grand Opening celebration starting at 3pm on Saturday, August 26th.

Whelan’s is owned and operated by Greg Whelan, who brought McGinty’s Public House to 911 Ellsworth Drive in Downtown Silver Spring, and his wife Emma Whalen, who was co-owner of the recently closed Astro Lab Brewing in Silver Spring.

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Restaurants

Luna Hall, a Food Hall, is Coming to Rockville’s Pike Center

By MCS Staff

Luna Hall has signed on to move into one of the vacant spaces in the Pike Center (the shopping center that’s the longtime home of TGI Friday’s and the recently opened Golfdom), according to Kimco. The location is listed as taking is the former CiCi’s Pizza spot. The food hall recently opened its first location in DC’s Chinatown (625 H St NW).

Offerings at the Chinatown location include Kung Fu Tea, TKK Fried Chicken, Dumpling District, Pollo Aria, and Luna Bar. There is no word on possible stalls at the Rockville location and Luna has told us things are in the works and that they’ll provide us with updates once they are available. The featured photo shows the Chinatown location.

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Retail

Jared The Galleria of Jewelry is Closed For Major Remodeling Project in Rockville

By MCS Staff

Jared The Galleria Of Jewelry has closed its Rockville Pike (12101 Rockville Pike) location with a sign on the door stating that the store is closed for remodeling. A Peek at the building, and inside, shows major renovations underway (photos below), with the sign redirecting customers to the Jared’s Frederick location at 5617 Spectrum Dr.

In June 2020, Signet Jewelers, the parent company of such brands as Zales, Jared, and Kay Jewelers said it planned to permanently close about 400 stores after all of its stores were temporarily closed in late March due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Many of those closures took place in the last three years. Currently, the space is listed under Diamonds Direct on the Kimco website for the Pike Center, so it’s unclear if the store will return as Jared or as a Diamonds Direct location.

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North Bethesda

Mimi’s Handmade Ice Cream Moves Closer Toward Opening in Rockville

By MCS Staff

Back in May we let you know that Mimi’s Handmade ice cream is coming to Rockville’s Federal Plaza. It will be taking over the location that was recently home to Yogi Castle (12274 Rockville Pike Suite E). Yogi Castle closed permanently this spring and Mimi’s Handmade took possession of the space in May. Permanent signage is up and some renovations have taken place (photo below), but it remains to be seen on if the ice cream shop will open by the original goal of end of summer.

It appears that the Mimi’s Handmade location in The Heights food hall, which is stated to open later this month in Chevy Chase, will be the first Montgomery County location for the ice cream shop that opened its first location in Arlington in the summer of 2021.

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Restaurants

Pizza Hut To Open Soon in Four Corners

By MCS Staff

It has been over two years since Pizza Hut signed on to take a portion of the former GameStop in the Four Corners area in Silver Spring. The store has recently made plenty of progress and now appears to be very close to opening (photo below). An exact date is not yet available.

The new Pizza Hut location is a smaller version than traditional Pizza Hut locations of the past– focusing solely on carry out and delivery orders, but still brings the charm of the 80s with the retro lamps hanging inside the carry-out/delivery spot (photo below). In September 2021, David Gibbs (CEO of Pizza Hut parent company Yum Brands), told investors, “We closed a lot of the dine-in stores that didn’t belong on the portfolio over the last 18 months in the United States,” according to a transcript on the financial services site Sentieo. “But for the most part, the stores we have in the portfolio now are good, long-term stores.” The new Germantown Pizza Hut location and the new Rockville location both follow the same model. Source of the Spring recently reported on the impending opening of Pizza Hut.

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Restaurants

Wendy’s is Temporarily Closed on Rockville Pike

By MCS Staff

Wendy’s has temporarily closed its location at 808 Rockville Pike for renovations. The almost castle-shaped fast-food restaurant is already in the process of getting a complete makeover (photos below$”) similar to the recently remodeled Gaithersburg and Derwood locations.

An exact date for the reopening is not yet available, but look for giveaways that include items like “Free Wendy’s for a year” to be included during the Grand Reopening celebration. We will have details on the date and the celebration as soon as they are available. Willoughby Construction and Consulting is performing the renovation work for Wendy’s.

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Cloverly

Burger King To Open Soon in Cloverly

By MCS Staff

Last summer we let you know that Potomac Foods Group leased part of the parking lot from the property owner, Safeway, at 15411 New Hampshire Ave to build a new Burger King restaurant (with drive-thru). Demolition of the previous bank building occurred in early 2022 and construction has been ongoing ever since. After a few delays, it appears the restaurant is ready to go and will be opening very soon (photos below). An exact date is not yet available.

The process for Burger King coming to the shopping center included Safeway applying for a reduction in the number of parking spaces required for the Safeway store. A parking waiver is needed because removing the parking spaces necessary to build the new Burger King will reduce the number of parking spaces for Safeway below the minimum required by the Zoning Ordinance. Safeway filed the amendment requesting to remove the parking easement on the Burger King site and was eventually approved after the initial application was filed a couple years back.

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Gaithersburg

Flo’s Taiwan Cuisine Takes Over Hearty’s Chinese Restaurant Location

By MCS Staff

Flo’s Taiwan Cuisine took over the space that was previously home to Hearty’s Chinese restaurant at 227 Muddy Branch Rd. in the Festival at Muddy Branch shopping center (Gaithersburg). We were told signage officially changed over in May, but the restaurant has kept “Hearty’s” in the name on some delivery apps.

According to information shared by @Pike.and.Rozay, the chef and owner remain, but are now offering Taiwanese cuisine as a fixture on the menu. Previously, the Taiwanese cuisine was considered a “secret menu item.” It was also shared that the restaurant is under new management. The restaurant offers a variety of cuisine that can be seen here.

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Colesville

Progress at Kat’s Kitchen and Company in Colesville

By MCS Staff

In June we let you know that Kat’s Kitchen and Company signage is up in the window of 12854 New Hampshire Ave, previously the home of Dominic’s Italian Grille, which closed permanently in January. Permanent signage is now up and Google lists August 29th as the opening date for the restaurant (photo below). After stopping by today, it appears more work needs to be done and the restaurant’s hearing with Montgomery County’s Alcohol Beverage Services (ABS) isn’t taking place until Thursday, September 7th, so it’s likely the opening may take place later than Google suggests.

There is still not much known about Kat’s Kitchen and Company, but a martini glass is adorns the the logo, so a full bar will be included in the plans. We have left a message with the phone number listed on Google and are awaiting to hear back for additional information.

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Bethesda

UPDATE: Montgomery Mall Bomb Threat Determined Not Valid

By MCS Staff

UPDATE: Montgomery Mall bomb threat determined not valid. Mall has been cleared and turned back over to mall security.

Montgomery County Police tweeted the following on Friday, August 18, at 8:12pm:  “MCPD at Montgomery Mall for reported bomb threat. Mall being evacuated as a precaution. Currently investigating validity of the report. More information will be released when it is available.”

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