Gaithersburg

Per Montgomery County: The 74th Annual Montgomery County Agricultural Fair, which calls itself “the nine best days of summer,” returns to the Montgomery County Agricultural Center in Gaithersburg with a full schedule of daily activities from Aug. 11-19. Among the special events are the Chesapeake DockDogs canine aquatics competition on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 11 and12, and truck drag racing on Monday, Aug. 14.

The fairgrounds are located at 506 Perry Parkway in Gaithersburg. Exhibitions of animals, outstanding farm products and photography are available throughout the fair. General admission is $15 for adults if bought on-site or $12 if bought online. Children 11-and-under are admitted free. There are several special admission days. Online tickets are available at https://mcagfair.com/general-information/tickets/. Tickets for rides, games and food are additional.  Parking is $15 on the fairgrounds property. However, free parking and shuttle bus service to the fairgrounds are available from nearby Lakeforest Mall, which is located at Lost Knife Road and Odenhal Avenue.

During its July 19, 2023 meeting, Gaithersburg’s Planning Commission recommended the City Council approve the annexation of the Walnut Hill Shopping center. The Montgomery County Planning Board reviewed the annexation at their July 13, 2023 meeting. The subject properties to be annexed are located northeast of MD Route 355 and include the Walnut Hill Shopping Center (plans available here) at 16531 South Frederick Avenue, a restaurant at 8941 North Westland Drive, a vacant parcel at 8939 North Westland Drive, and a portion of the right of way of North Westland Drive.

The Applicant, Granite Partners, has submitted Annexation Petition X-9510-2023, proposing to annex three parcels that currently abut the City boundary, along with a portion of the North Westland Drive right of way.  The Annexation Plan proposes several changes to the existing Walnut Hill Shopping Center, including constructing a new freestanding convenience store with accessory gasoline pumps, demolishing an existing small freestanding building on the south side of the property, renovating the exterior of the main shopping center building, and making improvements to the parking lot and landscaping.  No changes are proposed for the other two properties included in the Annexation Petition.

MegaMart appears to be close to opening at the former site of iconic MoCo restaurant, The Golden Bull. The Golden Bull closed its doors on February 17th, 2017. In 2019, construction crews began the demolition of the building to make room for the new 26,600 SF Megamart grocery store that will be moving across the street from its location at 401 N Frederick Ave in the Hudson Trail Center. After delays to to Covid, a lot of progress has been made (photos below).

Megamart is a regional grocery chain specializing in Latin items with about a dozen locations in the DMV. Some Megamart stores have additional services, such as gold sales, mobile phone repair, and sporting goods. An opening date is not yet available, but the exterior of the new store looks ready to go and Megamart trucks were parked outside. One major change for the new Gaithersburg store is that it will have its own dedicated parking lot– taking care of the parking issue that has often been brought up regarding the location across the street.

Montgomery County’s first Sheetz, which will be located at 751 Progress Way in Gaithersburg, is now scheduled to open on Thursday, August 24. Gas pumps were recently installed at the site and signage is now up for its 24-hour drive-thru. In May we reported that Sheetz will also be opening a location in the Walnut Hill shopping center in Gaithersburg sometime in 2024. Sheetz rival Wawa has also recently ramped up the construction on its upcoming Gaithersburg store.

Sheetz is a gas station/convenience store that offers made to order food and has over 650 locations throughout Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. According to the company, Sheetz provides “kicked-up convenience while being more than just a convenience store. Sheetz is a mecca for people on the go. If you need to refuel your car or refresh your body, we have what you need to keep you moving on to whatever comes next.”