Opening soon signage is up at BooBoo Pho at 19230 Montgomery Village Ave. in the Montgomery Village Shopping Center. While no opening date has been announced, the restaurant is in the early stages of its buildout so it will likely be several more months. The restaurant will specialize in Vietnamese cuisine.

Last week we reported that Hangry Joe’s Hot Chicken is also coming to the Montgomery Village Shopping Center. Hangry Joe’s will be located next to the upcoming Starbucks. Earlier this year Hangry Joe’s opened a location at 2533 Ennals Ave in Wheaton and has additional locations opening at 10050 Darnestown Road in the Travilah Square shopping center and at 718-B Rockville Pike.


We first let you know the news of Wawa’s first planned MoCo location in May of 2019.  Since then, the first MoCo Royal Farms was announced, constructed, and opened in Gaithersburg. Recently, the first MoCo Sheetz location was announced. So what’s the hold up with Wawa?

The convenience store/gas station will be taking over the old Becraft Antiques location on 355, across from Gaithersburg High School at 405 S Frederick Ave. Nearly 3 years after its announcement, in March 2022, fencing went up and the building was demolished has in preparation for construction start. Construction appeared to be imminent, but hasn’t begun nearly 5 months after demolition. Today we were informed that the City of Gaithersburg is waiting for a resubmission from Wawa. The final site plan was previously approved by the Planning Commission on December 1, 2021, so it appears that the ball is in Wawa’s court. Construction for the recently opened Royal Farms location in Gaithersburg took just under one year from start to opening day, so we still expect a 2023 opening for Wawa if construction begins this year.


Chain Store Ageone of the nation’s leading provider of retail news and analysis for retail headquarters executives across all sectors of the industry, has recently released part of its list of 2022’s ‘Top 10 Retail Experiences’ and MoCo’s very own Rio Lakefront came in at #10. CSA reports on and analyzes trends and strategies in all areas of store operations and store development, including technology, marketing, human resources, finance, store design & construction, facilities management and real estate. They are releasing the top 10 one at a time with only numbers 10 and 9 currently available, so it’s unknown if any other MoCo retail centers will be included on the list.

According to the article, “This year it has put the finishing touches on its transmogrification of RIO, a 610,000-sq.-ft. center in Gaithersburg, a suburb north of the nation’s capital that mixes White House Black Market, Target, and two Marriott hotels with eateries like Yard House, Silver Diner, and True Food Kitchen on the shoreline of a 9-acre lake.“The lake is a unique attraction that has worked great for our food and beverage offerings, which have outdoor seating lakeside,” said Paul Weinschenk, Peterson’s president of retail.”


UPDATE: Detectives from the Gaithersburg Police Department – Investigative Section have arrested and charged 61-years-old, Ricky Stevens of Gaithersburg, MD with First Degree Assault, Second Degree Assault and Reckless Endangerment. Ricky Stevens was transported to the Central Processing Unit and is being held without bond.

Per the Gaithersburg Police Department: Detectives from the Gaithersburg Police Department – Investigative Section are investigating a stabbing that occurred in the 18700 block of N. Frederick Avenue in Gaithersburg.


Update: Opening date has been pushed back to Monday, August 15th, according to a new sign on the door.

The first announced Hangry Joe’s in MoCo (Wheaton already opened, but was announced later) will open in the Travilah Square shopping center on Saturday, August 13th, according to a sign placed on the front door.


A recent listing on LoopNet, an online marketplace for commercial real estate, shows that the Home Depot located at 15740 Shady Grove Rd. in the 270 Center in Gaithersburg is available through a 13.5-year NNN lease. Per Investopedia, “a triple net lease (triple-net or NNN) is a lease agreement on a property whereby the tenant or lessee promises to pay all the expenses of the property, including real estate taxes, building insurance, and maintenance. These expenses are in addition to the cost of rent and utilities. In contrast, in standard commercial lease agreements, some or all of these payments are typically the responsibility of the landlord.” Home Depot and Best Buy have anchored the property since its inception in 1994. An Amazon Fresh grocery store is expected to open in September.

Per the listing: CBRE’s National Retail Partners and Net Lease Property Group are pleased to present the opportunity to purchase a 13.5 Year NNN Home Depot in Gaithersburg, MD, one of the most affluent and sought-after markets in the nation. Home Depot is a co-anchor of 270 Center, an extraordinary shopping destination shadow-anchored by a powerful mix of destination retailers including Best Buy, Nordstrom Rack, and soon, a brand new Amazon Fresh grocer. The property benefits from a solid lineup of destination shadow anchors featuring high historical occupancy, impressive sales, and long-term leases. Nordstrom Rack has been at the property for ±10 years and is ranked the 2nd busiest Nordstrom Rack in the state of Maryland by customer foot traffic. Best Buy has co-anchored the property since its inception in 1994. The property benefits from a solid lineup of destination shadow anchors featuring high historical occupancy, impressive sales, and long-term leases.


The upcoming Taco Bamba location in Gaithersburg is now projecting to open this fall, although no opening date has been announced. The new restaurant will be located in the space that was formerly home to Urban Crawfish at 670 Quince Orchard Road, next to the recently opened Miyaji Kebab and Rumali Rolls (which is next to Beers & Cheers Too).

Taco Bamba had its hearing with Montgomery County’s Alcohol Beverage Services on June 2nd, for a “Class B, Beer, Wine and Liquor License, On Sale Only.” The restaurant was origin planning a June or July opening for the location.


The DC Hot Air Balloon Festival is coming to the Montgomery County AG Fairgrounds in Gaithersburg on September 17 and 18, with gates opening at 3pm. Tickets for entry are $20/adult and $8/child and can be purchased at https://www.freshtix.com/events/dcballoonfest. Tethered hot air balloon rides will cost and additional $25.

For the Grand Finale each night after dark (about) 9pm the event will feature “the fantastic Hot Air Balloon Glow & Laser show” where all the balloons will be lit up in unison with crowd participatory “Count Downs”! This show incorporates Music and visually stunning coordinated burns by the Hot Air Balloons & Lasers- creating a Glow. Bring your blankets, chairs and umbrellas and set up your own “perfect” viewing spot!


Jennifer Celotta is a Montgomery County native who was born in Gaithersburg and graduated from Wootton High School in Rockville in 1989. Since then she has gone on to become a very successful television producer, writer, and director, including directing six episodes of the popular Netflix series Cobra Kai that is a television series sequel to the original Karate Kid films.

Celotta has an impressive résumé that includes writing credits on popular television series’ like, Home Improvement, The Office, Abbott Elementary, Malcolm in the Middle, and a lot more, including directing three episodes of The Office.


Per Gaithersburg Police: Detectives from the Gaithersburg Police Department – Investigative Section investigated a suspicious situation that occurred at the Target located at 25 Grand Corner Avenue in Gaithersburg.

On Saturday, August 6, 2022 at approximately 8:17 p.m, officers from the Gaithersburg Police Department and Montgomery County Police Department – 6th District responded to the Target located at 25 Grand Corner Avenue for a suspicious situation involving a subject with a gun. The subject was located and taken into custody without incident. A BB gun was located on the person. There is no ongoing threat to the public.


One of the first banks Gass robbed was in Montgomery County in 1977. In 2010 Gass pleaded guilty to robbing 19 banks between 2008 and 2009 in Florida. He was granted a compassionate release from prison in 2019 for medical reasons and moved back to MD, where he lived with his elderly parents at the time of his most recent arrest.

On July 14, at approximately 9:36 a.m., Montgomery County Police and Gaithersburg City police officers responded to a call for an attempted bank robbery that just occurred at the Wells Fargo Bank on the 600 block of North Frederick Ave.


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