Rockville Archives - Page 190 of 360

‘Montgomery Goes Purple’ Overdose Awareness Day Resource Fair & Vigil to Take Place Thursday, August 31st

Published August 21, 2023 at 9:41AM

On Thursday, August 31st, Montgomery Goes Purple will host its annual Resource Fair starting at 5pm at Memorial Plaza (101 Monroe St. Rockville, MD). The Kick-Off Event begins at 6:30 and will include food trucks and more. At 7:30pm a candlelight ceremony vigil will be held. Per the City of Rockville: The opioid crisis is a national public health emergency. Rockville Goes Purple is an awareness campaign alongside our county and state partners that seeks to shine the spotlight on the impact of opioid addiction and educate our community about the epidemic. In 2018, the Mayor and Council formally joined other state and local jurisdictions to take legal action against drug manufacturers and distributors for their role in the nationwide opioid crisis.

According to the Maryland Department of Health Data-Informed Overdose Risk Mitigation 2021 Annual Report, in 2020, there were 2,799 overdose-related fatalities, the highest annual total in the State of Maryland’s history to date. Additionally, there continues to be a growing disparity in overdose-related deaths in the Black community. Between 2016 and 2020, overdose deaths among non-Hispanic Black Marylanders rose by 64.5% as compared to deaths in the non-Hispanic white community, which increased by 15.3% over the same period. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that deaths from drug overdoses reached 107,622 nationwide in 2021, an increase of nearly 15% from the 93,655 deaths estimated in 2020, and 108,500 in 2022, “a staggering record that reflects the crisis and the continued spread of the synthetic opioid fentanyl in the illegal narcotic supply,” the proclamation states.

Green Bamboo Asian Bistro Available For Sale in Rockville

By MCS Staff

Published August 21, 2023 at 9:13AM | Updated August 21, 2023 at 9:55AM

Green Bamboo Asian Bistro, located at 5751 Fishers Ln in Rockville since 2010, is available for sale according to a business listing on BizBuySell. The restaurant is described on its Google listing as a “relaxed, family-run restaurant with contemporary decor offering Japanese, Chinese & Thai cuisine” and is available to purchase for $320K. Green Bamboo is also popular amongst many for its weekend special that offers sushi at 50% off. The reason provided for the sale is the impending retirement of its owners.

Per the listing, “Great location and reasonable rent. Turnkey operation. This cozy authentic Sushi restaurant is local favorite. It has 4.4 star online reviews. Beautiful set up & high income area. Owner built & operated since 2010. Great opportunity, due to retiring owners need to sell this successful business. This restaurant positioned right to do much better when offices are back to normal. Pre-pandemic sales volume was over $1.4 million. Most employees would stay if new owner desires. Seller will help with training for 2 weeks.” The restaurant has a 4.3/5 rating on Google with over 560 reviews and a 4/5 star Yelp rating with over 350 reviews.

Buy Buy Baby to Reopen Rockville Store Under New Management/Ownership

By MCS Staff

Published August 20, 2023 at 11:05PM

Last month we let you know that Dream on Me, the New Jersey-based company that recently purchased Buy Buy Baby’s brand and digital assets for $15.5 million and was a supplier for the store, was the successful bidder for 11 store leases at a bankruptcy auction for about $1.17 million. Buy Buy Baby’s sole Montgomery County location, at 1683 Rockville Pike in Rockville’s Congressional Plaza, closed its doors on Sunday, July 30th, but will be one of 11 stores that will reopen. The store may reopen as early as this fall.

According to a CNBC report, “The group that bought Buy Buy Baby’s intellectual property at a bankruptcy-run auction in June, the owners of baby goods retailer Dream on Me, plans to reopen 11 stores in the Northeast as soon as this fall.” The Montgomery County location in Rockville, which is Buy Buy Baby’s first ever location is included in the openings. The report goes on to say that there is an “ambitious plan to return the brand to its glory years, with 100 to 120 stores over the next one to three years.”

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

By MCS Staff

Published August 20, 2023 at 11:50AM

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.

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

By MCS Staff

Published August 20, 2023 at 9:00AM | Updated August 20, 2023 at 8:56PM

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.

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

By MCS Staff

Published August 20, 2023 at 7:36AM

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.

Wendy’s is Temporarily Closed on Rockville Pike

By MCS Staff

Published August 19, 2023 at 2:15PM

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.

Rob DiSpirito Resigns as Rockville City Manager; Barack Matite Named Acting City Manager

By Patrick Herron

Published August 18, 2023 at 3:24PM

Per the City of Rockville: Rob DiSpirito has resigned as Rockville’s city manager. DiSpirito submitted his resignation to the Mayor and Council on Thursday, Aug. 17. It became effective at 5 p.m. that day.

The Mayor and Council accepted his resignation and appointed Deputy City Manager Barack Matite as acting city manager, effective immediately. DiSpirito had served as Rockville’s city manager since January 2017.

Sarah’s Handmade Ice Cream is Coming to Fallsgrove

By MCS Staff

Published August 17, 2023 at 7:00PM

Sarah’s Handmade Ice Cream will open its third Montgomery County location in Rockville’s Fallsgrove Village Center. The ice cream shop, which was recently ranked #1 in “Mr. MoCo’s 15 Favorite Ice Cream Spots in MoCo” list, has two existing locations in Bethesda– The Wildwood Shop (10219 Old Georgetown Road Bethesda, MD 20814) and River Road Shop (5241 River Road Bethesda, MD 20816). Sarah’s Handmade aims to open its Fallsgrove location by the end of the year, with additional information to follow.

Per the ice cream shop, “Sarah’s Handmade was created by a Bethesda mother-daughter team, Sarah and Annie Park. When Sarah retired in 2018, she suddenly found herself with time to indulge in her old hobbies. She began to experiment and create original ice cream recipes for her family, friends, and neighbors, fit for each occasion. Soon enough, she was receiving calls and orders from strangers for her handmade ice cream! With strong enthusiasm from friends and wide support from neighbors, Sarah and Annie decided to bring the homemade flavors to a River Road storefront in Bethesda. To stay true to Sarah’s commitment to the highest quality ice cream that she would “feel proud feeding my family,” Sarah uses only the best, local-whenever-possible ingredients and sticks to her small-batch, all-natural recipes.”

True Respite Brewing Company to Close

By Patrick Herron

Published August 17, 2023 at 4:35PM

True Respite Brewing Company at 7301 Calhoun Place Suite 600 in Rockville has announced it will be closing on Saturday, September 2. True Respite owners Brendan and Bailey O’Leary opened up shop in 2018 and the brewery made a name for itself in the local beer community by winning multiple Maryland Craft Beer Awards and hosting community events. In June, we reported that the brewery’s location had been made available to lease.

True Respite posted the following message on their social media accounts on Thursday afternoon:

Coming Soon Signage Up at Chuck E. Cheese in White Flint Plaza; New Location Will Have Trampoline Zone

By Patrick Herron

Published August 17, 2023 at 1:06PM

Coming soon signage is up at the upcoming Chuck E. Cheese at 5238 Nicholson Ln in North Bethesda/Rockville. Chuck E. Cheese will be moving from its current Rockville location at 5270 Randolph Rd in Loehmann’s Plaza (10,500 SF) to the new, larger location (16,331 SF) in White Flint Plaza, taking over the space that was previously home to Retro Fitness. According to a representative at the Randolph Rd Chuck E. Cheese, the new location will feature a trampoline zone and is projecting a September opening. Images of a Chuck E. Cheese trampoline zone below, courtesy of @atlanticterminal on Instagram.

Chuck E. Cheese has an additional Montgomery County location at 1127 University Blvd E in Takoma Park. The children’s indoor entertainment arcade also had a location in Gaithersburg that closed in 2020 after being in business at Gaithersburg Square for over 30 years. Per the Biz Journals report, the new location will “feature a 17-foot digital wall and other technological advances over the older locations. There will still be some Chuck E. Cheese mainstays, including things like skee-ball, air hockey, and, of course, pizza.” The Rockville location has also matched pre-2019 numbers this year, hosting 289 birthday parties.