Per IKEA, “Our Plan and Order points are smaller stores dedicated to kitchen, bedroom, and living room planning where you can find home furnishing advice and expertise to help design your ideal space.” You can book an appointment to start your design with a planning specialist, or use in-store, self-service tools to design your own solution. “Whilst there are no items to purchase in-store and take home on the day, for your convenience, purchases made at the Plan and Order points can be delivered to your home or picked up from one of our collection points.”

More bout Poke Bros: After the founders were introduced to the Hawaiian staple on a trip to California. The appeal of this fast and casual—while healthy—concept immediately inspired the founders to begin thinking how they could bring this unique dish to the midwest. From its inception, we were confident the foodies of Columbus would love the poké concept, but wanted to provide an inexpensive and accessible product in the larger market. After some intense research and trial and error, the Poké Bros founders developed their own brand of poké bowl flavor they are proud to share and call their own. Modeling similar assembly line casual dining concepts, we developed a unique way to build your “sushi in a bowl” and have fun doing so! As the poké movement has caught on, Poké Bros has rapidly expanded into multiple states across the Midwest and East Coast, offering the same fresh and authentic cuisine to a wider range of customers. We will continue to stick to our roots, as Poké Bros continues to grow, and offer only the best fresh ingredients that fill you up but don’t slow you down.


Peter Chang is coming to 637 N Frederick Ave in Gaithersburg, the former location of Ichiban Restaurant. Ichiban closed in September 2021 after 35 years in business. Chef Peter Chang’s signature dishes include Boneless Whole Fish, Dry Fried Eggplant, Crispy Pork Belly, Cilantro Lime Fish, Duck In Stone Pot, and Beef in Sichuan Chili.  Peter Chang opened its Rockville location at 20A Maryland Ave in 2016, and Q by Peter Chang opened at 4500 East-West Hwy in Bethesda in 2017. The restaurant is hoping to open by the beginning of February 2024.

In May, Peter Chang visited the culinary program at Paint Branch High School to teach students two recipes inspired by his family and culture as a part of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month.


Charleys Cheesesteaks & Wings is now open inside of the Germantown Walmart at 20910 Frederick Rd, in the space formerly occupied by McDonald’s. Earlier this year, Charleys also opened a location at 19877 Century Blvd in Germantown, in the space that was previously home to Roll by Goodyear and Yogi Castle in the Shops at Town Center & Century Station shopping center.

Charleys is a Philly cheesesteak franchise that opened its first location across the campus of Ohio State University in 1986. While studying real estate at the school, Charley Shin worked in his mother’s Japanese/Korean restaurant in Columbus, Ohio. A wrong turn on a family trip to New York City resulted in Charley’s discovery of the Philly cheesesteak. Charley convinced his mother to sell her restaurant, and invest her life savings of $48,000 into Charley’s, a 450-square-foot restaurant across the street from Ohio State’s campus.


The Container Store, which currently has one Montgomery County location at 1601 Rockville Pike in Congressional Plaza, will be opening a second Montgomery County location in Gaithersburg.  The retailer specializes in storage, home office organizers and organization supplies, including custom closets and shelving systems. It provides an experience-driven shopping destination with more than 11,000 organizational products offered.

Representatives from the Rockville location were unable to provide us with any additional details about the exact location of the retailer, but we are told that the vacant space in Downtown Crown next to Woodhouse Day Spa is the likely location. The Container Store recently announced that it will be opening six new small format stores in fiscal 2023 and three new stores in fiscal 2024, with Gaithersburg estimated to open in Winter 2023. The Rockville location is approximately 24,000 SF and the small format stores tend to be approximately 15,000 SF.  Visit www.containerstore.com/locationsfor more information about store locations, the product collection, and the services offered. We will have an update with confirmation of the Gaithersburg location being in Downtown Crown as soon as we have it. Below is a list of the six new locations expected to open by the end of 2023.


Sarku Japan has reopened in Wheaton Mall in a  new location just outside of Costco, near the relatively new Sydney’s Burger. Sarku Japan is often found inside of malls and has a mall location in Bethesda’s Montgomery Mall. Its other MoCo location can be found a standalone store (located within a strip mall rather than in a food court) in the White Oak shopping center. The chain offers made-to-order teppanyaki-style Japanese dishes cooked on sizzling grills as well as a limited amount of sushi rolls.

History of Sarku: “In Japan, lunches are often taken quickly from small stalls where freshness and quality are key. Shops value their reputations very highly. This was the same dedication of our founders when they opened the first Sarku Japan in 1987.


Per MCPD: Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police -2nd District Investigative Section are investigating a theft that occurred at Cubano’s Restaurant in the 4900 block of Cordell Avenue on Wednesday, August 16, 2023. Detectives have released surveillance video of the suspect and are asking for the public’s assistance in identifying him.

The preliminary investigation by detectives has determined that the suspect entered the restaurant at approximately 8 p.m. The suspect immediately walked to the back of the restaurant, grabbed the victim’s purse that was hanging on a rack and entered the bathroom. The purse was later located inside the bathroom by a customer but was missing cash, personal items and property.  The suspect is described as a Black male, approximately 30-years-old, thin build, wearing a gray t-shirt.


Wendy’s, located at 5001 Nicholson Ln. in Rockville, will hold its Grand Reopening celebration on Saturday, September 23rd at 10:30am. As with recent area Wendy’s Grand Reopening celebrations, the fast food chain will offer “free food for a year” to the first 100 guests in line.

As the fast food chain did with one of its Gaithersburg locations and its Derwood location, Wendy’s will give away 100 VIP ticket to those 16 and older and present in line at 10:30am when the dining room opens (a purchase is necessary to be considered for a card). Anyone who gets a VIP ticket will be able to come back to the store once a week for a year to receive a free sandwich, salad, or breakfast biscuit.


Westfield Wheaton Mall at 11160 Veirs Mill Rd will host a Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration on Saturday, September 30 from 1-5pm. The event will feature live music, folklore dancing, face painting, balloon figures, clown shows, and a bilingual theatrical showcase. Full details below:

“Westfield Wheaton is excited to announce its upcoming Third Annual Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration. A continued example of the mall’s unwavering commitment to cultural and educational enrichment, the free and open to the public event welcoming the Montgomery County community and more will take place from 1pm to 5pm on Saturday, September 30 in the Macy’s Lower Court. The region’s premier family shopping destination serving one of the most diverse populations in the nation will host a stellar lineup of entertainment throughout the day. Festivities promise to transport mall patrons across borders while encouraging creativity through dance, music, and meaningful connections.


Spirit Halloween is coming to the former Pier 1 location (30 Grand Corner Ave) in Gaithersburg’s Rio. Currently, the upcoming Gaithersburg store is the only Montgomery County location listed on Spirit’s website. Last year, Spirit had additional locations in Burtonsville and Rockville.  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.

In previous years, Spirit has opened at 101 Boardwalk Place in Rio. That location is scheduled to become a new “plan and order” concept from IKEA later this year. Click here to see a full list of what’s new and what’s coming soon at Rio.


Brio’s Chicken has announced it will open a location at Westfield Montgomery Mall (7101 Democracy Blvd) in Bethesda. The restaurant will be located in the space previously occupied by Tara Thai, which closed this past spring.  Menu items at Brio’s will includes Peruvian charbroiled chicken, empanadas, paninis, steaks, and seafood. Brio’s plans to be open daily from 8am-9pm and will offer Sunday brunch (full menu below.) No opening timeframe has been announced.

Brio’s Chicken was scheduled to open a location in the Kentlands but after several years of delays and issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the restaurant never materialized.  Brio’s Chicken previously had a location in Aspen Hill in the Aspen Manor shopping center, where Outback is located, but that location is under new ownership and is now known as Gio’s Chicken.


While there are many wonderful restaurants in Montgomery County to enjoy brunch, Eater DC has included two Montgomery County restaurants in its list of ‘The Hottest New Brunches to Try Around DC’– Charley Prime in Gaithersburg and J. Hollinger’s in Silver Spring.

Charley Prime opened in Gaithersburg’s Rio Lakefront in May and has been generally well-received by the community. Last month it was listed by the Washington Post as one of food critic’s Tom Sietsema’s 6 favorite places to eat. Eater DC writes, “The stylish lakefront steakhouse in Gaithersburg added weekend brunch in July with plates of eggs, bacon, and hash browns; burgers, and roasted lamb French dip with fries. Go big with a lobster tail Benedict and decadent French toast on brioche with caramelized bananas. Brunch drinks include a (pomegranate) mimosa or espresso-tini, as well as coffee from Maryland roaster Ceremony. Go bottomless for $34.95, which includes any entree and bottomless mimosas or RAR lagers (10 a.m. to 3 p.m.)


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