Shopping Archives - Page 323 of 502

Kentlands: MOD Pizza Reopens; Construction Begins at Brio’s Chicken

Published December 15, 2022 at 6:55PM

MOD Pizza has reopened its Kentlands location after a temporary closure that lasted a little longer than anticipated. The fast-casual pizza restaurant with over 500 locations nationwide, reopened at 145 Commerce Square Place in Gaithersburg earlier this week according to an employee we spoke with earlier today. The acronym “MOD” in the company’s name stands for “Made on Demand” and the company has three locations in Montgomery County– Downtown Silver Spring, Kentlands, and Montrose Crossing in Rockville. MOD Pizza offers individual, customizable pizzas made with organic dough using King Arthur Flour. Customers specify which ingredients they want included on their order, and watch the preparation process, though the restaurant also offers recommended combinations. Pizzas are then cooked in three minutes using stone ovens at 800 °F.

Back in October of 2020 we let you know that Brio’s Chicken would be coming to the Kentlands neighborhood. Over two year later, it looks like construction has started on the interior. The Peruvian chicken restaurant will be occupying one of the newly constructed storefronts found in the paseo in the Kentlands. It will be located right behind Vine Alley (the old Wine Harvest location) and next to the future location of Neal’s Bagels. Brio’s Chicken 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. No projected opening date yet, but it’s now looking like Spring 2023 is a possibility.

Coming Soon Signage Up at Cinnabon/Auntie Anne’s in Rio

By Patrick Herron

Published December 14, 2022 at 10:42PM

Coming soon signage is up at the upcoming Auntie Anne’s/Cinnabon combination restaurant at 220 Boardwalk Place in Rio, which is taking over the location that was recently home to Lilly Magilly’s– the cupcakery is preparing for a move to a new location.

China Gourmet, a Kensington Staple, to Close After 35 Years; Replacement Announced

By MCS Staff

Published December 14, 2022 at 3:58PM

China Gourmet, located at 3739 University Blvd for the last 35 years, has announced earlier this month that the restaurant will be closing permanently at the end of December. The restaurant cites the retirement of “key personnel” as the main reason, stating that it “just would not be China Gourmet” without them. What’s next for the space? The owners also announced that they’ll be remodeling and reopening as an “American sports-themed restaurant” in the future. Full message by China Gourmet below:

“To Our Loyal Patrons and Friends,

Raising Cane’s First D.C. Metro Area Location is Now Open

By MCS Staff

Published December 14, 2022 at 10:33AM

At the beginning of the year we let you know of Raising Cane’s planned expansion into the D.C. metropolitan region, with the first restaurant planned for Sterling, VA at 45545 Dulles Eastern Plaza. Raising Cane’s officially opened its first Metro area restaurant on Tuesday, December 13th. Raising Cane’s aims to open 14 stores in the next year, stretching from suburban Baltimore to the Richmond area, with more to on tap for 2023 including Bowie, Dumfries, Manassas and Springfield. No Montgomery County locations have been announced yet.

Founded by Todd Graves in 1996 in Baton Rouge, La., Raising Cane’s has more than 460 restaurants in 27 states, Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates with multiple new restaurants under construction. The international expansion began in 2015. The menu is simple and focuses on chicken finger combos , chicken finger sandwiches, crinkle-cut fries, Texas toast, sweet/iced tea, and Cane’s sauce. The menu can be seen below:

Chef Tony’s at Amalfi Has Liquor License Hearing on Thursday

By MCS Staff

Published December 13, 2022 at 8:41AM | Updated December 13, 2022 at 3:43PM

Last month we let you know that longtime MoCo restaurant Amalfi Ristorante Italiano at 12307 Wilkins Ave in Rockville was bought by the owners of Chef Tony’s Restaurant in Bethesda. The restaurant has a hearing for a liquor license on Thursday, December 15 at 10:30am and hopes to reopen later in the month. Full statement from Chef Tony’s from last month can be seen below:

“So it’s now official, my wife Sonia, and myself have purchased Amalfi Restaurant and Rockville. We are so excited to get started with this new project, and will explain everything in our email going out today… We will be blending the Chef Tonys brand with the wonderful accolades of Amalfi Restaurant, which is been around 45 years in the Rockville market. We are so excited to get started and will let you know when transitions will happen. To be clear, we are not leaving the promenade, but are adjusting the concept a bit… We can I think all the amazing clients that I’ve gotten us here over the years. And we’re so excited to blend Chef Tonys family with the amalfi family in more ways than one. We hope to reopen in December, in time for the holiday events, and serve you all with pride and honor. Thank you again for all your support… See you soon, and here’s to a grand adventure!”

Upcoming Lakeforest Mall Meetings

By Patrick Herron

Published December 12, 2022 at 3:51PM | Updated January 5, 2023 at 10:12AM

WRS Inc., a real estate investment firm based out of South Carolina, that purchased Lakeforest Mall and all four anchor sites, will present their latest plan for Lakeforest Mall on Wednesday, January 4 at 1pm at Asbury Methodist Village (409 Russell Avenue) in Gaithersburg. According to the Village News, “Guests should enter via the Gatehouse at 301 Odendhal Avenue and continue straight. The Rosborough Cultural Arts & Wellness Center is on the right (building 409) with parking across the street. Additionally, the City of Gaithersburg Joint Planning Commission/Mayor and City Council Hearing on the plan is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023 at at City Hall, 31 S. Summit Avenue, Gaithersburg, MD 20877.”

WRS held a similar informational meeting on October 20 at the mall. WRS purchased the core, ponds, and forest conservation of the mall back in 2019 and added the four anchor sites earlier this year, spending a total of $75 million to acquire Lakeforest Mall. This evening they announced that they have worked with the City of Gaithersburg since March and plan to submit their zoning application and sketch plan in the next couple weeks. The target date for demolition of the mall and the start of new construction is currently 2024, with a more specific date to come after the approval of sketch plans. The sketch plan requires at least 35% “green space” and WRS stated that initial sketches are currently at a little more than 35%. Green space is defined as trees, grass, walking/biking areas, etc.

Gaithersburg Police Respond to Shoplifting Call at Lakeforest; One Suspect Brandished Firearm While Fleeing

By MCS Staff

Published December 10, 2022 at 11:34PM

Per Gaithersburg Police: On Saturday, December 10, 2022 at 8:58 p.m., Gaithersburg Police responded to the Macy’s located at 701 Russell Avenue in Lakeforest Mall for the report of a shoplifting. Two male suspects entered the store and one male suspect selected merchandise. Both suspects then exited the store without paying. While both suspects were fleeing, one of the male suspects brandished a firearm.

LAKEFOREST MALL FIRST-DEGREE ASSAULT: ~8:50PM Saturday at Lakeforest Mall in Gaithersburg, MD. Suspect armed with handgun in some sort of confrontation at the Mall, possibly related to shoplifting. Suspect fled; GPD investigating the incident as a First-Degree Assault..

Jersey Mike’s is Coming to Aspen Hill

By MCS Staff

Published December 10, 2022 at 10:08PM

Jersey Mike’s will be opening a new restaurant in the Northgate Plaza in Aspen Hill. The restaurant, which is currently hiring, will be taking over the location that was formerly home to Body & Brain Tai Chi– between Dunkin’ and Roy Rogers.

Jersey Mike’s was founded as Mike’s Submarines in Point Pleasant, New Jersey in 1956. Peter Cancro started working at the restaurant in 1968 when he was 14 and the shop was on its third hour. Three years later the shop went up for sale again and with the help of a local high school football coach who was also a banker, Cancro was able to pull together $125,000 to buy it at age 17. He began to franchise the restaurant in 1987 and now has over 2,000 locations with various locations across Montgomery County.

MoCo Restaurants Dominate Yelp’s “Top 25 places to eat in the MD Burbs” List

By MCS Staff

Published December 10, 2022 at 6:16PM

Earlier this year, the local “Yelp MD Burbs” part of Yelp released its list of “Top 25 Places to Eat in MD Burbs” list and 15 of the 25 restaurants on the list are in Montgomery County, including four of the top five. Yelp is a popular company that publishes crowd-sourced reviews about businesses with a major focus on restaurants. The Montgomery County restaurants that made the list can be seen below (most pictures courtesy of Taste MoCo):

25. Trattoria Da Lina (7000 Carroll Ave, Takoma Park)

Three New Dunkin’ Locations Are Coming to Montgomery County

By MCS Staff

Published December 9, 2022 at 7:50PM

Since Inspire Brands acquired Dunkin’ and Baskin Robbins in late 2020 for $11.3 billion, the company has been opening in former bank locations that allow for easy installation of a drive-thru window. Dunkin’ has also aimed for non-traditional development that includes opening in airports and on college campuses, including the University of Maryland, but the three newest Dunkin’ coffee/donut shops that are coming to MoCo will all be in locations that were formally banks.

One of the latest upcoming Dunkin’ locations is currently under construction at the Layhill Center (14328 Layhill Rd) in Silver Spring. The new location, which will have a drive-thru, will be located next to Sole D’Italia, in the space that was formerly home to Truist and BB&T Bank. Dunkin’ also has an upcoming location coming to the Traville Village Center in Rockville. It will be taking over the former Capital One Bank building at 9761 Traville Gateway Dr. We expect more news coming out of the shopping center regarding the former Nantucket’s Reef location very soon. Dunkin’ is also working on an upcoming location coming to the Goshen Crossing Shopping Center in Gaithersburg/Montgomery Village. It will be taking over the former Capital One Bank building at 20000 Goshen Rd.

Inclusion in the Workplace is Prioritized by That Smoothie Place as it Soft Opens Starting Today

By MCS Staff

Published December 9, 2022 at 8:15AM

Back in May we let you know about ‘That Smoothie Place’ coming to Damascus, taking over the location that was formerly home to Sprint in the Damascus shopping center at 9815 Main Street, suite 106. The store is soft opening starting today, Friday, December 9th, and it’s not just about healthy snacks at That Smoothie Place, where an inclusive workplace is prioritized.

Per That Smoothie Place: “Our store started as a small dream, a small food truck with big ideas and a focus on inclusivity. Only a year into opening our tiny smoothie truck, it gained popularity as word spread that our employees were indeed the center of our positive vibes. That began our journey to search for a storefront to expand and spread love and smoothies.