Gold’s Gym will be opening a new location at 12922 Middlebrook Road in Germantown, in the location of the DSW store that closed on April 10th in the Germantown Commons shopping center next to bed Bath & Beyond. Gold’s Gym currently has a Germantown location in the Fox Chapel shopping center, and we are awaiting word on if this opening will have any affect on that location. Gold’s has additional Montgomery County locations in Rockville Town Square, Wintergreen Plaza in Rockville, Airpark in Gaithersburg, Olney, and the Layhill shopping center in Silver Spring.

Big Blue Swim School is also moving into the Germantown Commons shopping center, occupying the location that was home to Monkey Joe’s from 2016-2019 and Hard Times Cafe before that. This will be Big Blue Swim School’s first Maryland location. The news of Gold’s taking over the location was first tweeted to us by TheUpCountyCitizen (seen below). It was confirmed via the Eden’s website for the Germantown Commons Shopping Center.


La Casita opened its first location in Silver Spring (8214 Piney Branch Rd.) back in 2002. Since then the restaurant has opened locations in Germantown (18058 Mateny Rd.) and Gaithersburg (2 E Diamond Ave), and has just announced the launch of its new food truck “La Casita on Wheels.”

Per La Casita on social media, “La Casita is now on wheels! Book the La Casita food truck for events, festivals, and more.” The food truck schedule will be available via Instagram @LaCasitaPupusas.


Charleys Cheesesteaks will be opening a location inside of the Germantown Walmart (20910 Frederick Rd), in the space formerly occupied by McDonald’s. The company has created a Facebook page for the new store and representatives from Charleys tell us they expect to open in early November. The upcoming Charleys located at 405 N Frederick Ave in Gaithersburg, in the location that was recently home to Teriyaki Express, is scheduled to open sometime this month. We were told by employees of the Lakeforest location that the Lakeforest location will close when the new Gaithersburg restaurant opens, but a specific date has not yet been provided.

In August we reported that Charleys would also be coming to 19877 Century Blvd in Germantown, taking over the location that was previously home to Roll by Goodyear and Yogi Castle in the Shops at Town Center & Century Station shopping center, according to the shopping center’s leasing company.


Planet Fitness at 13031 Wisteria Dr in Germantown has recently begun renovations to the location. Part of the renovations include expanding next door into the former site of Eye to Eye, which relocated to 19520 Waters Rd in Germantown over a year ago. In addition to more gym space, the location will also be upgrading it’s Black Card spa area. We’re told the construction is scheduled to last 11 weeks and the gym will remain open during this time.

In July we let you know that Planet Fitness will be opening a new location at 5520 Randolph Rd in Rockville (Montrose Shopping Center) in the space that was formerly occupied by Gold’s Gym. Though an opening date has not yet been set, we were told today that the current Rockville location at 1776 E Jefferson St in Federal Plaza will close when the new location opens. The new location is currently under construction.


Crumbl Cookies opened its first MoCo location almost two years ago at Federal Plaza in Rockville. In November we let you know that the bakery, known for its long box of cookies, would be opening a second location– near Wegmans at The Shops at Seneca Meadows shopping center in Germantown. An opening date of Friday, September 9th has been posted on Google and was confirmed by an employee of the Rockville location on Wednesday evening.

The shop will be located at 20650 Seneca Meadows Pkwy, in what used to be home to Sprint, next to Sally Beauty. Permanent signage has been up for about 6 months with customers eagerly awaiting the arrival of the cookie bakery. Back in March we let you know of a the third Crumbl Cookies location that will be coming to Montgomery County, as a new store signed on at 277 Kentlands Blvd, next to Panera, in the space that was formerly home to TD Ameritrade. This news came about five months after the upcoming Germantown location was announced, and construction has quickly progressed at that location (no opening date available yet).


Water is estimated to be restored by this evening to residents affected by last night’s water main breaks in the 11500blk of Clopper Rd in Gaithersburg and the 12400blk of Clopper Rd in Germantown, according to WSSC.  Below are the latest updates:

Water station is open at 13421 Clopper Rd at United Church of Christ of Seneca Valley. We will continue to update and apologize for the inconvenience. 2/2 pic.twitter.com/nohau8UROC


As of 10:26pm on Tuesday, all of the water had been pumped out of the first water main break and crews were digging to expose the broken pipe and make repairs. Just before 2am on Wednesday morning, WSSC announced that work would begin ASAP on second water main break.

Clopper Rd now has intermittent closures between Great Seneca Highway and Waring Station Rd because of the repairs to the two water main breaks. Per WSSC, “Noon today is when we estimate water service being restored. We appreciate your patience as we work as quickly as possible to wrap up repairs and get the water back on.


Per WSSC: Crews are working as quickly as possible to shutdown a broken 24” water main in the 11500 blk of Clopper Rd in Gaithersburg. “We appreciate your patience. It does take time to close valves on a large main and get the water off.”

6:45pm: “We have crews out right now working to close valves and shut off the flow of water. Once the water is off we will determine what type of repairs are needed. We appreciate your patience.”


Several Montgomery County theaters will offer $3 tickets this Saturday, September 3 as a part of National Cinema Day. According to www.nationalcinemaday.org, the $3 tickets are for “every movie, every showtime, and every format.” Some theaters will also offer food and drink discounts, such as AMC, who are offering a fountain drink and popcorn combo for $5. Participating theaters include:


Last September we let you know that Lidl, a German international discount supermarket chain, was under contract to purchase the subject properties between Walter Johnson Road and Germantown Road and seeks to develop a Lidl Grocery Store with associated parking and open space areas. The Planning Board approved the Site Plan for the construction of the 30,000 square foot retail/service establishment, under certain conditions.

The project site occupies approximately 2.8 acres of land on Walter Johnson Road between Bowman Mill Drive and Wisteria Drive, a few blocks northeast of the Germantown MARC Station. The site is a consolidation of several parcels of land. Currently, the site is partially wooded. The developed portion of the site houses an office building with a copy center on the ground floor and part of the parking lot for an adjacent credit union building.


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