Lululemon soft-opening today at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Lululemon has set the opening date for its new space inside Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. Its current space has now closed to facilitate the move to their new storefront, which is in the mall center court on Level 1, between Psycho Bunny and Sleep Number. The new store - which was still walled off as of last evening - will hold a soft opening today, September 4, 2025. A grand opening will be held this Saturday, September 6.

Rocket Money to flee Montgomery County for Washington, D.C.

The latest economic development defeat for Montgomery County is coming to us from one of the hardest-hit places in MoCo's revenue exodus, downtown Silver Spring. Rocket Money, a fintech startup located at 8455 Colesville Road, is nearing a deal to relocate its headquarters to Washington, D.C., according to a report in the Washington Business Journal. The new Rocket Money HQ is expected to be located in a recently-constructed office building at 1701 Rhode Island Avenue NW. Last home to a WeWork location, the building boasts "a unique facade constructed of pre-aged copper shingles, individually hand treated by an artisan in Italy," in the words of its architectural design firm Hickok Cole.

Silver Spring already sustained one of the biggest body blows to the Montgomery County economy in history, when one of the County's few remaining Fortune 500 companies, Discovery Communications, moved its headquarters to dual facilities in New York City and Tennessee. Infamously, Discovery's suitors quietly closed the deal while the Montgomery County Council was debating a ban on circus animals. The ban passed, but so did the opportunity to retain Discovery.

Of course, Rocket Money is not a Fortune 500 company, and has far fewer employees than Discovery. But it is a prominent fintech in the region, with significant future potential. Its parent company, Rocket Companies, has made the Fortune 500 in the past, but is currently off the list at #619 as of June. Montgomery County hasn't attracted a single new major corporate HQ in over a quarter-century.

Once again, Montgomery County's highest-in-the-region tax and fee burden has bitten the County in the [pocketbook]. Another recent and devastating blow is the new Maryland "tech tax," a 3% levy on all IT services in the state that was championed to passage by Governor Wes Moore, before he left for an Italian vacation at the lake villa of George Clooney. Imagine what that tax would add up to annually for a tech firm like Rocket Money! And that's on top of that already biggest tax burden, courtesy of the County Council and Maryland General Assembly. What company in their right mind would not move if they could? Heckuva job, Brownie!

Wisconsin Avenue resurfacing continued overnight in Bethesda

How is this still going on? Wisconsin Avenue was being resurfaced in front of the Hyatt Regency Bethesda hotel way back on August 6, 2025. But over the night into this morning, the southbound lanes of Wisconsin were closed for resurfacing work. The road was heavily damaged by a water main break in the beginning of August, but why the repairs are still being done after Labor Day is inexplicable. 

Thieves return to Westbard Square parking garage in Bethesda

Thieves returned to the parking garage at the Westbard Square development in Bethesda on Monday for the first time since June. Montgomery County police responded to a report of property having been stolen from a vehicle in the garage at 11:55 AM Monday, September 1. That is within the typical midday time period that thieves have favored for smash-and-grab activity inside the garage, which is located in the 5300 block of Zenith Overlook.

After the last theft incident on June 16 at 11:30 AM, Westbard Square property owner Regency Centers announced it would be installing security cameras inside the garage, and that police would have direct access to that surveillance footage. No thefts had been reported in the garage since then, until Monday. Whether the new cameras have led to an arrest in this case, or will provide an image of the suspect(s) that police can release to the public to facilitate such an arrest, has not been made public as of this writing.

BabyCat Brewery Bethesda construction update (Photos)

The interior fit-out of the future BabyCat Brewery continues at 4829 Rugby Avenue, in the ground floor of the Gallery Bethesda II apartment tower. In the photos below, you can see the progression from August to the beginning of September. The interior design concept will be different from the industrial railroad theme of the original Kensington location. For the Bethesda outpost, the theme will be cycling and the Capital Crescent Trail.

Sky High Smoke and Vape burglarized in White Flint

Sky High Smoke and Vape at 11623 Nebel Street in White Flint was victimized by a burglar in the night, Montgomery County police report. Police were dispatched to the shop at 5:35 AM on August 23, 2025. Officers arriving at the scene found evidence of forced entry at the business. Money and property were stolen from inside the store. The burglary occurred sometime over the night, police say. 

Police describe the suspect only as a Black male of unknown age. If you can identify this suspect, or have any other information about this incident that might help detectives, call police at (301) 279-8000.

Bethesda's new Lidl grocery store now a selling point for apartments

The new Lidl grocery store at 7625 Old Georgetown Road in downtown Bethesda has very quickly become a selling point for nearby apartment buildings. It's only natural that Bethesda Place, which stands atop the store at 7701 Woodmont Avenue, has added a picture of it to its website. But the Solaire 7607 Old Georgetown apartment tower right next door is also getting in on the action. A sign placed on the sidewalk in front of the building asks passersby to "imagine carrying your groceries this far home," and provides a QR code for the property's website. 

Some rental buildings in close proximity to Lidl have some catching up to do. Element 28, two doors up from the store on Old Georgetown, is still only listing the new Trader Joe's store in the 8001 Woodmont apartments. The Metropolitan, right across Old Georgetown from Lidl, doesn't mention the new store on its website yet, either.

Looking toward Lidl from the
Solaire 7607 Old Georgetown