Roaming Rooster coming to Pike & Rose

Roaming Rooster, a fast casual restaurant chain known for its fried chicken sandwiches, is expanding to Montgomery County this fall. It will open an 1843 square foot location at Federal Realty's Pike & Rose development in North Bethesda. Among the chain's other locations are Tenleytown and Woodridge in the District. 

Started as a food truck in 2015, Roaming Rooster has become one of the most-successful family and minority-owned hospitality businesses in the region since. In addition to its famous free-range, grain-fed, antibiotic-free and Halal fried chicken sandwiches, the chain also offers an all-week breakfast menu, salads, side dishes, chicken wings, chicken tenders and hand-cut fries. The sandwiches are available in your choice of heat level: mild, medium or hot.

Roaming Rooster breakfast
biscuit sandwich

“We chose Pike & Rose in Montgomery County because we want to be part of a neighborhood that features premier retailers, restaurants and services,” Roaming Rooster co-owner Michael Habtemariam said in a press release. “As a supporter of the DMV’s local businesses, Federal [Realty] is eager to bring this popular regional favorite to its first location in Maryland and Montgomery County,” Federal Realty Director of Leasing Emily Gagliardi added.

Shake Shack to take over former Arby's in North Bethesda

Incredible news from the White Flint area of North Bethesda: Shake Shack will be the new tenant in the fast food restaurant building recently vacated by Arby's at 11710 Rockville Pike. Shake Shack is also opening a location not far away at Westfield Montgomery Mall. But what makes this new location just revealed by the Washington Business Journal so exciting, is that it will have a drive-thru. The line will likely be backed up onto the Pike when the restaurant first opens.

Alas, the New York-based burger chain continues to avoid downtown Bethesda. Speculation about a Shake Shack downtown dates back almost a decade to 2012. Real estate firm Douglas Development began acquiring several restaurant spaces around town that year, after having just brought the D.C. area's first Shake Shack to the District.

Signage being removed at North Bethesda Arby's

The Arby's at 11710 Rockville Pike permanently closed earlier this week. Yesterday, a worker began detaching signage from the building facade. He had gotten as far a the "A," which was dangling over the ladder, at the moment this photo was taken.

Arby's closes in North Bethesda (Photos)

Here's a shocker: Arby's has closed at 11710 Rockville Pike in the White Flint area. While restaurants were devastated by indoor dining bans over the last year, fast food restaurants with drive-thrus like this Arby's often enjoyed booming business during the same period. 

Fast food restaurants usually serve the largest percentage of customers via the drive-thru to begin with. But as of Tuesday night, this Arby's has been cleared out; even the menu boards are gone at the drive-thru and inside.

White Flint McDonald's reopens after renovations

The McDonald's restaurant at 11564 Rockville Pike in White Flint has reopened after a major interior and exterior renovation. Gone are the original color scheme of the exterior and roof, as well as the golden arches "McDonald's" sign on the side of the building. In their place are more-muted earth tones, and a more understated McDonald's logo on the side roof. The reopening comes in plenty of time for the highly-anticipated BTS meal launch on May 26.

Lao Sze Chuan coming to North Bethesda

NoBe Market has found a new tenant for the restaurant space vacated by Brio. Lao Sze Chuan, a Szechuan Chinese restaurant, will open in the towering high-rise on Rockville Pike. 

Tony Hu, the "Mayor of Chinatown" in Chicago, has operated Lao Sze Chuan restaurants there, and in Connecticut, Minnesota and Nevada. Many diners and critics have considered his restaurants to serve the best Chinese food in Chicago. NoBe Market is located at 11351 Woodglen Drive in the White Flint area.

Boardroom Salon sets opening date in North Bethesda

Boardroom Salon for Men has set a new opening date for its first Maryland location at 12031 Rockville Pike in the Montrose Crossing shopping center. The salon is now scheduled to open March 31, 2021. As you can see, the salon interior does emit an upscale den-steakhouse-lodge ambiance. 

Various member tiers are available, including limited Founders memberships at a special price, with a silver Founders tumbler while supplies last. You can sign up for memberships, and schedule appointments, on the Boardroom website.

As an example of the level of service you will receive at Boardroom Salon, the their signature The Benchmark appointment includes the following:

• Personal consultation

• Tailored haircut with precision neck shave
• Personalized shampoo + conditioning
• Scalp massage
• Pressure-point facial massage
• Steamed towel
• Paraffin hand dip
• Stress-relieving hand massage
• Expert styling and tips to replicate the finished look every day

 

Boardroom Salon is the latest tenant in the new, Rockville Pike-facing retail structure at the Federal Realty-owned property. “We are thrilled to partner with Boardroom Salon for Men on their expansion into Maryland and know the salon will be well-positioned for long-term success at Montrose Crossing,” Federal Realty VP of Asset Management Mickey Papillon said in a statement Thursday.

 

Crumbl Cookies sets opening date at Federal Plaza

Crumbl Cookies is finally ready to open its first D.C.-area location at Federal Plaza at 12266 Rockville Pike. The store and delivery business will open this Friday, October 2, 2020. Cookie lovers will love the hours, as the store will be open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 8:00 AM to midnight. Additionally, cookies can be delivered from 8:00 AM until 10:00 PM, Monday through Thursday. On the weekend, deliveries will be available from 8:00 AM to midnight. 

Crumbl will offer four limited-time cookie varieties each week, along with their two standard cookies: warm chocolate chip and chilled sugar cookie. Limited-time flavors will include Muddy Buddy, Biscoff Lava, Funfetti, Snickerdoodle, Coconut Lime, Chocolate Caramel, Cranberry Vanilla, Nutella Sea Salt, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip, Rocky Road, S’Mores, Orange Creamsicle, and more. 

Customers in the store - who will have to wear masks and observe capacity limits due to covid-19 protocols - can watch the cookies being made in the open bakery. “Having our customers see every cookie being made is one of the best experiences of our stores,” Federal Plaza Crumbl location owner Robert Davis said this morning. “Each ingredient is carefully chosen to provide customers with the highest quality cookie on the market.” 

Two cars stolen in White Flint in two days

Someone is stealing cars in the White Flint area of Montgomery County. On September 10, a vehicle parked on the street in the 11300 block of Woodglen Drive was stolen. The next day, a vehicle was reported stolen from a gas station in the 11400 block of Rockville Pike.

Blinds to Go coming to North Bethesda

Blinds to Go will be opening soon at 12204 Rockville Pike. The New Jersey-based blinds retailer is taking over a building that formerly housed Next Day Blinds. Next Day Blinds has gone out of business, and the new chain is not affiliated with them. Blinds to Go was founded in 1954 and now touts itself as the largest "manufacturer-retailer of direct-to-the-customer custom window coverings" in North America.

Subway closes at Federal Plaza

No more $5 Footlongs at Federal Plaza. Subway has closed, their signage is gone, and their space has been totally cleared out. Usually we can blame the moribund Montgomery County economy or - more recently - the coronavirus, but the struggling sub chain has been closing an average of three locations a day according to Restaurant Business Online.

Pike & Rose to add new dog park, shipping container bar

New additions to Prose Street are in the works at Pike & Rose. A new pop-up bar will be constructed out of refurbished shipping containers there, where The Beach at Pike & Rose has drawn crowds the two previous summers.

The bar's concept has not been made public yet, but you can see an example of a beer garden that was built out of shipping containers at Assembly Row in Boston, another property in Pike & Rose owner Federal Realty's portfolio. Also coming to Prose Street will be a fenced-in dog park.

Strong-arm robbery on Woodglen Road in White Flint

A victim reported a strong-arm robbery on Woodglen Drive around 8:30 PM Wednesday night to Montgomery County police, crime data indicates. The victim was in a car at the time of the robbery, records state.

Hiro Sushi closes in White Flint

Hiro Sushi has closed at 5268 Nicholson Lane in the White Flint Plaza shopping center. No reason is posted for the closure. However, I can find no listing online showing the space available for lease yet.

Chase Bank to Pike & Rose?

Chase Bank is aggressively expanding across the country, having already opened two branches in downtown Bethesda alone, with a third Bethesda location in the works. Now I'm hearing they will open a future branch at Pike & Rose, on a pad site along Prose Street.

White Flint Mall site reclaimed by nature (Photos)

The Dark Side of White Flint, Part 44

Welcome to The Dark Side of White Flint, an ongoing series about the not-so-wonnerful, wonnerful, wonnerful side of urbanizing the suburbs of Montgomery County.

The former site of White Flint Mall has been reclaimed by nature. Several years have passed since the mall was demolished, and now it is an overgrown field guarded by hyperaggressive security. Perhaps they fear a giant rabbit may jump the fence and munch on the vegetation. The heady greed that led the owners to pull the plug on a fully-leased mall, with crowded parking lots and popular restaurants, has dissipated. Replacing it is stagnation and malaise. And lots of weeds.

An area touted as Montgomery County's answer to Tysons fell victim to MoCo's moribund economy, corrupt and incompetent County Council, and hostile business climate. Tysons is booming, while White Flint Mall's former site is only blooming with weeds and brush. Developers and investors have fled, abandoning or downsizing their plans. Only Federal Realty moved forward with a fully-realized development, leading their CEO, Don Wood, to criticize County officials for not delivering on their end of the bargain in White Flint.

The Montgomery County Council hasn't taken a single action to address our economic development crisis since taking office last December, as MoCo stagnates with the lowest-ranked economy in the region by every relevant measure. No major corporation has moved its headquarters to Montgomery County in over twenty years. County taxes are at an all-time high, but tax revenue is declining, as the ultra-rich flee to lower-tax jurisdictions in the region.

Yet our elected officials have decided to simply put a piece of carpet tape over the "Check Engine" light screaming at them from the civic dashboard. It's intriguing that Lerner is compelled to provide entertainment for the public on a future development site they own in bustling Tysons, but here the Council allows them to leave us an overgrown field. That says a lot about the difference between the two jurisdictions, and the competency of their respective leadership.

This stretch of Rockville Pike looks
exactly the same as it did over nine years
ago, when the White Flint sector plan passed

Title Boxing Club to open at White Flint Plaza

A new boxing gym is coming to the Pike District of Montgomery County. Title Boxing Club, which has an existing Rockville facility at 10028 Darnestown Road, will soon open a new location at 5268-R Nicholson Lane. This will be in the White Flint Plaza shopping center.

Taylor Gourmet to reopen at Pike & Rose

Taylor Gourmet, which not long ago was on the verge of disappearing entirely, has announced it will reopen three of its shuttered sandwich shops. According to the chain's website, one of the revived locations will be at Pike & Rose. The others are Dupont Circle and Pennsylvania Avenue in the District. All three are expected to open before the end of this summer, according to the announcement.

White Flint project slashing planned retail/restaurant space

Developer ProMark is slashing the planned retail and restaurant space in its East Village at North Bethesda Gateway project, another troubling sign of moribundity in the White Flint sector plan area. Only Federal Realty has delivered a fully-realized development since the sector plan passed in 2010. While Federal Realty has delivered on its end of the bargain with its successful Pike & Rose property, its CEO has criticized Montgomery County officials for failing to deliver on their end. Inertia and incompetence among the County's elected officials has been compounded by the jurisdiction's hostile business climate. Both factors are crippling White Flint in its effort to compete with booming Tysons, arch-rival Fairfax County's own urban makeover project.

ProMark is asking the County Planning Board to approve a reduction in retail space at East Village from 20,000 SF to only 5000 SF, a retail footprint more in line with a boutique condo building. The developer is clearly looking at market trends, which are all tailing downward in moribund Montgomery County. With the ultra-rich fleeing to lower-tax jurisdictions in the region, there is no longer a wealth base sufficient to support high-end retail, or provide the revenue to fund promised infrastructure and amenities in White Flint and other parts of the county.

Other cost-and-risk-reducing changes in the East Village project reflect the stagnation in the local economy. The originally proposed underground garage, standard in premium luxury buildings, is being replaced with above-ground parking. And the number of residential units is being reduced from 382 to 335.

The Planning Board will take up the proposed plan revisions at its July 18 meeting. Planning staff recommends approval of the changes. East Village will be located at the corner of Nicholson Lane and Huff Court.

Montgomery County is on a fiscal trajectory
towards bankruptcy

Can Montgomery County go on like this? At rock bottom in the region by every relevant economic development benchmark, with revenue declining despite record-high taxes, and with debt so massive that - if the debt were a department in the County government - it would be the third-largest department, the alarm bells are beginning to go off. Those alarms are being heard in New York City, where bond rating agencies are alerting current and potential Montgomery County investors that actions by the County Council have put MoCo's AAA bond rating in danger.

China Garden sets soft opening date

China Garden is finally happening. The restaurant's owners told me last night that they have scheduled a soft opening for their long-delayed new location at 11333 Woodglen Drive in White Flint. China Garden will open on July 12, 2019 at 11:00 AM for lunch.

Specializing in dim sum and authentic Cantonese cuisine, China Garden has operated since 1973 in its original Virginia location. All of their chefs are recruited directly from Hong Kong.