Cafe Sophie sets opening date in Gaithersburg

Cafe Sophie is now scheduled to open October 27, 2021 in Gaithersburg. It is located at 7940 Airpark Road, at the Montgomery County Airpark. The Scandanavian-influenced European cafe replaces The Airport Cafe at the airpark.

Locally Crafted opening at Rio Lakefront in Gaithersburg

Locally Crafted is coming soon to Rio Lakefront in Gaithersburg. It will be in a space across from Potbelly at 125 Boardwalk Place. Locally Crafted is a retail store carrying artisan and hand-crafted goods from over 60 makers in the D.C. metropolitan area.

New Chick-fil-A planned for Gaithersburg

What's better than a new Chick-fil-A restaurant? A new Chick-fil-A restaurant with a drive-thru! That's exactly what we are going to get at the northwest corner of the high-traffic intersection of N. Frederick Avenue (MD 355) and Montgomery Village Avenue. This is on the former IBM/Leidos site in Gaithersburg right off I-270.

A fast food restaurant with drive-thru was anticipated for this corner of the site, but the plans for the rest of the property have shifted over the last few years. While a natural location for a corporate headquarters, such as for an aerospace or tech firm, there were no takers. Even biotech firms had no interest. In fact, Montgomery County hasn't attracted a single major corporate HQ in a quarter century. 

Amazon had the property on its radar next. After Montgomery County's elected officials humiliatingly fumbled the Amazon HQ2 to Northern Virginia in 2018, the online retailer then decided it could still use the site as a prime (pun intended) location for a distribution center. Despite the County falling behind all of the region in job creation over the last decade, elected officials fought the 850-job center - and won: Amazon withdrew the plan.

Now the landowner plans several smaller buildings with commercial and retail uses, and the Chick-fil-A. The latter will have the trademark dual-lane drive-thru, as found at the Research Row Chick-fil-A restaurant in Rockville. There will also be two outdoor dining spaces. One will be directly outside the restaurant, and the second will be in the center island of the parking lot. There will be no vehicle access to the restaurant from Montgomery Village Avenue; access will be via MD 355 and a new street, Progress Way.

Renderings courtesy Matan Companies

Stay Social selfie lounge coming to Rio Lakefront in Gaithersburg

If Instagram success comes from making your life look better online than it really is offline, a new selfie and video lounge coming to Rio Lakefront this fall may help. Stay Social, which will be located on Boardwalk Place across from the Courtyard by Marriott, may be the first example of the growing national "selfie museum" trend in Montgomery County. 

More officially termed a "content hub," Stay Social will be targeted toward current or aspiring social media influencers, models, musicians, and food reviewers and photographers. It will provide the Instagram and TikTok scenes and backgrounds you need, along with professional photography and video equipment, computers and editing tools, and Polaroid and Ring light rentals. The lounge will also be a place to hang out, and will serve up "unique small bites."

Chopt Kentlands update (Photos)

Chopt is over a year behind schedule at Kentlands Market Square in Gaithersburg. The interior is finally taking shape, with counters, light fixtures and tiled walls. There's still work to be done, and no official opening date yet.

Sign installed at Java Nation in Gaithersburg

The sign is up at Java Nation at Kentlands Market Square in Gaithersburg. An artisan coffee shop and cafe, it is the latest location for the small, local chain in Montgomery County. Java Nation is expected to open this fall, after missing its targeted summer opening date.

Lidl Montgomery Village update (Video+Photos)

All that's left to do at the new Lidl grocery store in Montgomery Village is to stock the shelves, and install the electronics like cash registers. All shelves are in place now, as are checkout counters, aisle numbers, exterior and interior signage, and grocery cart lanes. One other thing worth pointing out - the landscaping. I haven't seen this much nice landscaping at the other Lidl stores that have already opened in Montgomery County, or at many grocery stores, in general. The store is located at the intersection of Montgomery Village Avenue and Centerway Road.