Rockville Town Square

For our local retail and restaurant scene, 2022 was a year of rebuilding. Some longtime businesses made it through the height of the pandemic, only to shut down after the worst was over. A new crop of boutiques appeared on the scene, offering clothes and accessories to celebrate the return of festive events. New restaurants opened with diverse cuisines, from Greek to Lebanese to Salvadoran to Italian. We’ve chronicled the highlights here, with links to fill in the blanks on any stories you might have missed.

Westfield Montgomery mall lost quite a few businesses this year, but it gained even more. Let’s start with the restaurants:

• The biggest news, last March, was the long-awaited arrival of Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana.
• Next was all-day breakfast concept Butter Me Up, which opened in the former Aroma space. Its sister restaurant, HalfSmoke, soon arrived in the Dining Terrace with a bar and a boardwalk-style menu.
• Greek Aroma, in the long-empty former Beefsteak space, is one of three new halal eateries that opened in our area this year.
• Suki Hana took over the long-closed Sarku sushi kiosk.
• Malia’s Kitchen is earning kudos for its soul food in a space that’s been home to three different restaurants this year. It was preceded by the short-lived Lazzaro’s Italian Deli, and Big Al’s Subs before that.
• DQ/Orange Julius, a beloved spot for many local families, closed its doors at the mall after 20 years. So did the Moorenko’s ice cream kiosk.
• District Falafel, a food truck-turned brick-and-mortar eatery, took over the onetime Fu Shing space outside the mall. Its menu is also halal.

A half-dozen shops closed their doors at the mall this year: Michael Kors, Amazon 4-Star, Vera Bradley, Ivyees Everything Honey, Sports Nation and longtime local boutique Patrizia Luca.

But many more retailers opened:

• A new Purple mattress store took over the onetime Microsoft space.
• Psycho Bunny is a men’s store known for its colorful polo shirts and skull-and-crossbones logo.
• Sayki is a Turkish chain specializing in men’s business attire.
• De Clichy is a trendy men’s retailer from Hyattsville.
• Kickz carries rare and collectible shoes and jerseys.
• A Beautiful Closet is a D.C.-based women’s boutique.
• Fangyán showcases young Asian designers.
• Papaya Clothing is a fast-fashion retailer that just opened its doors.
• Lovisa is a piercing/jewelry store that’s about to open.
• And for the kids: Alex Baby & Toys is the first location of a new chain; Toys R Us opened a store-within-a-store inside Macy’s; and Squishable opened over the holidays.

Last but not least: Last spring, the former ArcLight Cinema also made a comeback as AMC Montgomery 16.

This was also a big year for Pike & Rose:

• The spa inside the Canopy Hotel, originally a Red Door and later known as Mynd Spa, reopened under a new brand: Privai Spa + Salon.
• Two new eyeglass stores — Lenscrafters and Warby Parker — both joined the lineup last summer.
• There were three newcomers on the restaurant scene: southern fried chicken chain Roaming Rooster; smoothie/juice shop South Block; and Hello Betty, serving seafood and cocktails at the Canopy Hotel.
• Six-year-old Owen’s Ordinary just completed a transformation. Its patio and adjacent dining room rebranded as Owen’s Tavern & Grill, while the inside dining room took on a new identity: Caruso’s Grocery, serving classic Italian food.

Cabin John Village continued its physical transformation this year — completing its long-awaited cut-through, losing several businesses and welcoming several others:

• Baskin Robbins closed its doors and was a replaced by a locally owned ice cream shop, The Scoop.
• Goldberg’s Bagels also exited, and will be replaced by Capo Deli.
• Irish restaurant Lahinch, which departed last spring, will eventually be replaced by Augie’s Mussel House and Beer Garden.
• Newcomer The Pretzel Bakery, expanding from D.C., opened its doors in April. And their breakfast sandwiches are good enough to make our Store Reporter Favorites list.
• French bakery Boulangerie Christophe, also expanding from D.C., arrived in May.
• Salad chain Chopt is now building out the space next door.
• The long-neglected Cabin John mini-mall is also getting some new restaurants: sushi spot Kema by Kenaki  and pizzeria and bar Colony Grill.

Park Potomac welcomed two new Asian restaurants:

• Yirasai Sushi relocated from Westbard shopping center to the former Elevation Burger space.
• Pama Thai, from the owners of Kruba in D.C., opened in the former Wine Harvest space.

And elsewhere in Potomac, the historic Normandie Farm restaurant closed its doors after nearly a century in business. Chef/owner Cary Prokos ended his 39-year run, selling the property to a D.C. company whose plans have not been fully revealed.

A half-dozen longtime Rockville restaurants closed their doors this year, including three Italian eateries:

• Amici Miei, which spent 13 years at Potomac Woods Plaza before relocating to downtown Rockville, went dark in January.
• Another Italian restaurant, Baronessa, closed its doors in May.
• Amalfi Ristorante Italian was going to close, but it was sold instead to the owner of Chef Tony’s. It will reopen soon with a new name and a revised menu.
• Miller’s Ale House exited after a decade-long run.
• The Woodside Deli closed down after 12 years.
• Peruvian restaurant La Limeña went dark despite 15 years of great reviews.
• Fast-food seafood spot Slapfish shut down at Montrose Crossing.
• Eerkin’s Uyghur Cuisine closed its doors. (But it’s making a comeback nearby. More on that next week.)
• Dessert spots Snowbots and Bambū Cafe also departed.

But we also gained a couple of new restaurants on Rockville Pike:

• Chicken-and-waffle chain Hangry Joe’s opened on the Pike as well as the Travilah Square shopping center.
• Salvadoran eatery Pupuseria Mamá Emilia debuted at Ritchie Center.
• Naz’s Halal opened at the Edmonston Crossing shopping center.
• The recently closed Slapfish will be replaced by Rasa, a fast-casual Indian chain that’s making its first move into Maryland.

A number of new stores, from large discount chains to small boutiques, also opened their doors in Rockville this year:

• Congressional Plaza lost Loft but welcomed two major discount stores: J. Crew Factory and Dick’s Warehouse Sale.
• Across the street, Montrose Crossing lured two even larger discount stores: Burlington (in the former Barnes & Noble space) and HomeSense (replacing A.C. Moore).
• Federal Plaza is now home to three boutiques: dd’s Closet, selling clothes and jewelry from India; Bonday, offering clothing, accessories and gift baskets from all over the world; and Ibhana, relocating from its longtime home at Potomac Woods Plaza.
• The Persiano furniture business has expanded its presence on the Pike, taking over the space that was previously occupied by Danker Furniture.
• Also new is Ebisu, a Japanese variety store that’s doubled in size since it opened last spring.
• And not far from Rockville Pike, the White Flint Plaza welcomed two new tenants: discount supermarket Aldi and Maryland’s first PGA Tour Superstore.
• The new Twinbrook Quarter development finally started taking shape on Rockville Pike, but anchor Wegmans told us it won’t arrive until 2025.

Elsewhere in Rockville, Federal Realty sold the struggling Rockville Town Square to a Canadian firm that already owned its apartment buildings. A couple of new eateries joined the Square this year: Spanish restaurant El Mercat Bar de Tapas, pan-African restaurat Èkó House, and Latin American restaurant Kumbia. But the new owners tell us they will be looking for more non-restaurant tenants.

Another property that changed hands this year was The Shops at Congressional Village. The Rockville Pike center was sold to an investment group that plans to fill it with international stores and restaurants.