Nordstrom Rack is set to open today at Congressional Plaza. Signage at the store gave Thursday, October 29 as the date. The store fills the 26,000-square-foot former Buy Buy Baby space at 1683 Rockville Pike, according to The MoCo Show. It is the largest of this fall's arrivals in Rockville, and it follows the season's pattern. New restaurants, dessert shops and retailers are going into existing storefronts along the Pike and into the new Twinbrook Quarter blocks around Wegmans. Town Square on Gibbs Street got a different kind of news: an ice rink, a boutique moving down the hall, and a holiday market new for 2026.
Rockville's fall has two centers. New tea, kabob, dessert and retail tenants are on the Pike, and the rink, the holiday market and the Tree Lighting are on Gibbs Street.
Most of the new arrivals are moving into someone else's old space
Look at what the new tenants replaced. Nordstrom Rack is taking a former baby superstore. Nong Geng Ji, the New York restaurant opening its first Maryland location, is planned for the former 7-Eleven unit at 1701 Rockville Pike in The Shops at Congressional Village. Rita's Italian Ice & Frozen Custard signed for 155 Rollins Ave., the former China Taste space, Patch reported. In King Farm, Chicken Salad Chick has announced a location in the former Wells Fargo space next to Alloy Personal Training.
This is a corridor reusing what it already has. A bank branch turns into a lunch spot and a convenience store turns into a destination noodle house. The one exception is Twinbrook Quarter, where the storefronts are newly built and the tenants are filling them one at a time.
So far, the openings are mostly announcements. Here is where each one stood heading into the last week of October.
| Business | Location | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Teas'n You Fusion Tea House | 838 Rockville Pike, Unit C | Open; first Maryland location |
| Mango Mango Dessert | 1617 Rockville Pike, Congressional Plaza | Soft-opened Sept. 24 |
| ZiZa Kabob | 1675 Chapman Ave., Twinbrook Quarter | Open; grand opening held Oct. 17 |
| Nordstrom Rack | 1683 Rockville Pike, Congressional Plaza | Opening date Oct. 29 posted on signage |
| Just Salad | 12242 Rockville Pike, Towne Plaza | Coming-soon signage; no date |
| Slurp Noodles | Halpine Rd. and Chapman Ave., Twinbrook Quarter | Under construction; possible year-end opening |
| Pizza Monkey | 2009 Chapman Ave. | New location listed as coming soon |
| Nong Geng Ji | 1701 Rockville Pike, Congressional Village | Announced; no timeframe |
| Rita's Italian Ice & Frozen Custard | 155 Rollins Ave. | Announced; no date |
| Chicken Salad Chick | King Farm | Announced; no date |
Congressional Plaza is getting a second look
Congressional Plaza has had the most activity. Mango Mango Dessert started its soft opening at noon on September 24 at 1617 Rockville Pike, with grand-opening promotions running through October 18, The MoCo Show reported. Nordstrom Rack follows today, a few doors up the Pike. Federal Realty first announced the store in November with a fall 2026 target, and a permit valued at about $2.4 million cleared in May for the interior work. The new store will offer online order pickup and accept returns from both Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack websites. The Nordstrom Rack on Shady Grove Road keeps operating, and no changes have been announced there. For anyone south of town who used to drive up to Shady Grove for returns, the trip just got shorter.
A short walk south, Nong Geng Ji's arrival at 1701 Rockville Pike would add a New York name to the same stretch. Its timing is still open.
Teas'n You Fusion Tea House is farther up the corridor at 838 Rockville Pike, Unit C. It chose Rockville for its first Maryland location, serving teas, coffee, pastries and halal chicken, and its own site now says the store is open.
Farther north at Towne Plaza, Maryland's first Just Salad has coming-soon signage up at 12242 Rockville Pike beside Wonder. A $495,000 construction permit was approved as of August 27, but no opening date has been set.
Twinbrook Quarter is filling in around Wegmans
Twinbrook is the part of the Pike still taking shape. ZiZa Kabob at 1675 Chapman Ave. soft-opened in September and held a grand-opening celebration on October 17. The MoCo Show described the plan as counter ordering at lunch and full service from 4 p.m., with table service added once the team was ready.
Behind Wegmans, at Halpine Road and Chapman Avenue, construction has picked up at Slurp Noodles, with a possible opening by year-end and no announced date. RIVA Boutique has signed for the space between Slurp Noodles and Bonne Nail Bar, though construction there had not started as of mid-September.
Chapman Avenue is also where a longtime Rockville pizzeria is headed. Pizza Monkey served its last day at 330 N. Stonestreet Ave. on August 31 and planned to move about three miles to 2009 Chapman Ave., Patch reported. The Pizza Monkey website currently says the business is temporarily closed and lists the Chapman Avenue address as coming soon.
The Twinbrook area lost a restaurant this season too. Arepateca, the Venezuelan eatery at 5751 Fishers Lane near Twinbrook Parkway, closed at the end of August after about a year.
The Square's news this fall is about dates on the calendar
Town Square's fall headlines are about time and place more than new storefronts. The outdoor rink at 131 Gibbs St. opened for the 2026 season in late October. Some practical details before you go:
- Hours: Noon to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, noon to 11 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday, with longer hours when school is out.
- Tickets: Each ticket covers up to two hours of skating. You can book up to two weeks ahead at rockvilleiceskating.com, and sessions can sell out.
- Arrival: Plan to arrive within 10 minutes of your reservation time.
- Parking: The rink validates two hours of parking, and skate rentals are available.
- Holidays: The rink opens at 10 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
The one tenant change at the Square is a move within the same building. Nature by Trejok is relocating from Unit B to Unit D at 130 Gibbs St. starting tomorrow, October 30, after six years in its current spot.
The biggest Square event is still five weeks away. The City of Rockville's Tree Lighting runs Friday, December 4, from 6 to 9 p.m. at The Square, 36 Maryland Ave. The evening includes live music, local performance groups, skating and photos with Santa. New this year is the Gibbs Street Holiday Market. The Square is also partnering with Toys for Tots, and anyone who brings a new, unwrapped toy is entered in a raffle. A holiday market on Gibbs Street will likely put more foot traffic on the Square in December than any single storefront could.
The next five weeks, by date
The citywide calendar between now and the Tree Lighting is short. Some of it is at the Square, and much of it is elsewhere in town.
- Tonight, October 29: Boo-vie Night at Welsh Park, 344 Martins Lane, 6 to 9 p.m., with a free screening of Monsters, Inc. and trunk-or-treat.
- October 30: Nature by Trejok reopens in Unit D at 130 Gibbs St.
- October 31 to November 15: Rockville Musical Theatre's Caroline, or Change at the F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre on October 31 and November 1, 6 through 8, and 13 through 15.
- November 18: Grand Kyiv Ballet's The Swan Lake: Symphony of Lights at the Fitzgerald.
- November 19: Warren Miller's Days Off at the Fitzgerald.
- November 21: The last Saturday of the Rockville Farmers Market, open 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Jury Parking Lot at Route 28 and Monroe Street.
- December 4: The Tree Lighting and the first Gibbs Street Holiday Market at The Square.
The farmers market's last Saturday comes 13 days before the Tree Lighting. Between those two dates, the Gibbs Street rink is the main outdoor draw on the city's calendar. On the Pike, the next big change to watch is Slurp Noodles at Twinbrook Quarter, which is aiming for year-end with no announced date.
If you are weighing a move to or within Rockville and want someone who follows these corridors closely, DMV Living Group would be glad to walk through it with you. Schedule your complimentary concierge consultation.
