When Wegmans opened at 1590 Rockville Pike on June 25, 2025, the story was the grocery store. It covers about 80,000 square feet and its garage holds 672 cars. Fifteen months later, the more interesting story is on Festival Street and Chapman Avenue, the short blocks behind it. Restaurants that have never operated in Maryland, in the DC region, or in Montgomery County keep picking this corner for their first location.
As of this fall, Twinbrook Quarter has a Brazilian steakhouse making its regional debut, a jasmine tea brand from Shenzhen that brought its DMV debut here, an all-you-can-eat wagyu hot pot room, and a halal Afghan kabob house on its first Montgomery County location. A hand-pulled noodle shop is under construction. If your weekly routine includes the Wegmans garage, all of these are within a short walk of your parking space.
The Firsts, in Order
Saul Centers, the developer, calls Twinbrook Quarter an 18.4-acre transit-oriented project next to Twinbrook Metro. Phase I includes The Milton's 452 apartments, the Wegmans, and about 25,000 square feet of small-shop retail. The small-shop space is where most of the change has happened. Here is the sequence according to The MoCo Show's September 19 roundup:
- Terra Gaucha, December 2025. The Brazilian steakhouse opened at 1651 Chapman Avenue. It was the chain's first Maryland location and its first in the DC region. Gaucho chefs carve wood-fired picanha and ribeye at the table, rodízio style. There's also a hot and cold table, and Papaya Cream is the dessert regulars ask for.
- Molly Tea, April 2026. The jasmine-focused tea brand from Shenzhen made its DMV debut at 860 Festival Street. On opening day the line wrapped around the block.
- Genki Wagyu House, June 2026. This all-you-can-eat wagyu and hot pot restaurant sits at 870 Festival Street, right next to Wegmans. Broths include Sukiyaki, Shabu Dashi, Tomato, Spicy Miso, Mushroom and Tom Yum.
- Bonne Nail Bar, June 2026. The nail salon opened at 1679 Chapman Avenue. It offers manicures, pedicures, custom nail art and spa treatments.
- ZiZa Kabob, September 2026. Its first Montgomery County location is at 1675 Chapman Avenue, serving flame-grilled kabobs, stews and rice dishes from family Afghan recipes. Owner Rafiq told The MoCo Show the menu is 100% halal and the restaurant aims to be family-friendly.
Four of these five opened in 2026. Three of the four restaurants marked a first for their brand somewhere: in Maryland, in the DMV, or in Montgomery County.
Why a First Location Fits This Corner
The grocery store does a lot of the work for these newcomers. A restaurant opening its first location in a new market starts without regulars, and Twinbrook Quarter supplies foot traffic from the day the doors open. Wegmans opened with about 400 employees and pulls shoppers from across the Pike corridor every day. Genki Wagyu House is literally next door to the store.
Parking and transit help too. The developer's directions page lists the garage at 850 Festival Street. The first two hours are free, then $3 for two to three hours, $4 for three to four hours, $15 for four to eight hours, and $30 for longer stays. The same page lists Red Line service plus Metrobus routes 5, 26 and 46. The city's Phase II filing puts the site less than 1,000 feet from the Twinbrook Metro entrance and describes Chapman Avenue as the walking and biking route to the station.
On parking, before Wegmans opened, its December 2024 announcement said 90 minutes would be free. The developer's current page says two hours. If a long hot pot dinner might run past that, check the signs in the garage before you settle in.
Still Behind the Plywood
The next opening looks like a noodle shop. Construction has picked up at Slurp Noodles, at the corner of Halpine Road and Chapman Avenue behind Wegmans. There's no announced date, but The MoCo Show reports the pace of work suggests it could open by the end of the year. A restaurant with the same name is also opening in the Baltimore area. That one is owned by Jerry Chan, who opened Lanzhou Pull Noodle at Rio Lakefront in Gaithersburg.
RIVA Boutique has signed for the space between Slurp Noodles and Bonne Nail Bar. Few details have been released, and construction hasn't started. Once both are open, Chapman Avenue will have a full row of storefronts facing the back of the grocery store.
The Park Is Starting to Pull Its Weight
Twinbrook Quarter's first year was mostly about storefronts. This fall the outdoor space is getting used as well. On Friday, October 9 at 5:30 p.m., Central Park at 850 Festival Street hosts a free Halloween screening of Hocus Pocus. The event includes popcorn, treats and face painting, and the listing tells guests to bring blankets and lawn chairs. It also suggests picking up food from Wegmans and the newer Twinbrook Quarter restaurants, and the developer asks guests to sign up in advance.
For a Friday evening with kids, that's a full plan within one block:
- Park in the Festival Street garage, or walk over from Twinbrook Metro.
- Pick up dinner from Wegmans or from a counter on Festival Street or Chapman Avenue.
- Grab a Molly Tea for the walk across Festival Street to the lawn.
- Head home before the two free hours run out.
Programming like this is what the next phase is designed around. The Phase II plan describes Festival Street as an edge of the central park, with outdoor seating and dining alongside, and a park designed for events and community gatherings.
What the Block North of Festival Street Could Add
The current storefronts are only part of what's been approved for this site. In April 2019, Rockville approved a project plan allowing up to 1,865 homes, 431,440 square feet of office, 472,950 square feet of retail, and 9,000 square feet of entertainment uses. Phase I, which Saul Centers says opened in October 2024, used only a fraction of that.
Phase II would sit on the block just north of Phase I and Festival Street. The proposal calls for up to 413 homes and 77,500 square feet of retail and restaurant space. It includes two floors of shops and restaurants below the apartments, a separate one-story retail building framing the park, and a four-level underground garage with about 610 spaces.
That's roughly three times the small-shop retail in Phase I. For now it's a plan, not a schedule. The city's project page for case 2026-149-STP shows the application received in September 2025 and a Development Review Committee meeting held November 13, 2025. The Planning Commission meeting is still listed as pending.
The Same Pattern Farther Up the Pike
Twinbrook Quarter isn't the only place on Rockville Pike landing first locations this year. Other openings around the city since June:
| Business | Location | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Wonder | 12240 Rockville Pike, Towne Plaza | Grand opening scheduled for June 4; the brand's first Montgomery County location |
| Just Salad | 12242 Rockville Pike, Towne Plaza | Maryland's first location; signage up, no opening date |
| Bogotá Coffee House | 115 North Washington Street, downtown | Opened week of September 24 |
| Mango Mango House of Desserts | Congressional Plaza | Opened week of September 24 |
| Teas'n You | 838 Rockville Pike | Open as of October 1 |
| Nordstrom Rack | 1683 Rockville Pike, Congressional Plaza | Scheduled to open October 29 |
There's one more October date in between. The city's free Rockville Antique and Classic Car Show takes over Rockville Civic Center Park at 603 Edmonston Drive on Saturday, October 17, from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The city lists 33 car clubs, a flea market, car sales, live music and food.
The Towne Plaza openings follow the Twinbrook pattern: Wonder was a first for Montgomery County, and Just Salad will be a first for Maryland. Twinbrook Quarter is where that pattern is most concentrated, with three firsts on two short streets behind one grocery store, a noodle shop on the way, and a larger second phase waiting on a Planning Commission date.
If you own near Twinbrook, Phase II is a good reason to keep an eye on the city's case file, since a pending Planning Commission meeting is where a plan like this starts to get a timeline. Payam Bakhaje has spent more than two decades tracking how projects like this move along Rockville Pike. If you'd like to talk through what the Twinbrook Quarter plans could mean for a property you own or are considering, let's connect.
