Nordstrom Rack opens today at Congressional Plaza, and its address is on Rockville Pike. So is the Wegmans across the road at Twinbrook Quarter. The new places to sit down and eat in this part of Rockville have opened somewhere else. They are on Festival Street and Chapman Avenue, the short streets behind the grocery store, where a run of openings over the past ten months has turned a service-road address into a dinner plan.
The first arrivals were brands debuting in the region, places that would draw a crowd on name alone. This fall the newcomers changed. One is a kabob brand opening its first full-service restaurant. Another is a pizzeria leaving the Rockville address it already had.
The grocery store went first
Twinbrook Quarter sits at the southwest corner of Rockville Pike and Halpine Road. It is a 12-story mixed-use building anchored by a Wegmans of about 80,000 square feet, according to MoCoShow. Saul Centers, the developer, dates Phase I to October 2024. Wegmans opened at 1590 Rockville Pike on June 25, 2025.
For the next six months or so, the building mostly meant groceries. The restaurants and shops began arriving after that, in this order:
| Opened | Business | Address | What it brought |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec. 28, 2025 | Terra Gaucha | 1651 Chapman Ave. | First Maryland location, and its debut in the DC region |
| April 21, 2026 | Molly Tea | 860 Festival St. | DMV debut of a jasmine tea brand from Shenzhen |
| June 24, 2026, soft opening | Genki Wagyu House | 870 Festival St. | All-you-can-eat Wagyu and hot pot |
| June 2026 | Bonne Nail Bar | 1679 Chapman Ave. | Manicures, pedicures, nail art |
| September 2026 | ZiZa Kabob | 1675 Chapman Ave. | First Montgomery County location |
Every name in the first three rows was new to the area. This was the first chance to try them without leaving Rockville.
Festival Street got the debuts
Terra Gaucha set the tone. It is a Southern Brazilian churrascaria. Gaucho chefs carve wood-fired meats at the table, rodízio style, and picanha and ribeye keep coming through the meal. There is also a hot and cold table with salads, cheeses, charcuterie and Brazilian sides. Desserts include the restaurant's Papaya Cream. The restaurant marked its arrival with a grand-opening celebration in January, a few weeks after its Dec. 28 opening.
Molly Tea showed what a regional debut can do for a quiet side street. On its April opening day at 860 Festival St., MoCoShow reported a line wrapping around the block. The brand builds its drinks around jasmine and other floral flavors.
Two months later, Genki Wagyu House opened next door to Wegmans at 870 Festival St. It serves all-you-can-eat Wagyu with hot pot, and the broths include Sukiyaki, Shabu Dashi, Tomato, Spicy Miso, Mushroom and Tom Yum. Taken together, the first three openings handed Twinbrook Quarter a steakhouse, a tea shop and a hot pot room, each one new to the region. All of them sit within a short walk of the grocery entrance.
Chapman Avenue is drawing local operators
This fall's openings come from a different place. ZiZa Kabob opened at 1675 Chapman Ave. in September, the brand's first Montgomery County location. The menu is built on homemade Afghan family recipes: flame-grilled kabobs, stews, and rice dishes with traditional spices. The owner told MoCoShow the restaurant is 100% halal. Co-owner Fahim Rafiq described Rockville to MoCoShow as the brand's first full-service restaurant. The grand-opening celebration was set for Saturday, Oct. 17, with samples, a DJ and programming on Afghan culture.
Pizza Monkey is the clearest sign of the shift. The pizzeria wasn't new to Rockville. It already ran a kitchen at 330 North Stonestreet Ave. and chose to move. Patch reported that its last service on Stonestreet would be Aug. 31, ahead of a move to 2009 Chapman Ave. Patch's report did not give a date for the new location to open. A July MoCoShow report had put the target at September.
The next opening fits the same pattern. Slurp Noodles is under construction at the corner of Halpine Road and Chapman Avenue, behind Wegmans. MoCoShow notes that a restaurant with the same name is opening in the Baltimore area. That one is owned by Jerry Chan, who opened Lanzhou Pull Noodle at Rio Lakefront in Gaithersburg. No opening date has been announced. MoCoShow wrote in September that construction progress suggested it could open by the end of the year.
Debut brands open where landlords court them. When a pizzeria gives up an existing Rockville address for Chapman Avenue, and a kabob brand puts its first full-service dining room there, the operators themselves are judging that this block is where the customers are now.
What's still behind construction fencing
Several storefronts on the Chapman Avenue side are still on the way:
- Slurp Noodles, Halpine Road and Chapman Avenue: under construction, no announced date, a year-end opening possible.
- RIVA Boutique, between Slurp Noodles and Bonne Nail Bar: lease signed, construction not yet started as of mid-September, few details released.
- Pizza Monkey, 2009 Chapman Ave.: relocating from North Stonestreet Avenue, opening date to come.
When RIVA opens, the stretch from Bonne Nail Bar to the Halpine corner will be a continuous row of active storefronts. A shop between a nail salon and a noodle counter also gives people a reason to linger once dinner is over.
Across the Pike, starting this morning
The Pike side is changing too, with retail. Nordstrom Rack holds its grand opening today, Oct. 29, at 1683 Rockville Pike in Congressional Plaza. Patch reports that festivities start at 8 a.m., an hour before the doors open, with giveaways for early arrivals. The 26,000-square-foot store takes over the former Buy Buy Baby space, which closed at the end of July. It shares the center with the Barnes and Noble. In its announcement, Nordstrom placed Congressional Plaza across from Twinbrook Metro at Rockville Pike and Halpine Road.
That puts a big retail draw on one side of Halpine Road and a growing restaurant row on the other. A Saturday that starts at Barnes and Noble or the new Rack can end at Terra Gaucha or ZiZa Kabob without moving the car more than once.
The park that's still on paper
The part of Twinbrook Quarter people may want most hasn't been built yet. The City of Rockville's project page lists Phase 2 as "Application Under Review." The proposal calls for 413 homes and up to 77,500 square feet of retail. The application narrative describes a central park with a lawn, promenade, pavilion, and a plaza for seating and outdoor dining. The applicant has requested an eight-year implementation period.
That timeline matters for anyone hoping for a central lawn by next summer. The restaurants opening now are building their customer base on today's streets, without the plaza the plan describes. The Twinbrook Quarter events page is the place to watch for anything scheduled on site.
For now, the practical map is short. Park once near Halpine Road. Eat on Festival Street or Chapman Avenue, pick up groceries at Wegmans on the way out, and cross the Pike if the errand list includes Congressional Plaza. Slurp Noodles and Pizza Monkey are the next two names to watch on that block.
If you live near Twinbrook and want to talk through what all this new activity on Chapman Avenue might mean for your own street over the next few years, Sarro Georgatsos Group is glad to share what we're seeing up and down Rockville Pike. Contact Us whenever the timing suits you.
