Business & Tech

Town Square Grocery Lease Signed

Federal Realty: The store will open in spring and will be called Dawson's Market.

The long wait for a grocery store in Rockville Town Square should be over in early spring.

Federal Realty Investment Trust announced Monday that it had finalized a lease with the owners of to bring an organic market to the commercial and residential district in Rockville Town Center.

The new market will be named Dawson’s Market. The name is a nod to the family that owned in what is now the Hungerford neighborhood of Rockville. Another family home, the , is on West Montgomery Avenue near Town Center. It is the home of the .

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

"We look forward to partnering with local vendors, farmers and artisans, and working with Federal Realty to bring our local market concept to Rockville Town Square,” Ellwood Thompson’s owner Rick Hood said in a news release on Monday. “We have chosen the name 'Dawson's Market' because of the heritage of the Dawson family and farm in the area. Like the Dawson's [sic] did, we will be supporting the local Rockville community while providing healthy and local products to our customers.”

Hood said last month that . Federal Realty confirmed a spring opening in the release announcing the finalized lease.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

, another Town Center business, recently dropped .

The lease marks a milestone after years of fits and stops in the effort to open a grocery at . The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company, Inc., of Montvale, NJ, better known as A&P, signed a 20-year lease in 2007. But in March 2010, amid financial difficulties that eventually led A&P to declare bankruptcy, the company announced that it would not open a store in Town Square.

The 15,000-square-foot Dawson's Market will offer local and organic produce, meats, cheeses, prepared foods and baked goods, according to the release.

Like its Richmond predecessor the market plans to work with local farmers and continue a tradition of community support “through its fiscal and in-kind donations, sustainable business choices, animal welfare and environmental consciousness,” the release said.

“Dawson’s Market’s unique concept is a perfect fit for Rockville Town Square,” said Robin McBride, vice president and Mid-Atlantic region chief operating officer for Federal Realty. “We are excited to bring such a tremendous amenity to the Rockville community and would like to thank the City of Rockville for being a valuable partner in helping to make this happen.”


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here