Owner: Town Square Grocery 'Going Forward'

The owner of a Richmond, VA-based grocery store that wants to open in Rockville Town Square said this week that things are moving forward in spite of .

“The lease is contingent on that [license],” said Rick Hood, owner of Ellwood Thompson’s Local Market, in an interview with Rockville Patch. “We’ve got the license and we’re going forward.”

The Montgomery County Circuit Court is expected to hear the appeal in the fall.

The appeal, by , has proven to be a bit of a speed bump in a projected opening date. 

“We’ve just been looking at the beer and wine situation,” said Hood, who was in town for Monday’s Rockville City Council meeting. “The discussion took a couple weeks. So [there was] a little delay because of the unexpected action by Tiger.”

After the in July, . Now, he said, a March or April opening is more likely.

Hood said the store is working to finalize “typical lease language issues” with Federal Realty Investment Trust, the owner and operator of Town Square.

“Both sides are pushing to get it done quickly,” he said.

The proposed grocery cleared another hurdle on Monday as the City Council unanimously approved a sign plan.

Hood called approval of the plan “a major step.” He said he hopes the signs will make it easier for visitors to Town Square to find the store, which would be tucked in a corner of the retail center at 225 N. Washington St. and Beall Avenue.

The city is still negotiating with Federal Realty over .

“We’re not on the Town Square,” Hood said. “The Town Square, it’s just extremely important to us to be connected to that.”

Hood said he did not meet with the mayor or City Council on Monday.

He acknowledged the support for the store by Rockville residents, Federal Realty and the council, which enlisted city manager Scott Ullery to read a letter in support of the beer and wine license during July’s board hearing.

“That just helps when you’ve got a community that is supportive and wants you and knows who you are, [and who] appreciates your values and mission,” he said. “So that’s why we were attracted to Rockville. I think that we fit what they’re looking for."