Kentlands Is Refilling Its Empty Big Boxes One Slice at a Time

The former Party City at Kentlands Square used to sell balloons and paper plates. It's now split into three storefronts. A food hall opened there in August, and a Pilates studio and a 24-hour emergency hospital for pets are on the way. The old Buca di Beppo around the corner is also being split in two. Most of the empty space in Kentlands this year is being cut into smaller units and filled with places you go to eat, exercise or get help. Very little of it is going to stores that sell things off a shelf.

One party store became three different reasons to stop

After Party City closed, the space was divided into three separate storefronts. The three tenants have very little in common:

1. Wonder opened first. It had a three-day soft opening starting August 10, and Patch reported the grand opening and ribbon-cutting for August 13. Wonder's own location page gives the address as 124 Main Street. According to Patch, the menu includes meals inspired by Bobby Flay, Marcus Samuelsson and Michael Symon, plus goods from Tejas Barbecue and Magnolia Bakery. Patch also counted this as one of the brand's 11 Maryland locations.
2. STRONG Pilates took the third storefront. The MoCo Show confirmed it in July, and no opening timeframe had been announced.
3. VEG ER for Pets, short for Veterinary Emergency Group, will be the network's first location in Montgomery County.

Wonder doesn't work like a food court with separate stalls. One team runs a single kitchen and prepares every dish. Much of the prep happens at a central hub in New Jersey, and the food is finished on site in high-speed ovens. That lets one order combine dishes from several chefs, all arriving in one bag with one delivery fee. The concept is built mostly for delivery, but it still needs a storefront. A big-box space split into thirds gives it a smaller footprint in a center people already drive to.

For pet owners, VEG matters most. The MoCo Show describes its hospitals as emergency-only and open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. No appointment is needed. You can walk in or call ahead and talk directly with a veterinarian. They treat dogs and cats as well as birds, reptiles, rabbits and ferrets. Permanent signs went up by early October, and the MoCo Show reported the progress. The company hasn't announced an opening date. The outlet's guess of possibly by year's end comes from what's visible on site, not from VEG.

The Buca di Beppo space went through two bakeries before it settled

Buca di Beppo at 112 Kentlands Blvd. closed in June 2024, before the chain filed for bankruptcy. The first plan for the space was Tatte Bakery & Cafe. By late June 2026 the MoCo Show reported that Tatte was out and another bakery was in. The plans had changed a few months earlier, and no reason was given.

That bakery is Maman, a French-inspired café that started in SoHo. Its first location outside New York opened in June 2022 at 7140 Bethesda Ln. in Bethesda. The menu includes croissants, kouign maman, loaf cakes, scones and beignets, and the café is best known for its nutty chocolate chip cookie. Construction was underway in August, according to the MoCo Show, and the outlet's October roundup still listed it as coming, with no date.

Mattress Warehouse is taking the other half of the building. It's the one traditional retailer among the five tenants moving into the two big spaces. Across the two buildings, a party-supply store and a family-style Italian restaurant are being replaced by a food hall, a Pilates studio, an animal hospital, a bakery café and a mattress showroom.

The smaller storefronts are turning over the same way

Kentlands' inline spaces are following the same pattern on a smaller scale. Every space below has a new tenant on the way, according to the MoCo Show's October roundup. None was confirmed open at that point.

Arepa King's corn arepas are naturally gluten-free. The owner recommends the King Arepa, also called the traditional Arepa de Pabellón, for a first visit. It's filled with shredded beef, black beans, sweet plantains and cheese. Gina's Cucina Siciliana bases its menu on recipes from the Sicilian regions of Agrigento and Messina: arancini, spiedini, pasta puttanesca, chicken marsala and Sicilian pizza.

Sweathouz first came to Maryland in March 2025 at 11564 Old Georgetown Road in North Bethesda, so the Kentlands location brings that routine closer to Gaithersburg.

Catlands has taken the longest. Its space at 375 Main St. held the short-lived Baby Bar in 2023. A sign for Colour Couture Salon went up after that, but the salon never opened. The cat lounge was aiming for October in the MoCo Show's August roundup. By October 4 the target had moved to the end of 2026. It will be Montgomery County's first adoptable cat lounge, built around the idea of "play, lounge, adopt."

Of the five, only Compari Trattoria and Gina's are replacing a restaurant with another sit-down restaurant. The other three move in a different direction: a cookie shop becomes a counter-service arepa spot, a poke bowl spot becomes a wellness studio, and a storefront that never got a lasting tenant becomes a cat adoption lounge.

New buildings are next, with nothing signed yet

The next change is new construction rather than reuse. Saul Centers, which handles leasing for Kentlands Square, is marketing three new buildings on the land between Chipotle and Lowe's on one side and At Home on the other, according to the MoCo Show's October roundup. The building nearest Chipotle and the middle building will each have four tenant spaces. The building nearest Lowe's is planned as a standalone drive-through restaurant. No tenants have been announced, and the businesses in the marketing renderings are concepts, not signed leases. There's no construction timeline yet.

Eight small spaces and a drive-through suit restaurants and service businesses, the same kinds of tenants filling the old big boxes.

When the calendar sends you back to Kentlands and beyond

The same cafés, studios and storefronts will see holiday traffic soon, and the city's season starts sooner than the light shows. The first deadline is October 23.

• Through October 23: This year is the 100th anniversary of Gaithersburg's Jingle Jubilee tree lighting. For the first time, the city is inviting community groups to apply to perform. Choirs, bands, dance troupes, theater groups and youth ensembles can apply through October 23.
• October 24–25: The Fall Artisan Market at Rio Lakefront brings more than 50 local makers each day, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• November 3 through January 17: Artists on Market at 305 Main St. holds its annual Treasures of the Season holiday show, with a reception on November 15 from 5 to 8 p.m.
• November 20: S'more Lights at Seneca Creek State Park, 6 to 9 p.m., includes a trolley ride through the displays, Santa, music and a take-home craft.
• November 27 through December 31: The Winter Lights Festival returns for its 31st season at Seneca Creek State Park, 11950 Clopper Road. It's closed December 25.
• December 4: Jingle Jubilee runs 6 to 8 p.m. at the City Hall Concert Pavilion in Olde Towne. Admission is free, seating is on the lawn with a limited number of chairs, and the city is collecting donations for its Holiday Giving Program.
• December 5: A Kentlands Christmas Market and Holiday Craft Show is listed for Kentlands Market Square, 2 to 8 p.m. The same day, the city's Santa's Holiday Tour stops at Kentlands Mansion for Santa's Enchanted Visit. It continues with All Aboard with Santa on December 6 at the Gaithersburg Community Museum and Cocoa with the Clauses on December 12 at Casey Community Center.
• December 7–20: Winter Walk at Casey Community Center, 810 S. Frederick Ave., has the theme "Celebrating 250 Years of Community" and includes signs about the center's history.

The Christmas Market on December 5 is set in Kentlands Market Square, the same plaza where the Buca di Beppo space is being split between Maman and Mattress Warehouse. Whichever of those tenants has opened by then will be part of that day.

I watch how Kentlands storefronts get re-leased the same way I watch home prices on the streets around them. It shows what a neighborhood can support week to week. If you'd like to talk through what this round of new tenants means for your own street, Lina McAuliffe is glad to help. Let's Connect.