Silver Spring neighbors complain of fried chicken aroma from Royal Farms

Could you ever get tired of the aroma of fresh Royal Farms fried chicken? Some neighbors of the new Royal Farms store at 9475 Georgia Avenue, in the Montgomery Hills area of Silver Spring, have. And the Maryland convenience store chain has heard them. The company has agreed to install a "Chicken Exhaust Scrubber," which it hopes will "resolve the aroma of fried chicken in the neighborhood." Royal Farms is directly adjacent to a residential neighborhood.

Photo courtesy Royal Farms

Montgomery Hills Car Wash demolished, but hidden historic cemetery remains

The Montgomery Hills Car Wash at 9500 Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring has been demolished. But buried underneath the landmark business remains an earlier, lost landmark: Mount Zion Episcopal Cemetery. The property has been purchased by the Maryland State Highway Administration for use as a construction staging area for the War-on-cars Georgia Avenue Safety and Accessibility Project. It's certainly disrespectful, to use a burial ground as a staging area. But probably par for the course for today's SHA, which has become heavily politicized over the last decade, responding to the every need of our corrupt elected officials, engineering best practices and basic human decency be damned.

MoCo Crust pizzeria coming soon to Silver Spring

MoCo Crust, a pizzeria offering "crafted cocktails," is coming soon to the Montgomery Hills area of Silver Spring. It will be at 1907 Seminary Road, the previous home of Meleket Ethiopian Restaurant, which closed earlier this year. One permanent sign has been installed above the storefront. A message posted in the window says that MoCo Crust is being opened by the same team behind neighboring restaurant Lime & Cilantro.

Royal Farms to host soft opening event with free meals ahead of opening in Silver Spring

It's deja vu all over again as Royal Farms will try for a second time to open its new convenience store and mega gas station in the Montgomery Hills area of Silver Spring. As it did before its scuppered May opening, Royal Farms will host a soft opening prior to the June 1 grand opening of the store at 9475 Georgia Avenue. What's in it for you? A free meal! 

Just sign up for a timeslot during the soft opening on May 27 and 28, 2026. Then go to the Silver Spring Royal Farms and arrive 5 minutes before your scheduled time. Have your ticket printed out, or ready to show on your phone screen. When it is your scheduled time, go into the vestibule of the store entrance, or to the tent at the side of the store, and a Royal Farms "ambassador" will guide you to receiving your free meal. Let's hope that free meal includes their famous fried chicken!

Mount Zion Methodist Episcopal Cemetery remembered in Silver Spring

A banner has been placed at a former car wash site to remind the public that there was a church at this location in the Montgomery Hills area of Silver Spring - and that many of its members remain interred beneath more recent buildings and asphalt today. Mount Zion Methodist Episcopal Church was a landmark at Georgia Avenue and Seminary Road from 1825 to 1964. The church was sold in 1964, but the burial ground associated with it was somehow allowed to be built over by Montgomery County. This was hardly an unusual abomination in the County during the 1960s, tragically.

The good news is that the descendants of some of those buried here are on the case now. Ground penetrating radar has identified over 100 confirmed or potential graves. Some may even be beneath Georgia Avenue itself. The descendants are asking the Maryland State Highway Administration to exhume remains from graves under Georgia Avenue, and reinter them within the burial ground, and return the properties associated with the cemetery to a memorial park use.

It's heartening to see the tragedy of Moses African Cemetery in Bethesda lead to a reexamination of similar travesties countywide. The fascinating part is that the political cartel that runs the County behind the curtain loudly declares its purported belief that "Black Lives Matter," but pushes back with every ounce of strength against actual Black people advocating for the poor souls whose eternal rest has been - and still is - threatened by the rapacious real estate development that is The Only Thing That Matters to the Montgomery County cartel.

Royal Farms postpones opening in Silver Spring

UPDATE - May 5, 2026, 5:18 PM: Royal Farms has postponed the opening to June 1. 

The Force is with Royal Farms. Maryland's homegrown mega gas station and convenience store chain opened its newest location this morning at 9475 Georgia Avenue, in the Montgomery Hills area of Silver Spring. It's just south of the interchange with the Capital Beltway. Open 24 hours a day, the station boasts 8 gas pumps and the store serves the chain's famous fried chicken. Now you can stock up on both before you hit the highway to Ocean City this summer.

"Royal Farms has been a Maryland staple since 1959, and opening this Silver Spring location allows us to deepen our connection to our home state," Royal Farms District Leader Steve Rymer said in a statement. "We take great pride in serving our neighbors, and we’re eager to bring our signature fresh-food experience to the Georgia Avenue corridor."

Gas station burglarized in Montgomery Hills area of Silver Spring

Montgomery County police responded to a report of a burglary at a gas station in the Montgomery Hills area of Silver Spring on March 13, 2026. The burglary was reported at the Marathon station at 9501 Georgia Avenue. Officers responding to the scene found evidence of forced entry to the business. They determined property was stolen from inside the station. The break-in is believed to have occurred between 8:00 PM on March 12 and 8:00 AM on March 13.

Police have not released any description of the intruder(s) as of this writing. They did not specify how anyone involved managed to avoid being caught on surveillance cameras at the station. If you have any information about this incident call police at (301) 279-8000.

Chicken arrives at Royal Farms in Silver Spring (Photos)

The chicken has arrived at the new Royal Farms in Silver Spring. No, not the convenience store chain's famous fried chicken, but a giant fiberglass rooster. Seen outside of many Royal Farms locations, the imposing statue has taken up residence at this one, which is located at 9475 Georgia Avenue in the Montgomery Hills neighborhood just south of the Capital Beltway interchange. Still needed before the store and mega gas station can open: pavement in the parking lot!

Significant progress at Royal Farms in Silver Spring (Photos)

Construction has been dragging on forever at the future Royal Farms at 9475 Georgia Avenue in the Montgomery Hills area of Silver Spring, but there has been a spurt of progress at a higher pace since my last report in December. Most obvious is the completed installation of the tall roadside sign that will display gas prices. It's notably taller than the sign permitted at the Royal Farms in Gaithersburg. Second most-obvious is the progress on the convenience store building. Windows and a brick facade treatment have been installed, but no logo above the storefront yet.

Royal Farms Montgomery Hills construction update (Photos)

Construction progress on the future Royal Farms convenience store and mega gas station in Montgomery Hills keeps creep, creep, creeping along. There's finally some Tyvek on a solid part of the otherwise-still-skeletal framework of the store building. The most obvious addition is the Royal Farms logo on the gas pump canopy. Royal Farms is being constructed at 9475 Georgia Avenue, near the Capital Beltway interchange.

Royal Farms Montgomery Hills construction update (Photos)

Construction of the new Royal Farms convenience store and mega gas station at 9475 Georgia Avenue in Montgomery Hills is proceeding at a slower pace than the chain's first Montgomery County location in Gaithersburg. Little seems to have been done on the store building since my last update. Much of the lot remains unpaved. Two large pylons have been erected, possibly to support a sign, although it's hard to think of another sign of that height being permitted in recent years under the County's oppressive sign regulations.

Gas pumps installed at Royal Farms in Montgomery Hills

Gas pumps have been installed at the future Royal Farms in Montgomery Hills. The convenience store and mega gas station continues to take shape at 9475 Georgia Avenue, very close to the Capital Beltway interchange. Not much progress has been made on the convenience store building, by contrast. The regional chain has not given a target opening date for this location yet, but I do not see any job listings for it on their website as of this writing, so we'd be lucky if this store opens by late 2025 based on the current state of construction.