Montrose Crossing Shopping Center

If you are looking to shop around in a relaxing fashion, this may not be the best place to be. Driving around and parking is a nightmare in this shopping mall. It took me 20 minutes to drive two blocks and then anotjer 20 minutes to find a parking spot. By the time I parked, I was ready to go back home.

3/19/21
A lot has changed since I lived in Rockville Maryland. I have seen new buildings get made in spots that were once parking spaces.  I will admit,  there were a lot of parking spaces. Barns&Nobles was the main attraction for this shopping area with Starbucks being an added bonus. People then traveled to other spots of this shopping center.


Chick Fill-A was the newest building to be added before I moved to Virginia.  I never saw the grand opening, but I did try the chicken the next time I was in town.
Last weekend I was back in Rockville area and saw the Barns&Nobles sign wasn't present.  I saw the Starbucks Coffee sign and started wondering if Barns&Nobles went out of business.  I did not notice that the business had moved to Congressional Plaza.  Why the move? Could be a number of reasons.  


I remember when Montrose Crossing went by another name, but just like the name Berenstein Bears, it no longer exists.  I also don't remember the name it use to be called.


My mom loved shopping at Marshlls for clothes and whatever else she could find. As a kid, I found shopping for clothing very boring.   Yes, most male kids and some females too found shopping for clothes boring. 
Now I am left with memories from a time I would go shopping with my mom.  As the song goes, "you don't what you got till it's gone."  Yes, those were good times, even if I did not see it that way at the time. 


Without the Barns&Nobles to headline the main attraction,  I think the decline for this shopping area will show up bigtime during the summertime of 2021.


Time will tell.

Eclectic. Some "anchor" stores in this kind of quirky shopping center carry the day regardless of turnover (the Golf Galaxy store was always a mystery to me): Target, Starbucks, Barnes & Noble, Tara Thai, Giant, Marshall's, Chick-Fil-A. Then there's Value City ... wut ... And now new stores: Cava, Honeygrow provide a nice uplift.

Note: Parking is a bear (mostly because there are also a lot of lousy drivers that come here plus the spaces are tight).

I work close by so I've been here a couple of times for various reasons, Starbucks stop, cleaners, Target, county run liquor store, chick-fil-a. There are a variety of shops here although this shopping center isn't super huge by any means and the stores are a bit spread out. Usually when I go here I'm going to one particular place. Trying to see people get out depending on the direction they're headed in and which exit they are using can be daunting. You can enter off of Rockville Pike, Randolph Rd., Bou Rd, and another point of entry and the name of the street has escaped me but you get the point.

Not a bad shopping center if you are specifically coming to one of the shops here otherwise if you want to browse around I'd recommend going up the road a bit further to congressional plaza.

My new favorite shopping center in Rockville Pike. New additions like CAVA and Honeygrow?! Doesn't get any better than this. Old Navy was the main reason I hung out here but with all the new spots they've added, I'm all yours. Parking can get a little
hectic but they've added more spots by the new eateries which helps. Very excited they expanded this shopping center. It's weird without the Timpano there but the environment feels more lively! More options for quick bites after spending all my money at the nearby Target and Old Navy! Super excited for all of this.

Yes, I'm aware there are individual stores in Montrose Crossing. This review is for the open-air mall as a whole, however. As well as the overall feeling of unease it evoked during the two hours I spent killing time here before a workshop nearby. MC's store selection is okay, and the restaurants look decent; location is highly convenient, and parking was a breeze. But after a sensory-overloading visit I found myself wishing I had a supply of Xanax or paper bags in the car to calm my frazzled nerves.

I don't do well with crowds and owing to some fastidious compulsions, clutter and chaos are my arch nemeses. So I only lasted about 10 minutes in Marshalls before I was running for the door, some sunshine, and a gasp of fresh air. I'd wanted to browse the shoes, but the store was *packed* with people at 4:00 in the afternoon, making it extremely difficult. There was no order to the way the merch was organized...or not organized. Stuff anywhere and everywhere. The store was loud. I felt like I was in Willy Wonka's psychedelic boat tunnel of horrors. "There's no earthly way of knowing / Which direction we are going......." [muzak version]

I made it a little longer in Old Navy (I was *killing time* OK???) but the day-glo pea coats and Little Miss Sunshine tees, completely jumbled shelves and racks of clothes, and tweens with sweatpants tucked into pink Ugg boots soon had me experiencing another desperate need to flee.

Barnes & Noble was slightly better -- quieter and less crowded -- altho the selection is pretty limited. I burned through the three-shelved psychology section on account of most of it was pseudo-psych and books about how to leave unappreciative men. Yeah, Freud is not pleased. And much of the first floor was dedicated to promoting the Nook...now in color!!!

Starbucks was another cluster, but I needed a break and ventured in anyway. At least the baristas were quick on their toes, so I soon had an overpriced bev in hand while perusing Hudson Trail Outfitters. Which was blessedly devoid of people, but so crammed with product that I couldn't maneuver the floor without my work satchel sending coat racks and kayaks teetering. Plus the exit confused me. I think I was too over-stimulated by Montrose Crossing to think clearly.

I had hoped to pop quickly into Giant to pick up a few things we needed at home, but the steady stream of patrons entering the store made it apparent there would be no "popping in" here. I didn't even bother scoping out Target.

I hail from Northern Virginia, which I *thought* set the benchmark 'round here for crowded and disordered shopping centers: Bailey's Crossroads, Bradlee, Potomac Yard...but Montrose Crossing rattled even me. Rockville in general is no joke, and Rockvillagers have my utmost respect for navigating it with enviable aplomb. I won't complain about Virginia anymore!

Who am I kidding? Yes, I will.

i used to frequent this shopping center when i was a single-digit aged child living in rockville, and eventually silver spring. there was a big giant here, and a couple of restaurants, other than that, i'm not really sure. fast forward a couple of decades, montrose crossing has become one of the largest shopping centers in rockville and boasts a large old navy, timpano's italian restaurant (great for large parties and events), barnes & noble, and a variety of other shoppes. parking is quite plentiful, and the center is also very pedestrian friendly. very convenient to 270 & montrose road.