Coming soon signage is now up for Guapo’s Taqueria and Charcoal Chicken at the former California Tortilla location at 12211 Darnestown Road in Gaithersburg. The new restaurant will replace the long-running fast-casual Mexican spot, which closed permanently last week.

The closure marked the second California Tortilla location to shut down in Gaithersburg within the past year. The company’s restaurant at 255 Spectrum Avenue in the Spectrum Town Center closed in November 2024, leaving the city without any remaining California Tortilla locations.

Guapo’s Taqueria and Charcoal Chicken will bring the local restaurant group’s popular fast-casual concept back to Gaithersburg. The brand, operated by the same family behind the long-running Guapo’s Restaurant chain, currently has three similar locations in Northern Virginia. Each offers a streamlined version of the full-service Guapo’s menu, focusing on rotisserie chicken, tacos, burritos, and Latin American sides made fresh daily.

As longtime locals may remember, Guapo’s previously operated a fast-casual restaurant at 411 N Frederick Road (Route 355) in Gaithersburg. That location opened in December 2010 before closing in 2017, when Ixtapalapa Taqueria took over the space. An opening date has not been announced yet.

Federal Realty has announced that Nordstrom Rack will open a 26,000 square foot store at Congressional Plaza in Rockville in fall 2026.

Nordstrom Rack serves as Nordstrom, Inc.’s off-price retail division and offers up to 70 percent off clothing, accessories, beauty products, home goods, and footwear.

“We look forward to being a part of the Rockville community and serving our customers with an amazing offering of great brands at great prices,” said Gemma Lionello, President of Nordstrom Rack. “We’re excited to grow our footprint in the Washington D.C. market and introduce new customers to the Nordstrom experience.” Lionello added that in this location “customers will be able to take advantage of our convenient services such as online order pick up from both Nordstrom.com and NordstromRack.com, and they can make returns easily.”

Congressional Plaza is also home to Barnes & Nobel, Fresh Market, Taco Bamba, and Ulta.

“We are delighted to welcome Nordstrom Rack to Rockville’s Congressional Plaza,” said Christian Melgard, Vice President, Federal. “Congressional Plaza has been the shopping destination of choice along Rockville Pike for decades. Nordstrom Rack will be a strong complement to our boutique fitness offerings at FITRow (Orangetheory, Pure Barre and Core Power Yoga), as well as the mix of national and local shopping, dining, and service brands. This highly-desirable retail addition further elevates the exceptional experience we offer our customers.”