Westfield Montgomery New Stores and What's Ahead in 2026

Near Cinnabon, the dining corner at Westfield Montgomery has changed more in the past six weeks than in most years. Wetzel's Pretzels opened there on October 8. Kami Ramen, next door, was still "expected to open shortly" that same week. Across the mall, Shotted is getting ready to open in what used to be Gold Bunny Donuts. Ay! Mamá Taqueria is serving birria in the former Falafel Inc space next to Chick-fil-A.

With the financing news from September, these openings show how the mall's owner is remaking 7101 Democracy Boulevard. The approved master plan is still waiting, and in the meantime the owner is filling the building it already has.

The Dining Corner Tells the Story

Most new arrivals this fall are going into spaces another tenant just left. Pollo Campero closed its food-court location in early September after a little more than two years. Within weeks, two new food names had opened nearby and two more were on the way.

The new names are not generic food-court chains. According to The MoCo Show, Ay! Mamá Taqueria is a family-owned restaurant that started in downtown Silver Spring at Solaire Social, first as J&J Mex-Taqueria. Shotted is a Saudi-inspired coffee shop from Northern Virginia. The mall will be its first Montgomery County location and its second in Maryland, after an Annapolis opening earlier this year. HEYTEA, the tea chain known for cheese foam, is taking the former Luggage Plus space on the lower level later this year. Its first county location, at 891-F Rockville Pike in Wintergreen Plaza, drew lines through the shopping center when it opened in June.

Collectibles fit the same pattern. POP MART opened in the old Squishable space and held its grand opening on September 5. In early 2025, POP MART's vending machine on the dining terrace sometimes sold out of Labubu figures and had to shut down temporarily. A full store came about a year and a half later.

Who Moved Into Whose Space

Here is the fall reshuffle, space by space, as reported through October 9, 2026.

Not every change is an arrival. QToys closed less than a year after opening, and Kickz left after four years, Store Reporter reported. No permanent replacement has been named for either space. Esvin's Bagels and Cafe, a family-owned bagel shop slated for the lower level near Old Navy and The Cheesecake Factory, told The MoCo Show in June that it had its permits. It still has no opening date.

Zara's Move Is the Largest Bet on the Board

In December, Zara will leave its current space in the Nordstrom wing for the former Gap and Gap Kids location. It will be Zara's first two-level store in Maryland. A retailer that adds a floor in a building is committing to it for years. The rest of the list shows a similar pull. PacSun is coming back after closing its earlier location here in 2023. MINISO is reopening in its old lower-level space near Macy's after closing in July 2025. Q Fashion, which shut its previous store last year, is back in the former Forever 21.

Earlier in the year the additions skewed upscale. In August, the Potomac Beacon listed gorjana, Arc'teryx, Beyond Yoga and Shiki Fusion among the mall's 2026 openings and reported that L'Occitane had moved to a new spot. Macy's and Nordstrom remain the anchors, with AMC as the theater.

Three brands coming back and one expanding vertically is a lot of renewed commitment in one season. It matches a decision the owner made about the mall a few years ago.

The Loan That Got Paid Instead of Extended

Westfield Montgomery is owned by Paris-based Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield. In 2022, URW said it would sell its entire $13.2 billion U.S. portfolio by the end of 2023. It changed course and decided to keep 11 high-performing flagship malls while selling noncore properties. The MoCo Show reported in September that URW has fully paid off a $350 million loan tied to 836,000 square feet of the 1.2 million-square-foot mall. The loan, taken out in 2014, had been in special servicing for more than two years. It was originally due in August 2024 and was extended two years. URW paid it off before the August 2026 deadline.

Citing Bisnow, The MoCo Show reported that Morningstar Credit called the payoff a "rarity in a cycle" in which mall loans have frequently been extended. Morningstar's David Putro also said the property's net cash flow remained well below what was projected when the loan was made. Store Reporter added that the mall's valuation fell by nearly half between 2014 and 2024. It also reported that URW recently bought out its investment partner and now owns the mall outright.

An owner whose cash flow is below plan, and who still pays off a loan instead of extending it again, is putting its own money into the property. That fits the tenant activity. Filling vacated storefronts with brands that are drawing crowds elsewhere in the county, like HEYTEA, POP MART and Shotted, costs far less than a ground-up redevelopment. It also improves the mall while the larger plan is still undecided.

The 2020 Plan, Still on Paper

The larger plan already exists. Montgomery County's development record for the mall shows a 59.45-acre site plan under the Rock Spring Sector Plan. The Planning Board approved it with conditions on July 16, 2020, for 717 multifamily units and 1,985,661 square feet of regional shopping center, and adopted the resolution on September 10, 2020. The approval covered housing, open-air retail and restaurants, pedestrian promenades and public spaces. According to The MoCo Show in September, none of it has started and the plan's future is undecided.

The concepts described in 2020 included tearing down the former Sears for apartments, a garage, outdoor retail and a fitness center expected to be Life Time Athletic. They also included eventually merging Macy's apparel and home goods into one multi-level store. Those details come from the 2020 proposal and have not been updated publicly since. Store Reporter wrote in September that it is "hearing" a whole new redevelopment plan is in the works. URW has not confirmed this, and Bisnow reported that a company spokesperson did not respond to its request for comment.

The same thing has been happening a few miles east. Our look at what replaced The Cheesecake Factory on Wisconsin Avenue followed a retail corridor reorganizing itself around nearby residents, one lease at a time. Westfield Montgomery is a bigger version of that process, with one owner choosing each replacement.

Planning a Visit This Season

• New rules after 3 p.m. Since September 28, visitors under 18 at Westfield Montgomery and Westfield Wheaton must be with a parent, guardian or chaperone age 21 or older from 3 p.m. until closing every day. One adult may supervise up to four minors. Teens who work at the mall are exempt, as are what Westfield calls "legitimate emergencies," according to DC News Now. WJLA reported that the rules apply to interior and exterior common areas and that security officers may ask for identification.
• Holiday pop-ups are already open. Sheepskin Gifts & Alpaca Too is back for its yearly holiday run on the lower level next to Lululemon. Tesla opened a holiday pop-up outside Nordstrom on October 8, and Just Cozy is taking the former Kickz space for the season.
• Santa and holiday hours are not posted yet. As of October 12, the mall's events page listed only promotions running through October 18, with no Santa photos, Black Friday hours or extended holiday schedule.
• December is the month to watch. Zara's two-level store is due to open then, and HEYTEA and PacSun are both slated for later in 2026.

For more on what's changing closer to downtown, see our report on Bethesda's summer restaurant openings and our Bethesda neighborhood guide.

What happens at Westfield Montgomery affects how the surrounding Rock Spring and Democracy Boulevard area works day to day, and its 2020 approval is still on the books. If you'd like to talk through how plans like this one tend to develop, Jill Schwartz Group is glad to share what we follow in the area. Request a private, confidential consultation.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.