5 Upcoming MoCo Restaurant Openings That Have Created The Most Buzz (March 2022 Edition)

Lapu Lapu is the sister restaurant of popular Rockville restaurant Kuya Ja’s Lechon Belly. The upcoming restaurant will be taking over the 325 square foot storefront that was formerly home to Tex-Mex restaurant Peppers, located next to Vasili’s. It will specialize in breakfast sandwiches.

The restaurant has been doing pop-ups that allow future customers to sample the breakfast sandwiches that’ll be served at  at Kuya Ja’s (5268-H Nicholson Lane) for takeout or delivery, as dine-in is not currently being offered. The upcoming restaurant will be taking over the 325 square foot storefront that was formerly home to Tex-Mex restaurant Peppers, located next to Vasili’s. It will specialize in breakfast sandwiches.

Kuya Ja has recently been holding Lapu Lapu “pop ups” at their Rockville location on Saturday’s.

Per the restaurant’s Instagram account, Lapu Lapu is currently hiring and anticipates to open prior to spring. Featured photo by Lapu Lapu via @nnewgenn.

 

HalfSmoke gets a two-for-one as the announcement of the upcoming Bethesda kiosk location has rekindled interest for the long-awaited Rockville Town Square restaurant.

Back in August of 2020 we let you know that HalfSmoke would be opening a Rockville location in Rockville Town Square. Though it hasn’t opened yet, it’s still in the plans for the DC-based restaurant.

Now we know of a new location, HalfSmoke Bethesda, which will be opening in the Montgomery Mall food court, as first reported by The MoCo Source on Instagram. It will be located in the former home of Coldstone Creamery and more recently Gelato Galaxy.

HalfSmoke was the first restaurant of its kind to serve gourmet sausages via an assembly line format. Its sausages and toppings can be fully customized to create over 50,000 variations. The HalfSmoke menu also features craft beer, Mac and cheese balls, tater tots, milkshakes, funnel cakes, wine, cocktails, and more, but there is no word on if the Montgomery Mall location will offer everything the DC restaurant does.

HalfSmoke’s Butter Me Up will also be opening in Montgomery Mall. No word yet on an opening date for either restaurant.

 

Frank Pepe’s Pizzeria (Bethesda)

After a last minute delay, Connecticut-based Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana  has announced they will be opening its first DMV location at Bethesda’s Westfield Montgomery Mall (7101 Democracy Blvd) on Monday, March 28.

Frank Pepe’s is located in the old Bobby’s Burger Palace location on the lower level across from Cheesecake Factory. The Daily Meal has referred to Frank Pepe’s as “America’s finest pizzeria” and many publications have tabbed the pizza joints as a must-try in the New England area.

Per its website, Frank Pepe originated the New Haven-style thin crust pizza which he baked in bread ovens fired by coke. Coke is a byproduct of coal and it was used extensively until the late 1960’s when it became unavailable and hence coal was then put into use to fire the oven.

Pepe’s signature pizza, the White Clam Pizza, was most likely an organic inspiration by Frank Pepe; an idea born from the fact that Pepe’s also served raw little neck clams from Rhode Island, on the half shell, as an appetizer.

 

Kusshi.ko, a restaurant by the folks who have brought you Kusshi Sushi (Pike & Rose), Hanaro (Bethesda), and Poke Dojo (Bethesda Row), will be moving into the location formerly occupied by Gusto in Downtown Silver Spring (8512 Fenton Street).

For now, management tells us they know that sushi will be part of what the restaurant offers, but they’re looking into doing more than just sushi with the space. “We know it‘ll be more quick service style,” owner Wesley Yao tells us.

Gusto announced its permanent closure in January of this year and the ink is still drying on this contract with plenty of construction likely, so it’ll likely be a while before we see Kusshi.ko make its Downtown Silver Spring debut. They are about 33% done with construction.

You can follow the progress on their Instagram account, @kusshiko

 

Shake Shack has fenced off site of its upcoming Kentlands location as it prepares to break ground for its third location in Montgomery County.On July 8, 2021, Shake Shack was granted approval for the construction of a 4,700 square foot building with outdoor seating as the second of three commercial infill sites totaling 16,000 square feet along Kentlands Square Place. The burger chain was granted its license to sell beer and wine on the premises during its Alcohol Beverage Services (ABS) hearing on January 6th.

The approval was for the first of three infill sites was granted for the construction of a 2,100 square foot Starbucks building with drive through and outdoor seating. Starbucks opened in January of 2021, a little over a year ago. Depending on how construction progresses, the restaurant could be open in the second half of 2022.

 

Worth a mention: Wawa (Gaithersburg)

While many argue that Wawa isn’t a restaurant, the buzz around this convenience store/gas station isn’t due to the gas that it offers. Since the approval of its final site plan in December, Wawa has applied for site development and demolition permits. Last night (2/22/22), Gaithersburg City Councilmember Neil Harris told us that demolition and site development permits have been issued and that construction will begin sometime “very soon.”