Here’s a list of restaurants and businesses that have recently opened or are coming soon to Germantown, MD.
Coming Soon: Charleys Cheesesteaks
Charleys Cheesesteaks & Wings will be opening its third Germantown location at 9721 Frederick Rd. (previous home of the standalone Verizon store) in the Fox Chapel shopping center. Last year Charleys opened Germantown locations at 19877 Century Blvd and inside Walmart at 20910 Frederick Rd, taking over the space formerly occupied by McDonald’s. This Charley’s will likely also serve wings and milkshakes, like most new locations in the area.
Charley’s has additional locations in Aspen Hill, Bethesda (Montgomery Mall), Clarksburg (outlets), Gaithersburg, and Wheaton (Wheaton Mall).
Charleys is a Philly cheesesteak franchise that opened its first location across the campus of Ohio State University in 1986. While studying real estate at the school, Charley Shin worked in his mother’s Japanese/Korean restaurant in Columbus, Ohio. A wrong turn on a family trip to New York City resulted in Charley’s discovery of the Philly cheesesteak. Charley convinced his mother to sell her restaurant, and invest her life savings of $48,000 into Charley’s, a 450-square-foot restaurant across the street from Ohio State’s campus.
Coming Soon: D1 Sushi Buffet
Construction is currently underway for D1 Seafood Buffet at 19961 Century Boulevard in Germantown. The restaurant will be located in the space previously occupied by Sushi Legend Cajun Seafood and Bar, and before that the Greene Turtle. Sushi Legend closed in December 2023 after being open for less than a year. In early 2022, signage for “Four Seas Restaurant” was installed on the building, but that restaurant never opened. The Greene Turtle shut down in the summer of 2020. We will provide an update when opening information is announced. The news of D1 Seafood Buffet was first reported by Robert Dyer.
Coming Soon: Paris Baguette
Paris Baguette, “the neighborhood bakery café where communities come together over expertly crafted baked and brewed goods”, will be opening a Germantown location at 21030 Frederick Rd in the Milestone Center, according to a listing by Peterson Companies.
Paris Baguette opened its first Montgomery County bakery in Rockville Town Square in the summer of 2023. The Rockville Town Square location is located at 101 Gibbs Street and offers Korean and French baked goods. Franchise agreements have been signed to expand across 25 states with approximately 200 locations currently in the United States. Last month, we reported that the bakery will be opening a Bethesda location on the the ground floor of the new Sophia Bethesda Apartments at 4924 St. Elmo Ave.
Coming Soon: Ross
“Coming soon” and “now hiring” signage is up for Ross at 12940 Middlebrook Rd. in the Germantown Commons shopping center. It will be located in the space that was previously home to Bed Bath & Beyond, next to the recently opened Gold’s Gym.
Ross is a discount retail chain that sells clothing, shoes, and housewares with over 1,400 stores in the U.S., including Montgomery County locations in Gaithersburg, Rockville, and Silver Spring. According to Ross, “Since 1982, our focus has been on bringing our customers a constant stream of high-quality department and specialty store brands at extraordinary savings (aka bargains) while providing an easy, fun and organized shopping experience.” Earlier this year, dd’s Discounts, which is owned by Ross, opened at 18236 Contour Rd in the Montgomery Village Plaza shopping center in Gaithersburg.
Coming Soon: Smoothie King
Smoothie King has signed on to open a new location at 20630 Seneca Meadows Parkway at the Shops at Seneca Meadows development (where Wegmans is located) in Germantown. Smoothie King will be taking over part of the space that was previously home to DaMarco The Italian Place with F45 Training occupying the other portion of the space.
Permanent signage is already up at the location, but an opening date is not yet available. Smoothie King has locations in Bethesda, two in Rockville, and one in Olney that opened just last summer.
Since taking the helm, owner/CEO Wan Kim has led efforts to transform the brand’s menu from being packed with sugar and artificial flavors and colors to being health-conscious and packed with whole fruits and organic, non-GMO ingredients. The main focus is not only giving Smoothie King guests the ability to customize smoothies according to their preferences, Kim says, but pushing their product to more closely align with a healthier, active lifestyle.
Coming Soon: Starbucks
Starbucks is coming to the Germantown Square Shopping Center, taking over the space previously occupied by SunTrust/Truist bank at 12605 Wisteria Dr. Germantown Square is home to the Lancaster County Dutch Market, Dollar General, Spice Grill, and Super Chicken. In February, Outback Steakhouse closed its location at 12609 Wisteria Dr. after more than 30 years in business. We will provide an update once additional information becomes available.
Now Open: Authentic African Restaurant
Authentic African Restaurant, a new restaurant that features cuisine from various parts of the continent of Africa with a focus on cuisine from Ghana, opened in June at 13075 Wisteria Dr in Germantown Plaza. Our very own “Mr. MoCo” Alex Tsironis stopped in to support the restaurant. Below you’ll see a video of the experience:
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Now Open: Big Blue Swim School
Big Blue Swim School is now open at 13032 Middlebrook Rd in Germantown, the former site of Monkey Joe’s from 2016-2019 and Hard Times Cafe before that. Big Blue was founded in 2009 by U.S National Champion swimmer Chris DeJong and this will be the school’s first Maryland location. No opening date has been announced.
Additional information per Big Blue Swim School available below: “Big Blue Swim School teaches kids ages three months to 12 years how to be safe, happy, and confident swimmers. We offer an unparalleled weekly swim lesson experience made easier and more effective by our professional swim instructors, proprietary technology and curriculum, and our comfortable and convenient facilities. Ultra-clean, 90-degree pools; comfortable, Wi-Fi enabled viewing areas; ample changing rooms; and convenient parking are just some of the amenities that set us apart. And don’t forget, you can schedule multiple kids and different levels at the same time.”
Now Open: Hangry Joe’s
Hangry Joe’s has officially opened at 19730 Germantown Rd. Though the restaurant held a ribbon-cutting celebration on Wednesday, July 17, it didn’t officially open until Thursday, August 15th. Hangry Joe’s is located on the strip next to the Safeway, in the space that was previously home to Center Cleaners, between Acqua Nails and Thrive Pet Healthcare. The chain is know for its hot chicken sandwiches, known as the “Chicken Sando”, and allows guests to choose the spice level of the fried chicken (Plain<Mild<Medium<Hot<Angry Hot).
In additional to the chicken sandwich, the menu also consists of chicken fingers, chicken & waffles, wraps, nuggets, loaded fries, and salads. Sides include cider slaw, waffle fries, and fried okra. Hangry Joe’s has additional Montgomery County locations in Wheaton (2533 Ennals Ave), Rockville (718-B Rockville Pike and 10050 Darnestown Rd.), and recently opened Montgomery Village (19290 Montgomery Village Ave).
