Back in October we let you know that Moby Dick House of Kabob signed on to join the redeveloped Burtonsville Crossing shopping center. Construction has progressed and the restaurant appears ready to open very soon, though an exact date is not yet available (photo below).
This will be the Persian kabob restaurant chain’s 27th restaurant overall and 8th in Montgomery County, where it all started in 1989 with its Bethesda location. Moby Dick’s 7th MoCo location is coming soon to North Bethesda. The restaurant offers “authentic Persian food with a Mediterranean flair.”
Founder Mike Daryoush emigrated to the United States from Iran in 1975. He opened a small sandwich shop in 1987 in Bethesda, Maryland, serving a few Middle Eastern dishes. He changed to a Persian menu and added a clay oven in 1989. The name references one of the biggest kabob joints in Tehran, which was right near the American Embassy during the Shah’s time. It was called Moby Dick, apparently because the owner really liked the book. Daryoush passed away on May 9, 2019, only a week after the chain’s 30th anniversary.
“The Moby Dick House of Kabob story is not unlike many other great ‘realize the American dream’ stories: have an idea, work hard to make it happen, create value for others, and your idea matures into a successful venture. Through it all, Moby Dick continues to be unyielding in the belief of “never cutting corners.” This is the inspiration behind the kabobs, gyros, falafel, baklava, and our other food items with the character that you love and crave.”
EDENS has received a $3.5 million grant to renovate the Burtonsville Crossing shopping center. Last August, the State Board of Public Works released $3.5 million in funding dedicated to the redevelopment of Burtonsville Crossing Shopping Center. The District 14 Legislative Delegation, consisting of Senator Craig J. Zucker, Delegates Anne Kaiser, Bernice Mireku-North, and Pamela Queen, requested that the funding be secured after hearing the community’s visions for the future of the space.
