Coming Soon to Gaithersburg (Restaurants, Retail, and More)

Below is a list of restaurants and businesses that will be coming soon to Gaithersburg, MD.
Aloha Poke Co.
Chicago based Aloha Poke Co. has announced that it will be opening a Gaithersburg location sometime in 2023.  Aloha is a fast-casual style restaurant that serves “fresh-packed and tasty bowls filled with sushi-grade fish and Hawaiian-inspired raw ingredients.” Franchise operator Mary Grace Barnebey is currently considering several options for the location, according to a report by WTOP.  Aloha has area locations at 1333 19th St and 50 Massachusetts Ave in NW, Washington, DC.
“Delicious and healthy are two things I aim to provide my family in every meal,” said Barnebey in a press release. “When I decided to bring Aloha Poke Co. to our community, I knew that the menu needed to be aligned with the way I think about taste and nutrition. I also like the franchise support system and the brand’s cornerstone belief of in fast, beautiful, sustainable foods. I am proud to that Aloha Poke Co. will dramatically expand our community’s access to health-minded food options.”

Auntie Anne/Cinnabon
An Auntie Anne’s/Cinnabon combination restaurant is coming to 220 Boardwalk Place in Rio, set to take over the location that was recently home to Lilly Magilly’s– the cupcakery is preparing for a move to a new location. The two brands, popular for their presence in malls, are co-branding to open locations across the country.  In recent years, Cinnabon left then returned to Montgomery Mall. There’s also an existing Cinnabon location in Wheaton Mall. Auntie Anne’s has locations at the outlets in Clarksburg, Ellsworth Place Mall, Montgomery Mall, and Wheaton Mall in MoCo. An opening date has not yet been provided, but we would expect a mid-2023 opening for the co-branded restaurant.

Baby Bar
Kentlands Baby Bar is planning a Spring opening, according to its website. It Will open at 375 Main St. in Gaithersburg’s Kentlands neighborhood. The space will offer “food, fun, and socializing” where “you enjoy a coffee and a bite, while your little ones get yummy food and a baby-friendly place to play!” Baby Bar Kentlands will offer fresh fruits and veggies and will have options for babies (puréed or chopped), food for kids like grilled cheese, egg bites, croissants, and more, and food for adults like bagels, muffins, fruit bowls, and more.  More about Kentlands Baby Bar: “Anyone who knows me can tell you that I am the queen of forgetfulness. I say  I have something, only to find out that it slipped my mind. This led to the Baby Bar concept. I was running around and forgot my daughter’s food. I went to the nearest cafe and grabbed a banana before running to my next business appointment (I take my little ones everywhere for work – I am an event planner by trade!).

Charley Prime Food
Charley Prime Foods, the new restaurant from Jackie Greenbaum & Gordon Banks (Little Coco’s, El Chucho, Bar Charley, Quarry House Tavern) that will be replacing Tara Thai on the Rio Lakefront boardwalk at 9811 Washington Blvd in Gaithersburg, has announced it plans to open this spring. According to a press release, the Charley Prime team envisions the restaurant as a mature version of their popular DC restaurant Bar Charley, with an expanded menu, but keeping its lively cocktail forward energy. The broader menu will remain steak focused, but will also feature house made pastas (a la Little Coco’s) as well as other items unique to just this location. The group has tapped Editlab@Streetsense to design the space. Explains Greenbaum, “We can’t wait to do our first suburban project and think the timing is perfect. We’ve always done restaurants that are near and dear to our hearts and that we feel are right or needed in the particular neighborhood. My partners both have young families and Rio has been a frequent destination for them for years, as it is for tons of people in north Montgomery county. This is especially true for our chef and partner in this project, Adam Harvey, who lives nearby. We’re really thrilled to bring something unique to the mix out there.” Featured photo shows a photo of food from Bar Charley.

dd’s DISCOUNTS: Coming soon signage is up for dd’s DISCOUNTS at 18236 Contour Rd in the Montgomery Village Plaza shopping center in Gaithersburg. The store will be located in the former space of Marshall’s, which relocated to Gaithersburg Square in 2021.  dd’s is owned and operated by Ross Stores, Inc and items for sale at its locations are similar to those found in other discount retailers. This will be the first dd’s location in Montgomery County. No opening date has been announced.
About: dd’s DISCOUNTS opened its first store in 2004 as the place to shop and save in your neighborhood. We’re part of the Ross Family, so our buyers know all about delivering great deals every day on clothing shoes home decor fashions toys and much, much more. We have the looks and brands you love at prices well below other retailers.

Ed Studio
Signage is up for Ed Studio at 360 Main St in Gaithersburg, the former site of SPAGnVOLA chocoltier. We’re told the store is named after its owner, Ed. The bakery specializes in birthday cakes and is expected to open in May. 

EggMania
Opening soon signage is up at EggMania at 385 Muddy Branch Road (previously Curry Place) in Gaithersburg. While no opening date has been announced, representatives from the restaurant tell us they plan on opening this spring. The menu consists of egg-centric Indian street food, including a masala omelet, egg curry, and Goti Fry (sliced boiled eggs cooked with ginger, garlic and chili. Topped with American cheese and onion-tomato based gravy). The restaurant tells us, “There’s lots of misconception when it comes to “EggMania”. In American culture eggs based dishes are primarily used during breakfast whereas in popular Indian street food culture, eggs based dishes are made for entrees and served during lunch / dinner and full menu items, not just breakfast. EggMania is not breakfast place. Hope to serve the community and bring this delicious food options for our MoCo residents and surrounding very soon…!!”

F45
F45, which has been opening locations across Montgomery County with recent openings in Potomac and Olney, is coming to Gaithersburg with an upcoming Kentlands location. The company had pre-Covid plans to make a move into Gaithersburg’s Rio Lakefront, which fell through, but has signed on to take over the space that was recently closed for a few years and previously home to Subway (between Caspian House of Kabob and the recently closed Edible Arrangements). F45 offers consumers functional 45-minute workouts that are effective, fun and community-driven. F45 utilizes proprietary technologies including a fitness programming algorithm and a digitally-enabled delivery platform that leverages a rich content database of thousands of unique functional training movements to offer new workouts each day and provide a standardized experience across F45’s global franchise.

Kabob N Karahi
Coming soon signage is up Kabob N Karahi at 18232 Flower Hill Way (Previously Aaron’s) in Gaithersburg. According to a representative at Kabob N Karachi’s Cloverly location, the restaurant is scheduled to open by July. Kabob N Karahi is a Pakistani restaurant (that serves some Indian cuisine), and its menu consists of a variety of kabobs, curries, stews, and tandoori naan. The Cloverly Village Center location at 15521 New Hampshire Ave, Silver Spring., opened in 2008 and has become a staple in Cloverly. Per Kabob N Karahi: “Welcome to Kabob N Karahi, Maryland’s best family restaurant to find fresh, casual, authentic Pakistani-Indian kabob and curry cuisine. KNK is completely a Halal restaurant. We use only Halal meat, house sauces and salads are made fresh daily. We specialize in delicious chicken, beef, lamb, kofta kabobs and tikkas as well as Karahi. We provide catering for all the occasions (Birthday,Wedding and Engagement etc).”

Le Macaron
French pastry shop Le Macaron is coming to 7 Grand Corner Ave (next to BurgerFi) in Gaithersburg’s Rio.  Menu items will include macarons (available in 20 flavors), gourmet chocolates, French gelato, specialty European style coffees, classic French pastries, and homemade candies. According to its website, “Founders, Rosalie Guillem, who was living in Florida and her daughter, Audrey Guillem-Saba, living in France, had a dream to share delectable French macarons with the world and to reunite their family. The family, originally hailing from France, were surprised to find that the American take on the “macaron” was often simply sugar spun into a cookie shape or confused with the familiar coconut cookie “macaroon”. They knew that with a little consumer education, and by treating the American palate to true French macarons, they could bring a taste and texture sensation to the marketplace.Miss Toya’s Southern Kitchen
Coming soon signage is up at Miss Toya’s Southern Kitchen at 229 Boardwalk Pl. in Rio. The restaurant will be located in the 2,741SF space previously occupied by BGR, which closed back in June. Miss Toya’s Southern Kitchen in Rio will be a fast-casual restaurant, while Miss Toya’s Creole Kitchen at 923 Ellsworth Dr in Downtown Silver Spring is full-service (wait staff, etc.). The restaurant is part of Jeffeary Miskiri’s Miskiri Hospitality Group, which describes itself as a unique collective of Black, family and woman-owned products and restaurants in the DC area. Miss Toya’s will serve southern-influenced dishes such as red beans and rice, macaroni and cheese and a southern fried chicken sandwich. It will be joining the recently announced Sportrock Climbing Centers and Charley Prime as well as the recently opened Donutchew, as locally-based businesses opening in Gaithersburg’s Rio. No opening date has been provided.
Oak Barrel & Vine:
Permanent signage is up at the upcoming Oak Barrel and Vine store at 512 N. Frederick Ave. in the Gaithersburg Square shopping center, next to Lil’ Cakes & Creamery and Ross.  The county-run beer, wine, and liquor store will feature a tasting room with beers on tap and space to hold events hosted by local breweries and distillers. According to ABS, there have been some delays and the new store is still several months away from opening.
Additional details courtesy of Montgomery County: The Oak Barrel & Vine branded stores feature handpicked items with a focus on spirits and locally manufactured products. The Gaithersburg store will have a large tasting room and event space, an improved selection of small format items, queue lines for faster checkout, improved wayfinding signs and better customer accessibility. The new location will fill a gap caused by the 2018 closure of the ABS Milestone store. It also will increase service levels to the growing population in the Gaithersburg area.
“The Gaithersburg Oak Barrel & Vine store will provide customers with the tasting and event space they have been requesting,” said ABS Director Kathie Durbin. “The Oak Barrel & Vine brand is designed to reflect our community by showcasing local products and providing dynamic service in a safe and inviting environment. The large tasting room will allow customers to engage more fully, turning shopping into an experience.”

Potomac Cookie Co:
Potomac Cookie Co is coming to 109A Market St in the Kentlands Square shopping center in Gaithersburg, near Moby Dick and the upcoming Poke Bros. Potomac Cookie is known for its “giant size” 4oz cookies. Flavors include Choco-delight, Da Fudge, Dorothy’s Slippers, Double Dutch, Peebee ‘n’ Yay!, and S’more Love. No opening date for Potomac Cookie Co has been announced. Feature photo courtesy of @potomaccookie on Instagram.

Pho28 & Grill-
Pho28 & Grill, a Vietnamese and Pho style restaurant will be opening in spring/summer 2023 (currently in permitting stage) at 18222 Flower Hill Way (previously Kick’s Karate location).  The owner has a sister fast food carry out place called Li’s BBQ located inside of Great Wall Supermarket in Rockville and will expand his Pho concept to a full service sit down restaurant in Gaithersburg.

Pho NOM NOM
Coming soon signage is up at the upcoming Pho Nom Nom at 18509 N Frederick Ave at Gaithersburg S.C. (that’s the name of the shopping center), at the former site of Pho Viet Saigon. Pho Nom Nom has an additional location at 842 Rockville Pike. A representative from the Rockville location tells us the new store is still a few months away from opening. Pho Nom Nom specializes in authentic Vietnamese cuisine, including pho, banh mi, noodles and grilled dishes.

Red Door Escape Room
Earlier this year we let you know that Red Door Escape Room is coming to Rio. It will be occupying the 4,057 SF space at 125 Boardwalk Place that was recently home to Locally Crafted before it moved a bit down the street, and previously home to Ann Taylor (across from Potbelly). Construction has begun and we anticipate the escape room to be open in the next couple of months, though an opening date or timeframe has not yet been provided. Red Door Escape Room has locations in California, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and Virginia with its most recent location opening in the Richmond area at the end of 2022. An opening date for the Rio location is not yet available. More About Red Door Escape Room:

Shake Shack
Permanent signage has been up for a few months at the upcoming Shake Shake location in Gaithersburg’s Kentlands neighborhood. A representative from the Potomac location previously let us know that the Kentlands location was scheduled to open at the end of April, but the burger chain has posted a notice on the door of its upcoming location stating that it will open on Wednesday, May 3. Shake Shack has additional MoCo locations at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda and Cabin John Village in Potomac.

Sportrock Climbing Centers
Sportrock Climbing Centers is coming to Rio, taking over part of the space that was previously occupied by Sport & Health (Dave & Buster’s now occupies the other part of the space). Sportrock opened the first commercial climbing gym in the DC metro area approximately 28 years ago in 1994, when it opened its Rockville. That location closed in 2006, but Sportrock has continued to operate successfully in Alexandria, Virginia. Now, it’s bringing rock climbing back to Rio, where many remember the much smaller walls that were a part of Sportland in the 90s.

TaKorean
Permanent signage is now up at TaKorean, a Korean taco grill that is taking over the recently-closed Nalley Fresh location at 261 Kentlands Blvd in Gaithersburg. The restaurant offers Korean style tacos and bowls. This will be TaKoreans first location outside of D.C and the company is aiming for an early May opening. The line-style restaurant was operating five locations at once, a few years back, but now there are just two TaKorean locations open in Washington, D.C. According to RestaurantDive, TaKorean is currently looking to open one restaurant at a time with future franchisees, and wants to ensure success at its initial franchise locations to create a strong base for a burgeoning franchise program. The company is open to multi-unit deals, but isn’t seeking them out. TaKorean is currently casting a wide net for potential markets, and once it sees brand recognition and franchisee interest in a particular market, it expects to build up that area, Lenard said. TaKorean is flexible on potential restaurant sizes, depending on a market’s real estate conditions.