MoCoShow contributor Kristin Johnson was told that Pandora Seafood House & Bar will be closing after just a year in Rockville Town Square.

We are told that Pandora is pursuing legal action against their landlords for charging them more rent than their other tenants.


Issa Dubbaneh immigrated to the United States from Palestine in 1977 to pursue a college education at the University of Maryland. In 1981, during his final year, he decided to leave school to open his first restaurant, Chicken Basket, in Gaithersburg. Together with his brothers, Issa expanded their venture, opening additional Chicken Basket locations in Layhill, Wheaton, and Rockville. Since the 1980s, the family has owned six different Chicken Basket locations in Montgomery County, along with Muna’s Cafe in Germantown a few years back.

Muna Dubbaneh was born and raised in Jordan before moving to Wheaton with her family in 1980. She met Issa a couple of years later, and they soon married. While working in the restaurants, they raised five children—Ronnie (31), Danny (29), Ronia (27), Johnny (25), and Deanna (21)—constantly reminding them to steer clear of the food and restaurant industry. For most of their lives, the children heeded this advice.


Included this year will be:

London Court Catering & Beverage(Wine tasting)
​•
Farafina Island (Lobster rolls,Tuna/Beef/Chicken sandwich)
• Leda Catering (Paella,Steamed crabs)
• Bissap (Aguas frescas)
• Aunt Iffy’s (Afro-Caribbean cuisine)
• Reid’s Jerk Shack(Jerk chicken,pork,grilled fish)
• Sarin Grill (Asian food)
• Thai Master (Thai grill)
• The Tender Rib ( New Orleans / Creole Cuisine)
• Mr Nino Pina Colada (snacks,pina colada,fresh squeezed juice,smoothies)
• Kona Ice (ice creams, shaved ice)


Mi Rancho initially announced that they’ll be closing through their Facebook page on September 11th. Their other locations, in Silver Spring and Germantown, will remain open.

Mellow Mushroom sent an email to their customers announcing that their Rockville location is now closed.


The restaurant chain has seen a fairly rapid expansion since opening their first location just 11 years ago.

They currently have almost 100 stores nationwide and the new Pike & Rose location will be the third in Montgomery County (Bethesda and Silver Spring locations).


Courtesy of Federal Realty and Pike & Rose:

Chef and owner Caroline Yi grew up in MoCo, attended Wootton High School and the University of Maryland at College Park.

This season she has been selling her goods at the Pike & Rose Farm Market, where she has a very loyal following. Yi chose Pike & Rose for her brick and mortar bakery and café because she sees it as the perfect location.


I was told by an employee that the location will be in King Farm, but was recently informed that it’ll be adjacent to King Farm at 540 Gaither Rd. in the Redland Corporate Center.

Bon Fresco makes their own bread in-house. The ciabatta takes 30 hours, start to finish. “There’s no rushing it. Break open its crust, and you’ll see why it was all worth it” says their website.


The restaurant offers a wide variety of wines (sparkling, white, red, international, sweet red, dessert, fruit, specialties, and more) along with many other beverages and a menu that consists of beef & pork, seafood, pasta, chicken, and burgers/sandwiches.

​This news was first reported by Eater DC earlier this week.


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