Kogi Asian Grill, a fast-casual restaurant that opened in August 2021, has gone dark at 560 N Frederick Ave in Gaithersburg Square. Readers informed us that the restaurant was not open in recent days and our calls went unanswered. When we stopped by, the doors were closed and equipment was unplugged (photos below).
Kogi was one of the new additions to the recently renovated Gaithersburg Square shopping center. The restaurant offered Korean/Asian fast-casual restaurant.
Antojitos Salvadoreños Isabel at 19114 Montgomery Village Ave is scheduled to open this Friday, August 25. The restaurant is located in the former Einstein Bagel Bros spot in the Montgomery Village Shopping Center. The restaurant will serve traditional Salvadorian dishes like pupusas, tamales, yuca con chicharron, and pastelitos (full menu can be seen below.) Einstein Bros closed its Montgomery Village store in December 2021. La Poteria, which sells Colombian street food and coffee, is located next door.
In other Montgomery Village Shopping Center news, signage has been installed at the upcoming Hangry Joe’s. The Nashville-style hot chicken restaurant will be located adjacent to the Starbuck’s at 19290 Montgomery Village Ave. Also, construction is ongoing and “coming soon” signage is up for Baskin Robbins, which will be located next to the upcoming Safe Splash Swim School and Suburban Hair.
The Original Steaks and Hoagies will open its first Maryland location this weekend at 10450 Owings Mills Blvd in Owings Mills. The Ohio-based franchise offers specialty cheesesteaks like “The Hangover,” with hot sauce, fried egg, bacon, onions, hot peppers, and cheese whiz, and the “Black And Blue,” with Cajun seasoning, mushrooms, and blue cheese cream. In addition to to hoagies/cheesesteaks, menu items include wings, salads, fried pickles, and pretzels. According to a report by Baltimore’s ABC2, the chain plans on opening five restaurants in Maryland, with Columbia and College Park mentioned as possible locations.
About Original Steaks and Hoagies: “In August 2010, Bill Fromholzer Jr. (a.k.a. Billy from Philly) opened The Original Steaks & Hoagies in Twinsburg, Ohio–and introduced authentic Philly Cheesesteaks and Hoagies to Northeast Ohio. In the 1980s, Bill’s family owned and operated three Laspada’s Original Steaks & Hoagies Cheesesteak shops in the Philly area. These locations continue to be award-winning steak and hoagie shops today.
In Celebration of it’s 65th anniversary, Ben’s Chili Bowl at 1213 U ST in NW, Washington DC, will be giving away free meals (Half Smoke, Beef Dog, Turkey Dog or Veggie Dog) with a bag of chips and a soda starting at 1:30PM on August 22nd. The offer is only valid at the original U Street location and will be available while supplies last. Additional information and a history of Ben’s Chili Bowl below:
“Ben’s Chili Bowl began as a dream of Ben & Virginia Ali, and with their $5,000 life savings, the young couple first opened the doors of their now iconic restaurant on August 22, 1958. For over 65 years, Ben’s has been a staple in Washington, DC serving locals, celebrities, presidents, and tourists from around the world.
Maryland Public Television (MPT) will premiere its original special Jewish Delis: Something to Kvell About! at 8 p.m. on Saturday, August 26 on the statewide public TV network’s main channel, MPT-HD, and the MPT live stream. A preview is available to view on the network’s YouTube channel. Featured will be popular Baltimore deli Attman’s, which has a location in Park Potomac, MoCo’s Corned Beef King, and Call Your Mother, which has MoCo locations in Pike & Rose and Bethesda.
Per the press release: “Beginning as places for Jews from Central and Eastern Europe to eat and meet, delis expanded across the American landscape and eventually attracted as many gentiles as Jews. A stretch of Baltimore’s East Lombard Street even earned the moniker “Corned Beef Row” for the number of delis that once lined the roadway near Horseradish Lane. Today, the number of Jewish delis has shrunk dramatically and many of the survivors have adapted to changing times, sometimes in ways their forebearers might not recognize.
Montgomery County’s first Sheetz, located at 751 Progress Way in Gaithersburg, will hold its grand opening on Thursday, August 24 from 1-3pm. In addition to a “Win Sheetz for a Year” giveaway, the store will be offering discounted gas prices for its first two days. Sheetz had initially announced that all fuel grades would be $2.99, but has since updated to the following:
Regular: $2.999
Green Bamboo Asian Bistro, located at 5751 Fishers Ln in Rockville since 2010, is available for sale according to a business listing on BizBuySell. The restaurant is described on its Google listing as a “relaxed, family-run restaurant with contemporary decor offering Japanese, Chinese & Thai cuisine” and is available to purchase for $320K. Green Bamboo is also popular amongst many for its weekend special that offers sushi at 50% off. The reason provided for the sale is the impending retirement of its owners.
Per the listing, “Great location and reasonable rent. Turnkey operation. This cozy authentic Sushi restaurant is local favorite. It has 4.4 star online reviews. Beautiful set up & high income area. Owner built & operated since 2010. Great opportunity, due to retiring owners need to sell this successful business. This restaurant positioned right to do much better when offices are back to normal. Pre-pandemic sales volume was over $1.4 million. Most employees would stay if new owner desires. Seller will help with training for 2 weeks.” The restaurant has a 4.3/5 rating on Google with over 560 reviews and a 4/5 star Yelp rating with over 350 reviews.
Last month we let you know that Dream on Me, the New Jersey-based company that recently purchased Buy Buy Baby’s brand and digital assets for $15.5 million and was a supplier for the store, was the successful bidder for 11 store leases at a bankruptcy auction for about $1.17 million. Buy Buy Baby’s sole Montgomery County location, at 1683 Rockville Pike in Rockville’s Congressional Plaza, closed its doors on Sunday, July 30th, but will be one of 11 stores that will reopen. The store may reopen as early as this fall.
According to a CNBC report, “The group that bought Buy Buy Baby’s intellectual property at a bankruptcy-run auction in June, the owners of baby goods retailer Dream on Me, plans to reopen 11 stores in the Northeast as soon as this fall.” The Montgomery County location in Rockville, which is Buy Buy Baby’s first ever location is included in the openings. The report goes on to say that there is an “ambitious plan to return the brand to its glory years, with 100 to 120 stores over the next one to three years.”
Eater DC recently released a list of “17 Sandwiches to Try Around D.C. Right Now” and two sandwiches available in Montgomery County have made the list. While there are classic Montgomery County sandwich spots/delis like Twinbrook Deli in Rockville and Filippo’s (formerly Marchone’s) in Wheaton, and newer places that are highly regarded for their sandwiches like Full On Craft in the Norbeck area (technically Rockville) near Olney, and Gemelli’s in Gaithersburg, among others, Eater DC tends to stick to places much closer to D.C.
The first MoCo sandwich listed is the “Chip-wich”, available at The Girl and The Vine in Takoma Park (7071 Carroll Ave). Per Eater DC, “Takoma Park’s adorable cafe and wine shop counts the “Chip-wich” hoagie as one of its most popular orders since day one. The sandwich hides house kettle chips inside for a surprise crunch in every bite, joined by smoked turkey, smashed avocado, pepper jack cheese, bacon, sprouts, and dijonnaise.” The Girl & The Vine, a neighborhood wine, food market and bar located in the heart of the Takoma Park community opened in March 2019. The neighborhood market features a wide selection of food and beverages including wine, beers, cocktails, coffees and teas, as well as sandwiches, salads, bread, meats and cheeses, and more.
While there are many wonderful restaurants in Montgomery County that offer high quality and tasty sushi, Eater DC put together a list of restaurant the website considers to have standout sushi in the D.C. area and has included just one Montgomery County restaurant on its list. Hinata, located at 4947 St. Elmo Ave in Bethesda, is a Japanese grocery store that was opened in the mid 90s by Owner Waka Sakita who once worked at Tokyo’s famous Tsukiji wholesale seafood market. The carryout sushi is a longtime favorite for many local residents, but somewhat of a hidden gem for those who don’t frequent the Downtown Bethesda area.
Eater DC describes Hinata as a “cozy, family-run carryout in Bethesda” that’s “a local favorite for made-to-order rolls and fresh sashimi at an affordable price point. Call ahead or shop for grocery items from Japan while waiting for takeout orders.” With groceries like Japanese candy, tea, dried mushrooms, soy sauce, vinegar, packaged ramen, and more available inside, the sushi counter offers fresh and reasonably priced sashimi, nigiri and rolls. Hinata has a 4.7/5 Google rating with 163 reviews and a 4.5/5 Yelp rating with 161 reviews. Featured photo courtesy of Google Maps.
Updated to include a statement from part of the current ownership group
Moe’s Southwest Grill made its triumphant return to MoCo when the fast-casual Mexican restaurant opened in the Wheaton Mall food court in late 2019. In early 2022, a new Moe’s location opened in the recently renovated Montgomery Village Center, around the same time the Wheaton Mall store closed. The Montgomery Village store, now the only Moe’s Southwest Grill location in Montgomery County, is available for sale according to a business listing.