The first MICHELIN Guide Ceremony bringing together New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C., provided a few updates for the Washington, D.C. area:

“The MICHELIN Guide inspection team is delighted add the international flavors of Causa and Rania to the Washington selection of Starred establishments,” Poullennec said. “These world-class restaurants blend tradition with innovation to deliver a delicious meal and memorable experience.” Here are Washington’s new MICHELIN-Starred restaurants, with inspector notes from each:


Chuck E. Cheese is now open at 5238 Nicholson Ln in North Bethesda/Rockville. Chuck E. Cheese was previously located at 5270 Randolph Rd in Loehmann’s Plaza before moving to its new, larger location in White Flint Plaza, taking over the space that was previously home to Retro Fitness. The location is one of the first in the area to feature Chuck E. Cheese’s new trampoline park.  There will be a grand opening celebration on Thursday, November 9 from 5-7pm that will feature free cake and the chance to win a free birthday party.

Chuck E. Cheese has an additional Montgomery County location at 1127 University Blvd E in Takoma Park. The children’s indoor entertainment arcade also had a location in Gaithersburg that closed in 2020 after being in business at Gaithersburg Square for over 30 years. Per the Biz Journals report, the new location will “feature a 17-foot digital wall and other technological advances over the older locations. There will still be some Chuck E. Cheese mainstays, including things like skee-ball, air hockey, and, of course, pizza.” The Rockville location has also matched pre-2019 numbers this year, hosting 289 birthday parties.


Carmen’s Italian Ice is opening its newest location this Wednesday, November 8. Carmen’s is partnering with the owners of Kung Fu Tea at 130 Market St in Gaithersburg and is taking over the portion of the building that was previously occupied by Tutti Frutti. According to Carmen’s, it will initially offer three flavors of custard and six flavors of Italian ice. The new store will be offering half off 1/2 off of ices and gelatis in-store all day on Wednesday for “Jayden Day”.

Earlier this year Carmen’s partnered with the Clarksburg Market at 23329 Frederick Rd to open a similar concept in Clarksburg. About Carmen’s: It started with a simple idea. Introduce homemade gourmet Italian Ice to the Washington DC area. Jason Mandler – a native of Parsippany, New Jersey – opened Carmen’s Italian Ice & Cafe in Rockville, MD in 2001. Tracing its roots back to Philly and South Jersey where this dessert has been a mainstay for years, Carmen’s offers homemade, gourmet Italian Ice in over 60 flavors. It also now offers frozen custard, shakes, and a toppings bar.


Westfield Montgomery has announced details for this year’s ‘Home for the Holidays Celebration’ taking place on Saturday, November 18th. The event will be hosted by The Holderness Family (The Amazing Race, YouTube) and feature performances by the Gay Men’s Chorus of DC’s, the Maryland Youth Ballet, and Rockapella. Full details below courtesy of Westfield Montgomery:

Westfield Montgomery Mall is getting into the seasonal spirit with their Home for the Holidays Tree Lighting Celebration in support of Children’s National Hospital on Saturday, November 18. Award-winning content creators and best-selling authors, Penn and Kim Holderness of The Holderness Family will host the free celebration that welcomes the winter holidays. With over one billion views across social media, The Holderness Family will bring their signature brand of family comedy and joy to Bethesda, Maryland for the day. The duo are best known for winning Season 33 of The Amazing Race and chronicling their marriage and family life through hilarious videos for their eight million followers.


Per IKEA, “Our Plan and Order points are smaller stores dedicated to kitchen, bedroom, and living room planning where you can find home furnishing advice and expertise to help design your ideal space.” You can book an appointment to start your design with a planning specialist, or use in-store, self-service tools to design your own solution. “Whilst there are no items to purchase in-store and take home on the day, for your convenience, purchases made at the Plan and Order points can be delivered to your home or picked up from one of our collection points.”

More bout Poke Bros: After the founders were introduced to the Hawaiian staple on a trip to California. The appeal of this fast and casual—while healthy—concept immediately inspired the founders to begin thinking how they could bring this unique dish to the midwest. From its inception, we were confident the foodies of Columbus would love the poké concept, but wanted to provide an inexpensive and accessible product in the larger market. After some intense research and trial and error, the Poké Bros founders developed their own brand of poké bowl flavor they are proud to share and call their own. Modeling similar assembly line casual dining concepts, we developed a unique way to build your “sushi in a bowl” and have fun doing so! As the poké movement has caught on, Poké Bros has rapidly expanded into multiple states across the Midwest and East Coast, offering the same fresh and authentic cuisine to a wider range of customers. We will continue to stick to our roots, as Poké Bros continues to grow, and offer only the best fresh ingredients that fill you up but don’t slow you down.


Rio Lakefront’s ‘Light Up the Lakefront’, which includes a fireworks display, will take place on Saturday, December 9th from 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm. “Join us for a festive evening of holiday fun on the Lakefront with activities along the Boardwalk (near Guapo’s/Charley Prime) and Fire Lounge (between True Food Kitchen & Uncle Julio’s):

6:45 PM: Enjoy a Dazzling Fireworks show over the lake!*  Perfect viewing all along the Boardwalk and Fire Lounge.


Gwenie’s Pastries, a family owned bakery based in Rockville Maryland (12113 Nebel St.), is opening a new location in Frederick. The bakery has been serving the Washington DC area and more for over 15 years– specializing in classic Filipino desserts, fusion specialties, as well as our own unique creations. The new Frederick location will be opening at 220 B Shorebird Street in the Market Square at Frederick shopping center (2430 Osprey Way, Frederick, MD), across from Distill’d. Gwenie’s announced they had the keys to the space in February of this year, but an opening date is not yet available.

​More per the Gwenie’s website: “Bakers and Cooks, three words which perfectly describe my family. The moments spent together at the kitchen, which usually end up with a sumptuous meal, has made food and pastries a big part of our family tradition. As our family recipes are handed down from one generation to another, cooking skills were also honed through time.


Lids is now open at Westfield Montgomery Mall (7101 Democracy Blvd) in Bethesda. The store is located next to LEGO on the mall’s lower level. Lids is a “mall based, retail headwear” store that sells NBA, NFL, MLB, and NHL licensed hats and merchandise.  According to Westfield, “Get lettering or a unique design embroidered on you new find! Don’t want a flat brimmed hat? Lids will steam and curve the brim in house!”

Lids has additional Montgomery County locations at the Clarksburg Outlets, Ellsworth Place (Silver Spring), and Wheaton Mall.  Click here to see a list businesses that are also coming soon to Montgomery Mall. Featured photo courtesy @lids on Instagram. 


Montgomery County Police responded to a shooting in the White Oak Shopping Center on Saturday, November 4. According to police, “At approximately 5:51p.m., 3rd District officers and Montgomery County Fire Rescue personnel responded to the America’s Best Wings restaurant in the 11200 block of New Hampshire Ave. for the report of a shooting.   Upon arrival, officers located two adult male victims, suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. The victims were transported to an area hospital, where one of the victims was pronounced dead. The second victim is in critical condition.

The preliminary investigation has revealed that there was an altercation inside the restaurant that led to the shooting. After the shooting, the suspect left the scene.  No suspect is in custody at this time.  This is an active and ongoing investigation.” We will provide an update if additional information becomes available. Featured photo courtesy of Google Maps. 


Downtown Crown, the restaurant and retail portion of Gaithersburg’s Crown neighborhood opened in 2014 with Harris Teeter as an anchor and restaurants including Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Coastal Flats, Paladar Latin Kitchen, La Madeleine Country French Café, and more. Though the places listed are all still open, there have been some changes in the area the last nine years or so. Below, we’ll go over a few recent closures, some vacancies, and a pretty big “coming soon.”

BurgerIM, an Israeli burger chain, closed permanently earlier this year after about three and a half years at 200 Ellington Blvd. Doki Toki, an Asian bakery and dessert shop that took over for Mango Mango in May 2022, closed early this past summer after just over a year at 202 Ellington Blvd. Old Town Pour House, one of the original Downtown Crown tenants, closed last month at 212 Ellington Blvd after 8.5 years.


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