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Cinnabon/Auntie Anne Appears to be Close to Opening in Rio

By MCS Staff

Last November we let you know of the impending arrival of an Auntie Anne’s/Cinnabon combination restaurant at 220 Boardwalk Place in Rio, set to take over the location that was recently home to Lilly Magilly’s– as the cupcakery is still preparing for a move to a new location. We stopped by earlier this week and saw that interior construction looks to be almost complete (photo below). The location is still awaiting exterior permanent signage.

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.

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New Dunkin’ is Coming to Chevy Chase Metro Building

By MCS Staff

A new Dunkin’ is coming to 2 Wisconsin Circle, the Chevy Chase Metro building in Chevy Chase. It is slated to take over suite 100, which was recently home to Karin’s Cafe (currently listed as temporarily closed on Google).

According to the rendering for the new location (seen below), it appears that it will have electronic ordering boards and a walk-up window for customers to pick up their orders. This is the second announced upcoming Chevy Chase location, with another Dunkin’ coming to 8500 Connecticut Ave. Opening dates for both Chevy Chase locations are not yet available.

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Opening Information for Dalia’s Falafel in Bethesda

By Patrick Herron

Dalia’s Falafel is scheduled to open its first brick and mortar location at 7750 Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda on Tuesday, July 11. Dalia’s opened up as a pop-up restaurant at 4223 Howard Avenue in Kensington back in August 2020 serving falafel pita sandwiches and falafel bowls. New items on the menu will include radishes, french fries, rice,  and Moroccan beef kabobs (full menu below.)

Dalia’s Falafel will be open Tuesday-Saturday 11am-7pm and Sunday 11am-2:30pm. The Kensington pop up will close once the Bethesda location opens. Last year, the local “Yelp MD Burbs” part of Yelp released its list of “Top 25 Places to Eat in MD Burbs” list and 15 of the 25 restaurants on the list are in Montgomery County, including Dalia’s Falafel, which came in at #21. Yelp is a popular company that publishes crowd-sourced reviews about businesses with a major focus on restaurants.

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Akira Ramen & Izakaya to Open Gaithersburg Location

By MCS Staff

Akira Ramen & Izakaya will open a new location next to Ela Mesa Taste of Greece (109 Paramount Park Drive) in the Spectrum Town Center in Gaithersburg. Construction has already started, but there’s plenty of work left to go before there’s a better idea of when the restaurant will open. Akira’s first restaurant opened in 2017 at The Galvan in Rockville.

Per Akira: At Akira Ramen, we specialize in taking the authentic ramen experience to the next level. First, we offer unique in-house broth that would suit everyones’ taste: Tonkatsu salt, Miso, Shoyu and Vegetable broth. With extra toppings as an option, you can customize your ramen anytime. Second, our thin and curly noodles are made in-house daily.

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Food Court Now Open at New Grand Mart in Germantown

By Patrick Herron

Noodles & Friends and Gogi Friends Korean BBQ have opened inside of the food court at New Grand Mart supermarket at 13069 Wisteria Drive in the Germantown Plaza shopping center. Additional vendors, including Tous les Jours (bakery) and Fortune Cha (bubble tea and dessert) are expected to open by the end of July. Menu items at Noodles & Friends include JjaJang (noodles with blackbean sauce), Jjampong (seafood soup), KimChi fried rice, and Shrimp Tangsu. Menu items at Gogi Friends includes BulGogi, Bibim Bap, Ramyeon noodles, and dumpling soup.

New Grand Mart opened in the space previously occupied by Lotte Plaza on June 8th. According to its website, “New Grand Mart carries a variety of fresh produce, fish, meats, and ethnic specialty items that is hard for other markets to match.”

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Charleys Cheeseteaks & Wings Opens Today in Germantown

By Patrick Herron

Charleys Cheesesteaks & Wings opens today, Friday, June 30, at 19877 Century Blvd in Germantown. Charleys is taking over the location that was previously home to Roll by Goodyear and Yogi Castle in the Shops at Town Center & Century Station shopping center. The restaurant is being opened by the same franchise group that owns the location at 405 N Frederick Ave in Gaithersburg. Unlike most mall food court locations, this Charleys will also serve wings and milkshakes.

In March, we reported that signage went up for Charleys Philly Steaks inside of the Germantown Walmart at 20910 Frederick Rd, taking over the space formerly occupied by McDonald’s. No opening date for the Wal-Mart Charleys has been announced but it is expected to open this summer.

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“Boozy” Taco Bell to Open First Montgomery County Location

By MCS Staff

Taco Bell Cantina, known for its fast-paced environment, tech-forward innovations like kiosks and digital menu boards, and a variety of alcoholic beverages to go along with traditional Taco Bell fare, is opening its first Montgomery County location in Silver Spring, according to a BizJournals report.

Per the report, the new restaurant will open at 8662 Colesville Road, next to the Fillmore Silver Spring and across the street from Ellsworth Place in the space that was most recently home to Pollo Campero until it closed in late 2021. The Taco Bell Cantina alcoholic drink menu “features an assortment of beers, wines, sangria and Twisted Freezes, including your favorite fermented alcohol”, but the exact drink menu will vary by location. An opening timeframe is not yet available.

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MoCo’s Newest Chick-fil-a is Owned/Operated by Gaithersburg High School Alumnus

By MCS Staff

Montgomery County’s newest Chick-fil-a has officially opened for business at 700 N. Frederick Ave in Gaithersburg. Chick-fil-a’s first Montgomery County restaurant opened less than a mile away from its newest location, opening inside of  Lakeforest Mall in 2003. That location closed in late 2011, a few months before the Kentlands location in Gaithersburg opened. Richard Munguia, a graduate of nearby Gaithersburg High School, is the owner/operator of the new restaurant.

Upon walking inside, you’ll see a photo of Richard. His time with the company started at the Tech Rd location in Silver Spring. He moved on to helping open Chick-fil-a restaurants across the country before returning to open a location in the area he grew up in. Per the sign up front, from Richard:  “It’s my full-time job-and really my passion- to make sure your visit is always a great one. While I am part of a large organization, as an Owner-Operator, I’m actually an individual business partner of Chick-fil-A, This brings not only responsibility and accountability, which is good for Guests and our Team Members alike, it also allows me to bring a local flavor to the Restaurant.

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Crimson Coward Announces 25 Upcoming Maryland Locations

By MCS Staff

Crimson Coward, a Nashville hot chicken restaurant founded in the Los Angeles area in 2018, recently opened its first East Coast location a few months ago in Northern Virginia. At that time, the company announced an additional 25 restaurants planned for the D.C. area in NoVa. Now, they plan to add an additional 25 restaurants in Maryland.

QSR reports that “The L.A. hot chicken franchise plans to open 25 locations in Maryland as well as 25 total stores  in Virginia.” According to the report, Restaurant Management Group-Mid Atlantic (RMG-MA) will develop, franchise, and support all stores in Maryland and Virginia. Exact locations of the restaurants have likely not been finalized yet, so they are not available at this time.

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