Two weeks ago we let you know that BurgerIM, the Israeli based burger chain that opened a Downtown Crown location in September 2019, was closed. Google and Yelp both list the closure as temporary, but signage stating the space is available for Lease by Kite Realty is now up at the restaurant.
In December, we let you know that Dunkin’ is continuing its massive expansion across the country and in MoCo, with an upcoming location coming to the Traville Village Center in Rockville. We then learned that it will be taking over 1,500 SF in the back half of the building that was previously home to Capital One Bank building at 9761 Traville Gateway Drive (rendering available below). Construction recently began on the location that will also have a drive-thru.1,700 SF on the front side of the building is still available to lease.
Since Inspire Brands acquired Dunkin’ and Baskin Robbins in late 2020 for $11.3 billion, the company has been opening in former bank locations that allow for easy installation of a drive-thru window. Dunkin has also aimed for non-traditional development that includes opening in airports and on college campuses, including the University of Maryland. Featured photo by Ted Pescado
In December we let you know that Maryland-based Poke Bowl, a restaurant serving poke bowls, bubble tea, a variety of appetizers, and more, is coming to 2229 Bel Pre Road in Plaza Del Mercado– replacing Smoothie King, between Pizza Stop and Aldi. The restaurant will be opening on Saturday, May 13th.
Poke Bowl has five locations in Maryland, primarily in the Baltimore region with one location in Frederick. Signage has just been posted on the window informing shoppers of the restaurant’s impending arrival, but an opening date is now available. Smoothie King, which closed permanently last month after four years at Plaza Del Mercado, has additional Montgomery County locations in Bethesda and Rockville (Fallsgrove and Congressional Plaza), and an upcoming location in Olney.
TaKorean, a Korean taco grill that is taking over the recently-closed Nalley Fresh location at 261 Kentlands Blvd in Gaithersburg, has announced it will hold its soft opening on Thursday, May 4. There will also be a ribbon cutting ceremony with the Gaithersburg Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, May 9 at 10:30am and TaKorean will be offering free food for guests from 11am to 2pm. The restaurant offers Korean style tacos and bowls with options including chicken/Dak Halbi, steak/Bulgogi, pork/Bo Ssam, and tofu/Hoisin. This will be TaKoreans first location outside of 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.
Hinode Japanese Restaurant (134 Congressional Ln in Rockville), a local family-owned restaurant that has been serving traditional Japanese cuisine in Montgomery County since 1992, is closing permanently next month.
The restaurant, well known for its sushi buffet, posted a notice stating the following on its website earlier this week, “We do not serve alcoholic beverage effective on May 1st, 2023. Restaurant is planning to close permanently as of May 15, 2023. We really appreciate your patronage for last 25 years. Thank you.” The notice has since been removed from the website, but a call to the restaurant this morning confirmed the closure, with a representative stating that Hinode would close after Mother’s Day.
In addition to HalfSmoke closing its Westfield Montgomery Mall location, the restaurant also closed its Baltimore location earlier this month. According to a report from BizJournals, the Baltimore restaurant closed at 2400 Boston St. in Canton’s Can Company on April 4.
At the mall, HalfSmoke was located in a kiosk in the mall’s food court/terrace (previously occupied by Coldstone Creamery and Gelato Galaxy) and was the first restaurant/bar to serve alcohol in the food court (nearby restaurants off of the food court served alcohol, ex: Slade’s). The menu consisted of the best-selling sausages and sides from its DC location (651 Florida Ave, NW), as well as boozy milkshakes and a funnel cake bar. HalfSmoke’s sister restaurant Butter Me Up also closed its Montgomery Mall location earlier this month.
At its peak, Bed Bath & Beyond operated the largest home furnishing retailer in the United States with over 970 stores across all 50 states, consistently at the forefront of major home and bath trends. Operating stores spanning the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico, Bed Bath & Beyond offers everything from bed linens to cookware to electric appliances, home organization, baby care, and more. Now, Bed Bath & Beyond has announced that it will close all 360 stores and 120 Buy Buy Baby locations on Wednesday and seek to sell parts of its business. In its filing with the bankruptcy court, the company said that it expected all stores to close by June 30, according to the New York Times.
According to the New York Times report, customers may use Bed Bath & Beyond coupons until Wednesday, when store closing sales begin. Customers will have until May 8 to use Bed Bath & Beyond gift cards. The company did not specify when its Bed Bath & Beyond and Buy Buy Baby apps would shut down, saying only that customers can continue using the apps “at this time.” The Gaithersburg location closed a couple years back and the Germantown location closed permanently on Sunday. The Rockville location is the only Bed Beth & Beyond store left in MoCo with Buy Buy Baby also having a location in Rockville.
In November we let you know that RASA, a fast-casual Indian restaurant with four locations in DC and Virginia, would be taking over the recently-closed Slapfish location at 12033 Rockville Pike in the Montrose Crossing shopping center. Earlier today, RASA announced that it will be opening its Rockville location on Thursday, April 27th at 10:30am.
The restaurant, founded by Rahul Vinod and Sahil Rahman (combined to create the name, RASA), opened its first location in Navy Yard in 2017 before opening a location in Mt. Vernon Triangle in 2020, Crystal City in 2021, and Fairfax this past summer. The menu offers seven chef-curated bowls under the “We Got You” portion of the menu, that includes their signature bowls like the “Tikka Chance on Me”, “Open Sesame”, “Eat Your Veggies”, “Home Cooking”, “Goa Your Own Way”, “Aloo Need is Love”, and “Caul on Me” or the “You Got It” portion of their menu that allows customers to “DIY” and design their own bowl using the assembly line format of a base, main, sauce, veggies, toppings, and chutneys/dressings. The full menu can be seen here.
Update: As of Monday, April 24, The Block has yet to resume the sale of alcohol. The Block Food Hall at 967 Rose Ave in North Bethesda’s Pike & Rose […]
Eater DC recently looked at places around DC where people can get crabs to enjoy at home. While there are several places in MoCo to get your crabs, two places in MoCo have made Eater DC’s list:
Bethesda Crab House (4958 Bethesda Ave, Bethesda, MD 20814): “Bethesda Crab House was opened in 1961 by Henry Vechery. Ever since it has been a local tradition. We offer oysters, shrimp, crabcakes, Alaskan King and Snow Crab legs, but our specialty is the Maryland Blue Crab.”
Nosh Grill House, located at 12 N Washington Street in Rockville, is holding its soft opening this week. The restaurant, which offers contemporary Chinese-style bbq, is the neighbor and sister restaurant of East Grill Karaoke and East Dumpling House. Along with all-you-can-eat bbq, Nosh Grill House offers karaoke. The soft opening began on Monday, April 17th and runs Monday-Thursday from 5pm until 1am and Friday-Sunday from 5pm-2am. Full menu and first look available below.
Per Nosh Grill House: “NOSH is a contemporary Chinese-style BBQ restaurant and karaoke bar that pays homage to traditional Northern Chinese food culture, while embracing neighboring countries’ influences, including Japan, Korea, and Russia. Forged with skill and passion, this family-owned restaurant has been a years-long journey in the making; the result is a welcoming, eccentric space with a boisterous bar and a 12-foot screen for karaoke, sporting events, and shows.