Back in May, Dog Haus announced that the company has executed a development agreement with local franchisees Faizan and Adila Khan to to open 15 new Dog Haus locations over the next five years. Cities listed include Annapolis, Baltimore, Columbia, Frederick and Germantown.  No specific information has been released on dates and locations, but now we know that a new College Park location will be opening soon will open in the new City Hall complex at 7401 Baltimore Ave.

Faizan Khan currently franchises three MoCo Dog Haus locations in Bethesda, Gaithersburg and Silver Spring. “We’re thrilled to see Faizan and Adila parlay their success with Dog Haus into expanding throughout the entire state of Maryland,” said Dog Haus Director of Franchise Development Erik Hartung in a press release. “Faizan has been a highly accomplished franchisee with Dog Haus by entering the restaurant industry with an incredibly unique, effective business strategy. We can’t wait to see this growth unfold and bring our one-of-a-kind creations to more markets throughout this great state!”


Yesterday we reported that Texas Parrillada at 9631 Lost Knife Rd in Gaithersburg has closed with the restaurant’s last day of service being on Sunday, January 1. Now we know that the restaurant will be replaced by Los Amigos– a Mexican restaurant. We are told the restaurant plans to offer authentic Mexican cuisine and hopes to open on January 18th:

Texas Parillada had a long run in the Montgomery Village Crossing shopping center, which is home to BLT Grill, Hook & Reel, and Roy Rogers. the restaurant offered menu items that included Tex-Mex staples like burritos, carne asada, enchiladas, and tacos.


Over a year ago we let you know that Black Lion Café, which has a location in Rockville, will be opening a new location in the Fenton Silver Spring apartments at 8240 Fenton St in Silver Spring. After a previously planned November 1st opening that was pushed back, a new opening date of Monday, January 2nd was set. The cafe announced another delay on Instagram (post available below), stating that the “opening has been delayed, but not for long. Stay tuned for updates!”

The cafe opened its first location at the Traville Gateway shopping center in late 2016. Black Lion Café sources its coffee from three regions of Ethiopia known for producing some of the best tasting coffee beans in the world. Keffa, the region of Ethiopia that gave the name ‘coffee’ to the bean, Yergacheffe, and Harrar. Featured photo courtesy of Taste MoCo


 

In July 2021 we let you know that New York based Mexicue, which has a nearby location at 1720 14th St NW in DC, would be coming to 4733 Elm St. in Bethesda, the former site of Gusto Farm to Street. The Mexican restaurant opened on Tuesday, June 7th with a menu featuring tacos, bowls, shareable platters, margaritas and weekend brunch. Just over six months later, the restaurant has closed permanently.


Adonni’s Desserts, a “haven of sweets”, has opened in the Montgomery Mall food terrace. Adonni’s is owned and operated by the people behind Malia’s Kitchen, which opened a location in the food terrace earlier this year. Menu items at Adonni’s include fried Oreos, funnel cake fries, brownies, bread pudding, and an assortment of ice cream and cakes.

“My name is Roberta Hillary, I am the Head Chef and Partner of Malia’s Kitchen LLC delivering you the best “homemade” down home cooking in the DMV. After 25 years of cooking and catering it is now to take our delicious food and recipes to patrons and foodies in the Washington Metropolitan area. Malia’s Kitchen has now launched a food truck to service locations in the District and Metropolitan area, our goal is to deliver homestyle soul food with our food truck and full-service catering options. Although our primary focus is lunch & dinner, our team can also be available for corporate breakfast catering via our food truck or catering delivery services.


As 2022 ends, we’re sharing a few of our most-read stories of the year, from September: “For Sale” signage is up at the Olney Ale House at 2000 Olney-Sandy Spring Rd in Olney. Owner John Roach tells us that he is looking to sell the 99-year-old building to someone that will continue to run it as the Olney Ale House restaurant.  A kitchen fire caused the restaurant to shut down in 2019 and COVID-19 only compounded the issues for the restaurant.  There will be additional information regarding the potential sale/reopening of the Olney Ale House in the next few weeks, according to Roach.

Back in July of 2021 it was announced that the Montgomery County Green Bank and Sandy Spring Bank would be teaming up to provide flexible financing to help the Olney Ale House re-open. Roach tells us that both financial institutions are still committed to helping the Ale House reopen. As we wait for the reopening, we wanted to share with you its history, courtesy of the Olney Ale House website: In 1923, Richard Bentley Thomas and Ethel Farquhar Thomas purchased the five acre triangular shaped piece of property from the estate of Sam Owens. The property had a four room log cabin in the middle of what is today’s parking lot. The corner was known as Davis Corner. Almost immediately construction began on a hipped-roof, pavilion-type building that would contain a kitchen, dining room and two bedrooms. This building was completed in 1924, and opened for business as “The Corner Cupboard.” They served homemade ice cream, breads, cookies, pies and cakes, as well as, sausage, scrapple and ham sandwiches from hams that were cured in their smokehouse. Garden vegetables were also grown and sold. The Corner Cupboard was a unique establishment and drew many loyal followers.


As 2022 ends, we’re sharing a few of our most-read stories of the year, from April 2022: In March of 2021, it was reported  that Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) planned to sell all of it’s US holdings in 2022. This would include Montgomery Mall and Wheaton Mall (Westfield Montgomery and Westfield Wheaton), both located in Montgomery County. Chief Executive Jean-Marie Tritant told investors last week that Unibail wants to shed most of its U.S. properties by the end of 2023, according to a Wall Street Journal report, which pushes things back about a year.

Shopping malls, which were already hurting due to the rise of online shopping, were hit especially hard during the COVID-19 pandemic. Per the report, “Unibail’s exit from the U.S. after only four years shows that executives have concluded that even high-quality, marquee American malls aren’t worth holding on to as the Paris-based company works to slash its debt and to refocus on its flagship properties in Europe.” With White Flint gone and Lakeforest on its last legs, Montgomery, Wheaton and Ellsworth Place malls are the last three remaining in Montgomery County.


As 2022 ends, we’re sharing a few of our most-read stories of the year, from September 2022: Morguard North American Residential REIT announced earlier this week that it has acquired the retail portion of Rockville Town Square. Having purchased Fenestra Apartments in 2017, this acquisition of the remaining retail in this mixed-use asset expands Morguard’s investment in the City of Rockville. The transaction closed at a purchase price of US$33.0 million, excluding closing costs. The news was brought to our attention by The MoCo Source earlier this month.

Per the press release: “Morguard is pleased to expand our investment in Rockville, Maryland by acquiring the retail space,” said K. Rai Sahi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Morguard North American Residential REIT. “This acquisition along with our ownership and management of Fenestra Apartments gives Morguard the opportunity to better execute on our long-term vision.” Connected to Morguard’s Fenestra apartments, Rockville Town Square at 30 Maryland Avenue encompasses 183,000 square feet of retail, dining, and municipal and financial services. The mixed-use pedestrian-friendly location offers public gathering areas, entertainment events, and serves as a neighbourhood hub in the affluent Montgomery County. A short drive from Washington D.C., Rockville Town Squarefeatures spaces to live, work and shop including:


As 2022 ends, we’re sharing a few of our most-read stories of the year, from November: Back in May 2021, we let you know that fast food chain Cook Out is coming one step closer to MoCo, as a new location was expected to open at 8502 Centreville Road in Manassas Park– the first in the DC Metro area. The location, which was formerly home to a Roy Rogers, is now open according to a social media post by the fast food chain (seen below).

In 2020, the MoCo Show made the 60 mile trek down to Fredericksburg, VA to visit what was then the area’s closest Cook Out location. We left Gaithersburg, located in the approximate center of MoCo, at 6:14pm and arrived an hour and twenty minutes later, at 7:34pm. The Manassas Park location is a little over 30 miles from the center MoCo, about half the distance of Fredericksburg. Another location recently opened in Winchester, VA, but that isn’t considered part of the DC Metro area. There is also a location in Salisbury, MD but that is further than both of the Virginia locations mentioned.


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.

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.


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