Black Diamond Restaurant & Lounge, will be taking over the space that was formerly home to TTT and Buena Vida at 8407 Ramsey Ave in Silver Spring.
The restaurant currently has a hearing for a Class D, Beer, Wine, and Liquor License at 10:30am on Thursday, November 17th. We are told the Black Diamond may open as soon as the end of this month, but no specific date is available at this time.
2010 Clarksburg High School graduate Jon Thompson opened his food truck, Fifty Fifty, last year. He specializes in half-beef and half-bacon smash burgers, with the bacon ground right into the beef so they’re cohesive. Following the success of the food truck in the last year, Fifty Fifty will now open inside of Olde Mother Brewing Co. at 526 N Market St in Frederick. Construction just started on ithe kitchen inside of the brewery and they’re hoping to be open before the end of the year.
“We do double smash patties to get 4 layers of crispy seasoned bacon and beef with layered creamy cheese in ever bite. We focus on unique and creative toppings like roasted poblano cream cheese, spicy peanut butter or even authentic Belgian waffles as a bun for a one of a kind burger experience.” Thompson told us.
Update: The opening of La Catrina has been postponed. A new date will be provided soon.
Back in August we let you know that La Catrina Bar & Lounge is coming to 4935 Cordell Avenue in Bethesda, taking over the location that was formerly home to George’s Chophouse, 4935 Bar & Kitchen, The Loft at 4935, Tragara’s, and others. The restaurant has now set an opening date, sharing on social media that it’ll be open on Friday, November 18th.
Back in April of 2021, we let you know that Firepan KBBQ started construction at the old Pete’s New Haven Style Pizza location at 962 Wayne Avenue Suite L-B in Downtown Silver Spring. Firepan had its Montgomery County ABS alcohol license hearing on November 4, 2021 previously announced an August 1st, 2022 opening date on its website, which was pushed back several times Not to worry, as Source of the Spring reports the restaurant is holding its soft opening today (Saturday, November 12).
Restaurant hours:
Slapfish at 12033 Rockville Pike in the Montrose Crossing shopping center closed permanently last week at and no time was wasted in removing signage and clearing it out. The restaurant had occupied the space for a little over 4 years, opening in July 2018, but was a “discrete listing” for a sub-lease for over a year. Now we know the replacement will be RASA, a fast-casual Indian restaurant with four locations in DC and Virginia.
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.
Kick off the holiday season with a skating session at Rockville Town Square’s outdoor ice skating rink, which is now open. Reservations are required and are available two weeks in advance. Lessons are also available. Hours of operation and additional information below:
Skater admission is $10 for skaters 12 and under and $11 for skaters $13 and up. Seniors are also $10. Skate rental is $5. Per the Rockville Town Square Ice Skating website: scheduled reservation time. If you are more than 10 minutes early you will be asked to wait until your scheduled start time. If you are more than 10 minutes late your reservation time has started and you will lose the reserved time to skate.
Below is a list of restaurants that will be open and serving Thanksgiving dinner on November 24. Most restaurants are requiring reservations so please call the location or check availability online before visiting:
Foxtrot announced today that its fifth DMV-area location at Bethesda Row (7262 Woodmont Ave.) will officially open to the public on Friday, November 18. Visitors who download and use the Foxtrot App opening week will receive a gift while supplies last. Guests will be able to celebrate the grand opening with an all-day celebration on Friday, November 18, from 4-7PM, featuring live music, food, and drinks. The 4,000-square-foot space’s renovation was reimagined by Foxtrot’s in-house design team in partnership with Studio Saint as interior designer.
Foxtrot offers its signature all-day café experience, complete with thoughtfully sourced coffee, seasonal café drinks, fresh smoothies, breakfast tacos, chef-prepared salads and bowls, and delicious grab-and-go meals for lunch and dinner. The store also contains everything from local craft beers and fine wines hand-selected by an in-house sommelier to everyday essentials. All of its offerings are available to enjoy in-store, for pickup and with on-demand delivery through the brand’s proprietary app.
Over a year ago we let you know that Black Lion Café, which has a location at 9705 Traville Gateway Dr in Rockville, will be opening a new location in the Fenton Silver Spring apartments at 8240 Fenton St in Downtown Silver Spring. Originally scheduled to open on November 1, Source of the Spring now reports that opening has been postponed due to a delay in the cafe’s final inspection. A new opening date has not yet been announced.
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.
Many may have noticed the deconstruction of Silver Diner’s outdoor patio in Gaithersburg’s Rio Lakefront, but it is just temporary and a new patio is on the way. We were told by an employee this morning that the diner is planning on constructing a new outdoor patio that can remain open in any weather. The patio will be covered to protect customers from precipitation and will have the ability to be heated in colder months. Silver Diner has experienced delays because the patio is situated above water and supports must all go beneath the water, but the diner expects the new patio to be ready to go in about a month.
Rockville-based Silver Diner, which opened its first restaurant in Montgomery County back in 1989, recently opened its first DC location at 1250 Half Street, SE (Ball Park/Navy Yard) on October 5th. Silver Diner co-founder/CEO Robert Giaimo and partner/executive chef Ype Von Hengst opened the first Silver Diner in Rockville in 1989. The duo visited over 500 diners across the country to prepare for the opening of Silver Diner, which was located in Mid-Pike Plaza, where Pike & Rose stands today. The Rockville location later moved to Federal Plaza, in the location that was previously home to Bennigan’s, where it remains today.
“Saved by the Bell’s” Mario Lopez will be appearing at Westfield Montgomery Mall on Sunday, November 20 to host a holiday concert to benefit Children’s National Hospital. The event is open to the public, but RSVPs are encouraged and will enter guests in to win a meet and greet with Mario Lopez. Funds donated at the event will directly benefit activities and memorable moments for childhood-aged patients residing at the hospital. Westfield Montgomery will match donations made for this event and throughout other activities for the Holiday season, up to $10,000. Click here to RSVP.
Per Westfield Montgomery: On Sunday, November 20 (11AM) Westfield Montgomery is officially kicking off the season with the Home for the Holidays Concert with celebrity guest emcee, Mario Lopez – FREE to attend, but suggested donations will benefit Children’s National Hospital.