Grandma’s Ice Cream and Waffles at 389 E. Gude Dr in Rockville, next to the former Branded 72/O’Brien’s restaurant space, is now open. Grandma’s is owned and operated by the same owners as “Grandma Kona’s” Kona Ice franchise in Gaithersburg/Germantown. Additional information, as well as a $1 coupon, below:

“Grandma Kona is happy to announce that Grandma’s Ice Cream and Waffles will be opening on Monday January 23, 2023!  We will be opening for breakfast at 7am till 1030am then transitioning to a great lunch till 2pm. The ice cream and waffles dessert menu will be available until 9pm. Offering liege waffles sandwiches with a variety of options including Vegan! Grandma’s Ice Cream will be an experience like non other.  Soft serve ice cream with unbelievable flavor (including dairy free options) with Grandma’s twist of injecting flavor into the ice cream and if wanted dipped in chocolate or caramel. Come use your imagination with all the different combinations you can make.”


“Downtown Brew’s” at 5751 Fishers Lane in Rockville is scheduled to hold its soft opening this Thursday, located at the former site of Downtown Beer and Wine.

According to the store, “We have on and off premise service so people can come here and enjoy a glass of wine and beer or take them with them.” “Downtown Brew’s” will also offer beer and wine home delivery services and plans to eventually offer charcuteries, gourmet toast and coffee. Accoridng to the highlight tabs on its social media, additional information, including hours of operation, will be available via the @dtbrews Instagram account, soon.


Just days after the Nike store in Georgetown closed its doors,  a new Nike store has put up signage at 7117 Arlington Rd in Bethesda– the former home of Amazon Books. According to a Bethesda Beat report, the 6,063 SF space now displays “Nike by Bethesda” signage out front, with captions saying, “Coming Soon” and “Join Our Team.”

A Nike Unite store has been in the works since last June, taking over the location that was formerly home to DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse location at 910 Ellsworth Drive. After previously setting an opening date of November 3rd on its Google listing, the store pushed back the opening to “2023”, and then set an opening date of Thursday, February 2nd. The date has been pushed back again to Thursday, February 16th, according to its Google listing. An opening date for the Bethesda location is not currently available.


The restaurant is part of Jeffeary Miskiri’s Miskiri Hospitality Group, which describes itself as a unique collective of Black, family and woman-owned products and restaurants in the DC area. Miss Toya’s will serve southern-influenced dishes such as red beans and rice, macaroni and cheese and a southern fried chicken sandwich. It will be joining the recently announced Sportrock Climbing Centers, Charley Prime, Le Macaron, as well as the recently opened Donutchew, as locally-based businesses opening in Gaithersburg’s Rio. Below you’ll see a video of the recently opened full-service Miss Toya’s restaurant in Downtown Silver Spring:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/ChZ-tyJgUP_/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=c53984a8-5e53-4a38-ac20-f4e873b9c6dc


Brew House Kentlands is coming soon to 325 Main Street in Gaithersburg. Per its logo, it touts itself as being the “best coffee shop in Kentlands.” Brew House Kentlands will be taking over the previous home of Clear Skies Meadery, which has opened its new meadery at 15201 Display Ct in Rockville.

According to signage placed on the window, Brew House Kentlands plans to hold its grand opening on March 4th. Brew House will have its hearing on the application by Kirstie Neal, for a Class D, Beer & Wine License, On/Off Sale on Thursday, February 2nd at 9:30 am, so it appears that it will offer more than just coffee. We’ll have additional information as the opening date approaches.


Per Westfield Montgomery: Westfield Montgomery is celebrating the Lunar New Year Jan. 22 and 29 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. marking the Chinese New Year with celebrations hosted in partnership with the Chinese Culture and Community Service Center (CCACC). Westfield Montgomery presents a series of well-designed and prepared cultural performances, including traditional dragon and lion dances, artisticdemonstrations, martial arts, and more! Along with these performances, the center has been adorned with festive decorations throughout.

All performances and activities occur in Nordstrom wing of the premiere shopping center, on the lower level; and is open to adults and children alike – no rsvp required.


In November we let you know that longtime MoCo restaurant Amalfi Ristorante Italiano at 12307 Wilkins Ave in Rockville was bought by the owners of Chef Tony’s Restaurant in Bethesda. The restaurant, now known as Chef Tony’s at Amalfi, has “quietly” reopened, according to a social media post by the restaurant.

On Thursday, the restaurant posted the following: “OK EVERYONE…we’re open, quietly, but open.” We are told the menu features a rotation of “Amalfi Classics”, many starters, tapas, salads, and pastas, and a variety of seafood entrees. The promenade location at Pooks Hill in Bethesda is now ‘Chef Tony’s Italian Kitchen’ and most of their seafood menu has moved over to Chef Tony’s at Amalfi. The restaurant is currently only open for dinner service. Additional information can be found via the Facebook page.


Sweetgreen will be holding a soft opening for its new Gaithersburg location at 299 Copley Place D100 in Downtown Crown this Friday, January 20 and Saturday, January 21. The official grand opening will be held on Tuesday, January 24. You can register for a free meal at the soft opening or a $5 app credit to use during the grand opening week at this link. The preview takes place from 12pm-6pm.

“We can’t wait to bring sweetgreen to your neighorbood! Join us before we officially open on Tuesday, January 24th to get a sneak peek of our new restaurant, meet the team, and taste our fresh, made-from-scratch menu with a bowl, plate or salad on us.” Sweetgreen currently has three additional MoCo locations, in Bethesda, Downtown Silver Spring, and Pike & Rose. Crown has been without a fast-casual salad restaurant since Chopt closed in early 2020 and has since moved that location to the Kentlands neighborhood. Feature photo courtesy of Sweetgreen on Facebook.


Seneca Valley and Sherwood High School students have partnered with restaurant industry leaders to gain first-hand experience creating an elegant pop up restaurant for one night in Potomac. The event will be the culmination of months of planning between MCPS students, hospitality program teachers Melissa North and Lisa Gilbert, and the Foundation for Hospitality & Restaurant Managements’ (FHRM) Student Professional Development Committee.

“Success starts with a spark,” said Ted Xenohristos, Chief Concept Officer & Founder of CAVA, “And, we’re here to light the match!” The dinner is an opportunity for the students to experience firsthand the wide variety of activities necessary to stage a sophisticated experience—from social media and ticket sales to front-of-house management and heart-of-house hustle. With a team of CAVA chefs, the students will design, prepare and serve a four-course gourmet dinner at the Falls Road Golf Course Café on February 3, 2023.


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. Since then, permanent signage has been installed and the restaurant announced Wednesday evening on Instagram that it will be opening this Spring (an exact date was not provided, post available below).

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.


Per Montgomery County: Montgomery County’s Department of Alcohol Beverage Services (ABS) will re-open its Montrose store under its upgraded retail concept, “Oak Barrel & Vine,” at 9:45 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 27. The celebration and ribbon cutting will occur in front of the store, located at 1205-B Rockville Pike in the Montrose Crossing shopping center in Rockville. County Executive Marc Elrich, other elected officials and alcohol industry representatives plan to attend the opening.

The Oak Barrel & Vine branded stores feature handpicked items with a focus on spirits and local products. The upgraded store will have 25 percent more shelf space, a dedicated tasting area, queue lines for faster checkout and wayfinding signs for a more inviting shopping experience.


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