District Falafel will be taking over the location that was most recently home to The Wok Chinese Kitchen and previously home to longtime favorite Fu Shing Cafe at 10315 Westlake Drive in the Westlake Crossing shopping center, located next to Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. The restaurant hopes to open by the end of September.

Fu Shing Cafe closed permanently in Westlake Crossing in July of 2019. Soon after Soy Kitchen was announced as the restaurant that would be taking its place, with signage going up, but that signage was replace with signage for The Wok about a year later. The Wok opened in November 2020. A menu for District Falafel’s food truck, and a couple photo of menu items, can be seen below:


Last week we spoke with a manager at the restaurant who was able to confirm that Miller’s Ale House will be closing permanently in August, but the date has since been updated to September 25th. The restaurant closes after approximately 10 years at 1471 Rockville Pike in Rockville.

The location was previously home to Hooters before it moved across the Pike (and later closed) and Shakey’s before that. Miller’s Ale House is a Florida-based American restaurant and sports bar chain that was founded in 1988. The restaurant serves steaks, chicken, burgers, salads, seafood, and more. Though most of their locations are in Florida (over 50), there are over 30 other locations open across the east coast. Miller’s Ale House has nearby locations in Hyattsville and Sterling, VA locations.


A new ice cream spot named The Scoop is coming to 7909 Tuckerman Ln, the former Baskin-Robbins location in Cabin John Village. The creamery is being opened by Timothy and Mitch Ryoo, Potomac natives and Winston Churchill High School Graduates (2010 and 2006).  The Scoop plans to open in about 2-3 weeks as they are just waiting for final permits and inspections from the county.

The Scoop will feature 24-30 permanent flavors and 8-10 seasonal options. All of the ice cream is made in house with natural ingredients, staying away from products like simple syrup.  The owners tell us they are working with local distributors and are in talks with local farms to purchase ingredients from. The Scoops plans to stay open later than their competitors (11pm) as they want to be known as a late-night dessert destination. The Scoop will offer ice cream cones, cups, and milkshakes, as well as Italian ice and dairy free ice cream. They also plan to eventually serve gelato. We will post an update once an opening date has been announced.


Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services responded to a fire at Copper Canyon Grill (928 Ellsworth Dr, Silver Spring) this morning, July 12,  around 8:45am. According to Chief Spokesperson for MCFRS Pete Piringer,  the fire was located in the duct work of the restaurant and there was smoke coming from the roof of the building, above the kitchen. Around 85 firefighters responded to the scene and there are no reported injuries.

The restaurant is currently closed and we will post an update on the status of its reopening when it becomes available. There is reported to be extensive damage ($350k to >$500k) to the Copper Canyon Kitchen, according to MCFRS Battalion Chief Jason Blake.


About Catalyst Hot Dogs (menu available in link):

”Owner/operator, Chris Van Jura, has been a member of the Hospitality Industry for nearly 20 years. Over this time he has, on a daily basis, done what every Hospitalian does, which is put the attention and focus on the guest. During this time, he has relocated to the DMV, found love and started a family. He has devoted hundreds of hours to the needs of others—and now, through the pandemic and two furloughs, he has made a choice: We’re getting into the Hot Dog business!”


Work has begun on the interior of Charley Prime, the new restaurant from Jackie Greenbaum & Gordon Banks (Little Coco’s, El Chucho, Bar Charley, Quarry House Tavern) that will be replacing Tara Thai on the Rio boardwalk at 9811 Washington Blvd in Gaithersburg. The restaurant is expected to open this fall.

According to a press release, the team envisions the restaurant as a mature version of their popular DC restaurant Bar Charley, with an expanded menu, but keeping its lively cocktail forward energy. The broader menu will remain steak focused, but will also feature house made pastas (a la Little Coco’s) as well as other items unique to just this location. The group has tapped Editlab@Streetsense to design the space.


Bento Express will be opening in the Woodmoor Shopping Center (10141 Colesville Road) in Silver Spring later this year. The new fast-casual restaurant will be taking over the location that was formerly home to Sprint, between the UPS Store and Subway.

While we don’t know much about the restaurant at this time, we have been told that it will be serving teriyaki chicken, sushi, and bento boxes, which could fare well in the area with the lunch and after-school crowd from nearby Montgomery Blair High School.


In March we let you know that Scratch Kitchen & Bistro will be taking over the location that was formerly home to CB Acai and House of Fortune at 18062 Georgia Avenue in Olney. The new restaurant has previously announced on Instagram that it planned to hold its grand opening on Sunday, May 15th, but a few construction delays have pushed things back and the restaurant is now hoping to open in late June.

The restaurant is described as a family-owned bistro and cafe. It will serve breakfast and lunch classics made from locally sourced ingredients. Breakfast will be available all day, according to Scratch Kitchen’s Instagram account.


Eater DC released its “Where to Find Outstanding Barbecue Around D.C.” list earlier this week and MoCo’s Money Muscle BBQ topped the list, coming in at number 1. Money Muscle BBQ is a food truck that is located adjacent from sister restaurant All Set at 8630 Fenton St Plaza 5. Outdoor seating is also available at the Money Muscle BBQ truck and menu items are also offered at All Set.

Federalist Pig also made the list, coming in at number 6. Federalist Pig is available in MoCo for pick up and delivery via Bethesda’s Ensemble at 4856 Cordell Ave. Chef Rob Sonderman recently made an appearance on Good Morning America as he heads to the finals of the Ultimate Pitmaster Competition.


Construction is ongoing on the 7.24 acres located approximately 0.30 miles southwest of I-270, 1.5 miles from Little Bennett Regional Park and Clarksburg Town Center; and directly north of West Old Baltimore.  The Subject Property is directly across the realigned Clarksburg Road (MD121) from the Clarksburg Premium Outlets and a new and very familiar tenant has signed on- Popeyes.

Popeyes has made plenty of recent moves within Montgomery County, recently opening new locations in Briggs Chaney, Downtown Silver Spring, and Gaithersburg. The fried chicken chain announced last month that it is set to open more than 200 new locations in the United States and Canada this year with additional locations in several other places around the world. Over half of the new Popeyes locations that are scheduled to open in 2022 will feature double drive-thrus, but it’s still unclear whether or not this location will have a drive-thru.


Representatives from Naz’s Halal (13025 Wisteria Drive) in Germantown have told us that the restaurant will be opening on May 14. Naz’s offers rice platters, sandwiches, gyros, wings, salads, and more, and is located in the former site of the Water Factory, near Planet Fitness. In December we told you Naz’s would expanding to Germantown, Rockville (1040 Rockville Pike), Takoma Park (7653 New Hampshire Ave) and White Oak (11209 New Hampshire Ave). We will post opening information for those locations as soon as it becomes available.

The first location outside of New York was also in MoCo, at the Burtonsville Town Center, next to Tropical Smoothie Cafe. That location opened in August 2020 and has become a local favorite with late night hours, remaining open until 2am Sunday through Thursday and 4am on Friday and Saturday. Since the Burtonsville opening, Naz’s Halal has expanded to California and Rhode Island.   Five additional Maryland restaurants will be opening in the upcoming year. Those will be located in Baltimore, Bowie, Denton, Ellicott City, and Waldorf.


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