A petition was started on Thursday to save the McDonald’s restaurant located at 11301 Seven Locks Rd in the Cabin John Village shopping center in Potomac, Maryland.
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Restaurants
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Old Town Pour House, located at 212 Ellington Drive in Gaithersburg’s Downtown Crown development, closed permanently on Tuesday, October 24th after 8.5 years of service (the lease was signed for 10 years). The restaurant is now auctioning off the contents of the restaurant, which includes beer/wine dispensers, kitchen equipment, television screens, chairs/tables/booths, umbrellas, and more. The auction began on October 28th and ends on November 28th.
Old Town Pour House released the following statement after our report on its closure last month, “After10 incredible years in Gaithersburg, our lease is up and we’ve decided to turn off the taps at Old Town Pour House at 212 Ellington Boulevard. This last decade was filled with so many delightful guests and meaningful engagement with an outstanding community, and we consider it a major success for the Bottleneck Management group. We whole-heartedly thank everyone we’ve met along the way for making us a part of their lives. Our last day of service will be Tuesday, October 24th. We’re so thankful to our team and guests for our 10 years in Gaithersburg. Though this location is closed, you can visit other Bottleneck restaurants across the US. www.bottleneckmgmt.com”
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Baskin Robbins is now open in the Montgomery Village Center. The ice cream shop is located next to Suburban Hair and the upcoming Safe Splash Swim School. The location is offering Baskin Robbins newest flavor “Turkey Day Fixin’s”, a “surprising combination of sweet potato and autumn spice ice creams mixed with honey cornbread pieces and swirls of Ocean Spray cranberry sauce.”
Also in the shopping center, permanent signage is up for Fiesta Laundromat, which will be located across from Baskin Robins, next to Boo Boo Pho. “At Fiesta Laundromat, we take immense pride in our work, whether we are working with large-scale corporate clients, individual laundry clients or our walk-in customers. Take a look around our website and learn more about the variety of laundry services we offer.” No opening date has been announced but the location is currently hiring. Fiesta has an additional location at 7601 New Hampshire Ave in Takoma Park
Brio’s Chicken has announced it will open a location at Westfield Montgomery Mall (7101 Democracy Blvd) in Bethesda. The restaurant will be located in the space previously occupied by Tara Thai, which closed this past spring. Menu items at Brio’s will includes Peruvian charbroiled chicken, empanadas, paninis, steaks, and seafood. Brio’s plans to be open daily from 8am-9pm and will offer Sunday brunch (full menu below.) No opening timeframe has been announced.
Brio’s Chicken was scheduled to open a location in the Kentlands but after several years of delays and issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the restaurant never materialized. Brio’s Chicken previously had a location in Aspen Hill in the Aspen Manor shopping center, where Outback is located, but that location is under new ownership and is now known as Gio’s Chicken.
The first MICHELIN Guide Ceremony bringing together New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C., provided a few updates for the Washington, D.C. area:
“The MICHELIN Guide inspection team is delighted add the international flavors of Causa and Rania to the Washington selection of Starred establishments,” Poullennec said. “These world-class restaurants blend tradition with innovation to deliver a delicious meal and memorable experience.” Here are Washington’s new MICHELIN-Starred restaurants, with inspector notes from each:
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Chuck E. Cheese is now open at 5238 Nicholson Ln in North Bethesda/Rockville. Chuck E. Cheese was previously located at 5270 Randolph Rd in Loehmann’s Plaza before moving to its new, larger location in White Flint Plaza, taking over the space that was previously home to Retro Fitness. The location is one of the first in the area to feature Chuck E. Cheese’s new trampoline park. There will be a grand opening celebration on Thursday, November 9 from 5-7pm that will feature free cake and the chance to win a free birthday party.
Chuck E. Cheese has an additional Montgomery County location at 1127 University Blvd E in Takoma Park. The children’s indoor entertainment arcade also had a location in Gaithersburg that closed in 2020 after being in business at Gaithersburg Square for over 30 years. Per the Biz Journals report, the new location will “feature a 17-foot digital wall and other technological advances over the older locations. There will still be some Chuck E. Cheese mainstays, including things like skee-ball, air hockey, and, of course, pizza.” The Rockville location has also matched pre-2019 numbers this year, hosting 289 birthday parties.
Per IKEA, “Our Plan and Order points are smaller stores dedicated to kitchen, bedroom, and living room planning where you can find home furnishing advice and expertise to help design your ideal space.” You can book an appointment to start your design with a planning specialist, or use in-store, self-service tools to design your own solution. “Whilst there are no items to purchase in-store and take home on the day, for your convenience, purchases made at the Plan and Order points can be delivered to your home or picked up from one of our collection points.”
More bout Poke Bros: After the founders were introduced to the Hawaiian staple on a trip to California. The appeal of this fast and casual—while healthy—concept immediately inspired the founders to begin thinking how they could bring this unique dish to the midwest. From its inception, we were confident the foodies of Columbus would love the poké concept, but wanted to provide an inexpensive and accessible product in the larger market. After some intense research and trial and error, the Poké Bros founders developed their own brand of poké bowl flavor they are proud to share and call their own. Modeling similar assembly line casual dining concepts, we developed a unique way to build your “sushi in a bowl” and have fun doing so! As the poké movement has caught on, Poké Bros has rapidly expanded into multiple states across the Midwest and East Coast, offering the same fresh and authentic cuisine to a wider range of customers. We will continue to stick to our roots, as Poké Bros continues to grow, and offer only the best fresh ingredients that fill you up but don’t slow you down.
Gwenie’s Pastries, a family owned bakery based in Rockville Maryland (12113 Nebel St.), is opening a new location in Frederick. The bakery has been serving the Washington DC area and more for over 15 years– specializing in classic Filipino desserts, fusion specialties, as well as our own unique creations. The new Frederick location will be opening at 220 B Shorebird Street in the Market Square at Frederick shopping center (2430 Osprey Way, Frederick, MD), across from Distill’d. Gwenie’s announced they had the keys to the space in February of this year, but an opening date is not yet available.
More per the Gwenie’s website: “Bakers and Cooks, three words which perfectly describe my family. The moments spent together at the kitchen, which usually end up with a sumptuous meal, has made food and pastries a big part of our family tradition. As our family recipes are handed down from one generation to another, cooking skills were also honed through time.
Downtown Crown, the restaurant and retail portion of Gaithersburg’s Crown neighborhood opened in 2014 with Harris Teeter as an anchor and restaurants including Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Coastal Flats, Paladar Latin Kitchen, La Madeleine Country French Café, and more. Though the places listed are all still open, there have been some changes in the area the last nine years or so. Below, we’ll go over a few recent closures, some vacancies, and a pretty big “coming soon.”
BurgerIM, an Israeli burger chain, closed permanently earlier this year after about three and a half years at 200 Ellington Blvd. Doki Toki, an Asian bakery and dessert shop that took over for Mango Mango in May 2022, closed early this past summer after just over a year at 202 Ellington Blvd. Old Town Pour House, one of the original Downtown Crown tenants, closed last month at 212 Ellington Blvd after 8.5 years.
Hanaro Sushi, located at 7820 Norfolk Ave in Bethesda, is currently undergoing renovations that will result in a change to the owners’ other concept, Kusshi Sushi. The restaurant began renovating earlier this year, remaining open for carryout and delivery only, but will have a new look and name when it reopens. Hanaro owner Wesley Yao took over the restaurant, which has been open since 2008, back in late 2016. The restaurant has continued to operate as Hanaro ever since.
Kusshi Sushi also officially signed on to take over the space that was home to popular sushi restaurant Sushi Damo at 36G Maryland Ave in Rockville Town Square for over 15 years. Sushi Damo, one of the first tenants of Rockville Town Square, closed permanently on October 1st.
Last November, we let you know that New York‘s Chip City will be opening its first Maryland location at the Shoppes of Bethesda, replacing Fancy Cakes By Leslie at 4939 Elm St. Fancy Cakes by Leslie closed in October 2022. The new store opened to plenty of fanfare, as customers and social media influencers alike have been posting their experiences at the new shop.
Five years ago, cookies were a side hustle for Theodore Gailas and Peter Phillips. Since then, they’ve opened over a dozen Chip City cookie shops in and around New York with plans to expand outside of the area. Chip City is expected to rapidly expand, with over 20 stores expected to open in 2023. According to Forbes, The rollout plan will be supported by the founder of fast casual restaurant Shake Shack, Danny Meyer, who recently invested $10 million in the cookies.