Kusshi Sushi, located at 11826 Trade Street in Pike & Rose, has brought back its Happy Hour after a 3+ year hiatus. Happy Hour takes place between Monday-Friday from 3pm-6pm. It includes the following:
$6 SUSHI
Restaurants
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Our very own Mr. MoCo stopped by a friends & family event at Stella Point Grille, which has officially opened today (video below). The restaurant is located at 3739 University Blvd in Kensington– the former home of China Gourmet. Stella Point Grille is owned by Graham Gursky (former general manager at Quincy’s South) and Stephen Lee (principal owner of China Gourmet).
Gursky is a Montgomery County native, who was raised in Germantown and attended Watkins Mill High School. He has worked in the restaurant business since he was in high school, only leaving Montgomery County for a few years while attending college in New Hampshire. Lee is also local, born in Washington DC. He has been in the restaurant industry his whole life and attended college in Kentucky before managing restaurants for decades. He has been married to his wife Christina for 51 years and has two daughters four grandchildren. Much of Lee’s staff from China Gourmet was getting ready to retire so he was ready to change concepts at the location. Gursky has brought along a lot of his former staff from Quincy’s South including the restaurant’s Assistant GM, Gavin Holt, who is also a MoCo native.
“The Eater 38 offers a selection of defining culinary destinations that showcase the diversity of D.C. (and its many suburbs).” While there are many wonderful restaurants here in Montgomery County, just two made Eater DC’s list of “38 Essential Restaurants (videos of both available below).
Caruso’s Grocery (Pike & Rose): Caruso’s Grocery opened its Pike & Rose location in December (first location is in DC). The restaurant is located at 11820 Trade St. in the dining room space that was home to Owen’s Ordinary and currently home to the recently rebranded Owen’s Tavern and Beer Garden. According to its website, “Caruso’s Grocery is modeled after the classic, Italian-American ‘red sauce joint. You know the one: red banquettes, a killer chicken Parm, Sinatra pouring through the speakers. If you’re looking for modern interpretations of a chef’s take on the classics, you won’t find them here. Caruso’s Grocery will be home to traditional Italian-American fare focused on execution and high quality ingredients – menu items include Chicken Parmesan, Penne alla Vodka, Mozzarella en Carozza, Sole Francaise, Garlic Bread with Four Cheese Sauce, and more old school hits. A joint venture from Neighborhood Restaurant Group and Partner Matthew Adler.”
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The Salt Line opened this past week in Bethesda Row, taking over the location at 4900 Hampden Lane that was previously home to Greek restaurant Kapnos until 2018. The restaurant held its grand opening on Tuesday, July 11th. We stopped by for dinner on opening day and put together a little video to see just some of what you may experience (videos below).
According to the restaurant, the opening menu at features a selection of beloved New England favorites also found at The Salt Line’s Navy Yard and Ballston locations, as well as additions from Executive Chef Eric McKamey and Long Shot Hospitality Chef/Partner Kyle Bailey. Highlights include the Local Heirloom Tomato Salad, Bucatini and Clams, Maine Peekytoe Crab Roll, and more. In addition to full beer and wine lists, the cocktail program is heavily influenced by the New England lifestyle and showcases imaginative twists on timeless classics such as the Cape Codder G&T, The Blue Cheese Martini, Sbagliato Spritz, and more. The interior evokes a nautical feel, with mahogany paneling, brass fixtures, booths inspired by yacht seats, a huge u-shaped bar, and vintage coastal ephemera throughout.
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In honor of National Ice Cream Day (Sunday, July 16th), I wanted to share my current 15 favorite ice cream spots in MoCo. I say current because this list often changes with places moving in and out of my rotation. While I love just about every ice cream place there is, I’m choosing the 15 that appeal to me the most right now. I’m also including places that offer “frozen treats” because I consider it all in the ice cream family. If there’s a place not listed, it’s just not currently in my top 15, which is likely to look different than yours (I’m only one person and can only eat so much ice cream, so there are also likely places I haven’t been to yet 😊). The list you’ll see below is accurate as of July 16th, 2023:
15. Sprinkles (Potomac): A Potomac Village staple since the late 80s, I first tried Sprinkles at some point in the 90s. It’s a bit out of the way in terms of things I’ve done in general so I haven’t been lately, but I enjoy it when I go.
Champion Billiards, located at 5205 Buckeystown Pike in Frederick, has announced that it has permanently closed its location in the Westview Promenade. The company won’t be leaving Frederick, however, as it will soon be opening a location nearby on Holiday Drive. Champion Billiards opened its first location in Silver Spring in the 80s (closed permanently in 2005h and later opened a second Montgomery County location at 1776 E Jefferson St in Federal Plaza (Rockville) back in 1992. The company also had locations in Laurel and Virginia. Below is their announcement:
“It is with a heavy heart that we must announce our closing and departure from our location here in the Westview Promenade. We are not yet operational at our new location on Holiday Drive. We appreciate the many years of loyal support we have received, and we look forward to serving you at our new location. Our last day of business here in the promenade will be tomorrow, Sunday July 16th. Please stay tuned to our Facebook for updates. We will miss you all. It’s not goodbye, but see you later.”
Last October we let you know that Peet’s Coffee would be closing its Silver Spring location with a Starbucks taking over the storefront at 1316 East-West Highway at The Blair’s Shopping Center in Silver Spring. Construction began back in March and has come pretty far with the location looking very close to being ready (photos below). An opening date is not yet available.
The Berkeley, California-born Peet’s coffee chain that closed, originally planned to open 23 locations in the DC area in 2014/2015, with the first debuting at 1701 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. MoCo locations included the Silver Spring location and two Bethesda locations– one in Montgomery Mall that closed in 2017 and one at 7629 Old Georgetown Rd that closed in 2020 after 6 years. Photos courtesy of Instagram user @_zainyyy_
The long awaited Kema by Kenaki is currently in its soft opening phase at 11325 Seven Locks Rd. STE 115 in Cabin John Village. The restaurant will be open from 11:30am until 8:30pm from Wednesday through Sunday (closed on Monday and Tuesday).
The almost 2,000 square foot restaurant will be very similar to what Kenaki in Kentlands offers, but will be more “fast paced,” in what will be a hybrid between Kenaki and AKO. Kenaki is a full-service restaurant while AKO is a sushi counter at a food hall. Kema will offer signature rolls from Kenaki/AKO such as the Black Magic roll- made with “forbidden rice”, spicy tuna, pickled jalapenos, and truffle oil, the Donkey Kong roll- made with eel, fried plantain, cream cheese, cucumber, tempura flakes, togarashi spice mayo, and sweet shoyu, among others.
Japong Bakery, which opened at 785 Rockville Pike in the Ritchie Center nearly five years ago in October 2018, closed temporarily on April 17th with a plan to reopen approximately three weeks later at its new location at 765 A Rockville Pike within the same shopping center. After a bit of a delay, the bakery has announced it will hold its soft opening on Sunday, July 16th from 9am-8pm.
The message on social media read, “We are extremely happy and proud to announce that we will be opening our doors again to our amazing customers. we are excited to share our new shop with you, so please come to visit us soon! The soft re-opening is: Sunday, July 16, 9:00am – 8:00pm. Let’s Japong!”
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Stella Point Grille has announced it will hold its grand opening this coming Monday, July 17th at 3739 University Blvd in Kensington– the former home of China Gourmet. They’ll be open from 11am until 2am, the restaurant’s regular weekday hours. Graham Gursky, joined in ownership with Stephen Lee, the principal owner of China Gourmet, have rebranded as Stella Point Grille and will offer what they call “elevated American bar fare.”
Gursky let us know the food will be competitively priced, “We won’t be selling $20 chicken wings or $10 Miller Lites.” he said. Gursky also praised local Kensington restaurants Knowles Station and Talia’s Cuzina, telling us that there are great restaurants in Kensington but that he hopes to fill the void of something lacking in the area. Stella Point Grille will be a restaurant where you can enjoy a nice meal and is also a sports bar with 17 televisions ranging 55 to 85 inches. They’ll offer event nights like karaoke, trivia, etc. along with signature food specials created by Chef Leonel Merlos throughout most of the week.
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Auntie Anne’s/Cinnabon combination restaurant opened last week at 220 Boardwalk Place in Rio, taking over the location that was recently home to Lilly Magilly’s– as the cupcakery is still preparing for a move to a new location. We have received an update that only Cinnabon is available for now with Auntie Anne’s items coming soon.
The two brands, popular for their presence in malls, are co-branding to open locations across the country. In recent years, Cinnabon left then returned to Montgomery Mall. There’s also an existing Cinnabon location in Wheaton Mall. Auntie Anne’s has locations at the outlets in Clarksburg, Ellsworth Place Mall, Montgomery Mall, and Wheaton Mall in MoCo.