Dogfish Head Alehouse has announced it will be closing its Fairfax location later this year, according to a post on its social media. The restaurant, which will only have its Gaithersburg location left (800 W Diamond Ave), has decided not to renew its lease at the Greenbrier Town Center in Fairfax (13041 Lee Jackson Memorial Highway).

Dogfish Head Alehouse, which is owned and operated independent from the Dogfish Head brewery in Milton, DE through a licensing agreement, recently closed its Falls Church, VA location at 6220 Leesburg Pike in the Seven Corners Shopping Center. The Gaithersburg location will remain open. The message left on social media can be seen below:


Trip Advisor is a popular American online travel company that offers ratings of restaurants primarily from those who have traveled to the area, rather than locals. If you’re interested in seeing the opinions of those who have traveled to the area, you’re in luck, as today we’ll be sharing the top 10 restaurants according to Trip Advisor.

10. Silver Diner (12276 Rockville Pike, Rockville): With a 4 out of 5 rating after 639 reviews, Silver Diner comes in #10 overall in the county and #2 in Rockville. The restaurant has an additional MoCo location at Gaithersburg’s Rio.


Wiseguy pizza has opened its first MoCo location. The restaurant is located in the space that was previously occupied by Angel’s Pizza at Wheaton Mall (preview video available below).

Wiseguy serves stone-deck oven baked pizza by the slice that’s made with imported ingredients from Italy, homemade sauces, and dough using a special water filtration system. Pizza options include Cheese, Pepperoni, Paneer Tikki (House Masala, Paneer, Mozzarella, Onions, Tomato, Green & Chili Peppers, Cilantro, Jalapeño Sauce), Nashville Hot Chicken, Chicken Parmesan, and Whitestone (Garlic, Ricotta, Mozzarella, Parmigiano, Oregano, Oil from Tuscany Italy).


Margarita Bar & Grill is now open at 19201 Frederick Rd in Germantown. The restaurant’s menu features a variety of tacos, burritos, chimichangas, pupusas, fajitas, steaks, salad, and seafood. Margarita options include Cadillac, Skinny, Flavored, Diablo, and Crazy. A video of the space and a few menu items is available in the video below.

Margarita Bar & Grill has taken over the space that was previously occupied by the Fraternal Order of Eagle #3509 and Captain Mori’s Seafood House. Seafood in the Buff, a mobile steamed crab business, operates out of the parking lot next to this location in the summer months.


Per Taiwan Sister Cities: “Dear Friends, After our board meeting tonight, our board has decided that rain or shine go forward. This festival still will be hosted on this Saturday. 風雨生信心。-TSC Team”

The 2023 Taiwan Bubble Tea Festival will take place this Saturday, September 23rd from 10am until 4pm at Rockville Town Square. The event is being held by Taiwan Sister Cities, an organization “dedicated to promoting, educating, and fostering intercultural understanding and cooperation among the people of the United States and the people of Taiwan.”


Hard Times Cafe at 1117 Nelson St in Rockville has temporarily closed. While signage on the front door states, “Hard Times will be closed for the remainder of the week for extensive repairs, we will open ASAP, please call before coming,” the restaurant has apparently been closed for a few weeks now and there is no current timeframe on reopening.  Hard Times is known best for its chili, and variations include Texas, Cincinnati, Terlingua, and vegetarian. Menu items include the Chili Bubba (chili over corn bread), Chili Mac (over spaghetti), Frito Chili Mac, chili dogs, chili burgers, and chili fries. The restaurant also serves non-chili dishes, such as salads, wraps, and chicken tenders.

According to its website, “The Hard Times Cafes are designed to recall a southern depression era chili parlor. Its design is simple and honest, making use of polished red oak and terra-cotta tile. Photographs of day-to-day western life, circa 1930, are featured on the sand textured walls.” The first Hard Times Cafe opened in Alexandria, VA in 1980 and the Rockville location opened in 1984. There was previously a Hard Times Cafe at 13032 Middlebrook Rd in Germantown, which closed in 2014. There are currently additional Hard Times locations in Alexandria, Fredericksburg, and Springfield, VA.


Akira Ramen & Izakaya, located at 1800 Rockville Pike h1 at the Galvan in Rockville, is temporarily closed. The restaurant closed on Tuesday as they undergo a change in management, according to a sign on the door of the restaurant. Though a reopening date has not been provided, the restaurant does plan to open again (full note left on the door available below).

Akira Ramen & Izakaya will also open a new location next to Ela Mesa Taste of Greece (109 Paramount Park Drive) in the Spectrum Town Center in Gaithersburg. It opened its Rockville restaurant in 2017.


Charleys Cheesesteaks opens today at 13617 Connecticut Ave. in the Aspen Hill shopping center. This is the third Charleys location to open this year in Montgomery County. Last month, Charleys opened inside of the Germantown Walmart at 20910 Frederick Rd, in the space formerly occupied by McDonald’s. In June, Charleys opened a location at 19877 Century Blvd in Germantown, in the space that was previously home to Roll by Goodyear and Yogi Castle in the Shops at Town Center & Century Station shopping center. Charleys has additional locations in Bethesda, Clarksburg, Gaithersburg, and Wheaton.

Charley’s now has over 600 stores nationwide. Newer locations have adopted a new menu concept, offering chicken wings and ice cream in addition to its Philly cheesesteaks. “Tossed-to-order, the wings are made with 10 chef-inspired flavors ranging from Angry Ghost and Nashville Hot to milder options like Zesty Lemon-Lime Rub and Sweet Teriyaki.”


Taste of Kabab, a new Halal restaurant, has opened at 765-E Rockville Pike in the Ritchie Center (Rockville). The restaurant has taken over the space that was previously home to CM Chicken/Gama Chicken.

Earlier this year, Choong Man (CM) Chicken rebranded to Gama Chicken & BBQ at 765 Rockville Pike #E. At the time a representative from the restaurant, which specialized in Korean style fried chicken, let us that they made the change in early 2023 and that you can still find many of the same or similar menu items. The restaurant closed earlier this summer.


The 2023 Taiwan Bubble Tea Festival will take place this Saturday, September 23rd from 10am until 4pm at Rockville Town Square. The event is being held by Taiwan Sister Cities, an organization “dedicated to promoting, educating, and fostering intercultural understanding and cooperation among the people of the United States and the people of Taiwan.”

Participating vendors include Tiger Sugar, Cuppa Tea, ShareTea, Kyo Macha, Blowfish Poke & Grill, and more.


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