Restaurants

Baked Potato House, Featuring “Delicious Stuffed Potatoes”, is Coming to Clarksburg

By MCS Staff

Baked Potato House, featuring “delicious stuffed potatoes”, is coming to the Clarksburg Premium Outlets, taking over the space that was previously home to Day & Night Cereal Bar. The cereal bar cleared out of the space last month.

Currently not much is known about Baked Potato House, but similar restaurants and carts have recently opened in areas like New York. Baked Potato King is a similar restaurant in New York and a new cart, known as Potato House, has recently opened. They both offer a variety of stuffed baked potatoes that allow customers to stuff a large baked potatoes with their choice of salads (chicken, tuna, chicken, salmon, eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms and more) and their choice of sauces including ketchup, mustard, ranch, sour cream, and more.

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VinoRita Wine Slushies Coming Soon to Montgomery Mall

By MCS Staff

VinoRita Wine Slushies is coming to the Montgomery Mall food court, taking over the kiosk space that was previously home to HalfSmoke, Gelato Galax, and Coldstone Creamery. HalfSmoke closed in April and VinoRita currently has a hearing with Montgomery County’s Alcohol Beverage Services (ABS) on Thursday, July 6th at 1pm. VinoRita currently has locations in Georgia (Atlanta) and North Carolina (Charlotte and Concord). While an opening date is not yet available we don’t expect it to take long following the approval of the alcohol license.

The menu consists of a variety of flavors, including the best selling “Black San,” which is a Blackberry Sangria. Other flavors include Peach Frose, Strawberry Daquiri, Blueberry Pomegranate, and a variety of non-alcoholic slushees. Additional information below, Per VinoRita:

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Buc-ee’s To Open First Virginia Location; Plans For Additional VA Stores

By MCS Staff

According to New Kent County Economic Development, Buc-ee’s Travel Center will expand their operations to New Kent County, Virginia at the exit 211 interchange along Interstate 64. The company plans to construct a 74,000 SF store with 120 fueling positions, 557 parking spaces, 24 Tesla charging spaces and 10 bus/RV parking spaces. The anticipated opening date for the Virginia’s first Buc-ee’s is 2027 with additional Virginia locations planned for the future. According to BizJournals, “Buc-ee’s has identified multiple Virginia sites for potential stores, including one on the I-81 corridor and another on I-95 north of Richmond, bringing the chain ever closer to Greater Washington.”

According to the company, “Buc-ee’s Travel Center is a family-focused travel center featuring a wide range of freshly prepared foods including home-crafted bbq, custom made sandwiches, fresh salads and fruits, baked goods, and sweets as well as a unique collection of gifts, housewares, clothing, and weekend get-away gear. Buc-ee’s is open 24/7 and provides our guests with the cleanest restrooms and friendliest staff to be found anywhere; much less on I-64. Buc-ee’s is not a truck stop; 18 wheelers are not allowed on the property. Buc-ee’s is a one-of-a-kind destination. Buc-ee’s will employ (full time with benefits) over 175 residents earning an average minimum wage of $16-18 per hour”.

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Dok Khao Thai Eatery (Woodbridge, Columbia) is Coming to MoCo

By MCS Staff

Dok Khao Thai Eatery is coming to Montgomery County, signing on to move into a new space in Chevy Chase Lake, next to The Charmery (opening on Friday) off of Connecticut Ave in Chevy Chase.  Dok Thai Thai Eatery opened its first location in Woodbridge, VA, followed by a second in the Merriweather District in Downtown Columbia, which is coincidentally also located to a relatively new location of The Charmery. Only a few spots remain available at Chevy Chase Lake, which is anchored by Amazon Fresh.

The restaurant describes itself as a “Local Thai Cuisine for everyone – every dish is crafty made to order using high quality ingredients including locally made fresh noodles, chef’s home grown Thai herbs, & Rare-Finds Asian vegetables.” The menu includes “Deliciously addictive Street Food & Noodles, Sense of Thai craft cocktails, and homemade cakes and an Asian Inspired Dessert Bar . At Dok Khao Thai Eatery, we brought to you the breeze of a Bangkok Night Market and the taste of real Thai street food with a variety of Thai small plates, healthy salads, & hearty noodle soups.” An opening date/timeframe is not yet available. Featured photo courtesy of the Dok Khao website.

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Opening Information for Colony Grill

By Patrick Herron

Colony Grill, a popular Connecticut Pizza restaurant offering “bar pies”, opens its newest location this Monday, June 19, at Cabin John Village in Potomac. Pricing for Colony Grill’s pies range from $10.50 to $13.50 with options for adding additional toppings or gluten–free crust. The menu also features a “salad pie,” as well as a breakfast pie that features a choice of bacon or sausage, egg, and cheese and is available all day. 

”Colony Grill, the 85-year-old restaurant brand known for its family-friendly tavern settings, gracious hospitality, and famous “hot oil” bar-style pizzas, has announced the opening of its newest location at Cabin John Village, a bustling mixed-use development located at 11325 Seven LocksRoad in Potomac, Maryland. Beginning Monday, June 19, the 4,800-square-foot space will be open daily from 11:30 a.m. until late closing, offering seating for about 175 across its dining room, bar, and patio.

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Local Restaurant, Starvin Marvin, Making Waves With Its “Mambo Sauce”

By MCS Staff

Starvin Marvin opened in Gaithersburg opened in 1982 and was bought by the Foundas family in 1987. In 1990 the family opened a location in Wheaton that only lasted a few years. In 2009, a Frederick location opened and the Gaithersburg store was sold to two brothers who were longtime employees and wanted something of their own. Those early days at the Gaithersburg store in the 90s, however, were the inspiration for Starvin Marvin Mambo Sauce– the restaurant’s version of “mumbo sauce”, the red/orange tangy sauce made popular in D.C. area takeout spots for decades.

“Mambo was something we experimented with from time time in the 90’s because our Gaithersburg customers would ask for it, but it was actually in Frederick where our Mambo Sauce (found in the grocery stores today) began to come together.” Dino Foundas told us. “We worked with some of our dear employees to perfect the recipe that we’ve started to include in a lot of our dishes” (photos below).

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Mykonos Signs On to Bring New Restaurant to Cabin John Village

By MCS Staff

Mykonos, a Rockville staple since the 90s, will be opening a new restaurant in Potomac’s Cabin John Village. The restaurant is listed as the tenant in the space that was occupied by Broadway Pizza until the end of 2021, and the new restaurant was confirmed by a representative at the restaurant. The opening of the new restaurant will not affect the Rockville location, which will continue to operate as it has.

Mykonos, which is more of a traditional Greek restaurant than its Rockville location, also has a sister, fast-casual restaurant, Gyroland. It’s located at 1701-B3 Rockville Pike and opened in 2017. Gyroland serves open or wrapped sandwiches with lamb, beef, pork or chicken as set menu items or customizable dishes, as well as platters, salads and sides, Greek appetizers like the tyrokafteri spicy feta dip, and more.

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Mezeh is Coming Soon to Aspen Hill

By MCS Staff

Back in February of 2019, Mezeh Mediterranean Grill closed its Wheaton Mall location and reported on its website that it will be relocating to the Aspen Hill shopping center. The would-be Aspen Hill location was later removed from the Mezeh website in 2020, but a representative from the shopping center told us the two sides still hoped to reach an agreement. Nearly three years later, it’s officially happening. Mezeh has recently started construction on the old Jerry’s Subs & Pizza space. An opening date is not yet available.

Mezeh Mediterranean Grill will also be opening a new location in the upcoming Kensington Crossing development at 10619 Connecticut Avenue (at Plyers Mill Road). The restaurant has signed on to take over a new 2,350SF space with plenty of outdoor seating. Mezeh is a fast-casual eatery with a buffet-style of offerings that include rice and salad bowls, wraps and a variety of sauces and toppings. Mezeh currently has MoCo locations in Gaithersburg and Germantown.

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MoCo’s Very Own, CAVA, Makes its Debut on the New York Stock Exchange

By MCS Staff

Cava is making its debut on the New York Stock Exchange Thursday morning, with its IPO priced at $22 per share, valuing the company at $2.5 billion. The company, which was started by three Montgomery County natives with its first full-service restaurant in Rockville in 2006 (Cava Mezze in Traville Gateway), has since become the largest restaurant operator in the Mediterranean category in the U.S. restaurant industry, has opened over 200 restaurants since opening its first fast-casual spot in Bethesda in 2011.

In 2006, first-generation Greek Americans Ted Xenohristos (Paint Branch High School), Ike Grigoropoulos (Gaithersburg High School), and Dimitri Moshovitis (Quince Orchard High School) launched the full-service Cava Mezze restaurant in the Traville Gateway shopping center (Rockville), with Moshovitis as executive chef. Following the launch of four additional restaurants, in 2008, Xenohristos, Grigoropoulos, and Moshovitis launched a line of dips and spreads to over 200 stores, including Whole Foods Market. In 2009, Brett Schulman joined them as CEO and co-founder of the fast-casual chain CAVA (originally called Cava Mezze Grill, later rebranded as Cava Grill and then simply as CAVA). The group opened the first CAVA restaurant in Bethesda in January 2011.

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Barstool-Rated Pizza Places in MoCo

By MCS Staff

At one point Dave Portnoy, founder of Barstool Sports, ate pizza every day for two years while getting his “One Bite” pizza reviews started on Instagram and YouTube. Through the years, he has eaten pizza from various restaurants across the country– providing a 1-10 rating for each slice, with over 1,000 ratings overall. While many disagree with his opinion on pizza, the ratings are some of the most popular across the country (in terms of social media views). Most of his reviews come from pizza places in Massachusetts, New York, and New Jersey, but some restaurants operate stores locally here in MoCo. Check them out below:

Buca Di Beppo (New York, NY, #1024, 1.2). An incredibly low score for the Italian family-style chain restaurant. It’s sole MoCo location can be found in Gaithersburg’s Kentlands neighborhood.

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