Mastiha Bakery, a Kensington favorite (formerly known as Baklava Couture) since 2015, is gearing up for its soft opening this week in its new Rockville location at 2387 Lewis Ave. […]
Restaurants
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Permanent signage has been up for a few months at the upcoming Shake Shake location in Gaithersburg’s Kentlands neighborhood. A representative from the Potomac location previously let us know that the Kentlands location was scheduled to open at the end of April, but the burger chain has posted a notice on the door of its upcoming location stating that it will open on Wednesday, May 3 (photos below). Shake Shack has additional MoCo locations at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda and Cabin John Village in Potomac.
Background: On July 8, 2021, Shake Shack was granted approval for the construction of a 4,700 square foot building with outdoor seating as the second of three commercial infill sites totaling 16,000 square feet along Kentlands Square Place. The burger chain was granted its license to sell beer and wine on the premises during its Alcohol Beverage Services (ABS) hearing on January 6th of 2022, and prepared to break ground in February. Construction began in March, but stalled after flooding that occurred over the summer. The approval was for the first of three infill sites was granted for the construction of a 2,100 square foot Starbucks building with drive through and outdoor seating. Starbucks opened in January of 2021, a little over two years ago.
Copper Canyon Grill (100 Boardwalk Place at Rio Lakefront) is requesting approval for a 1,012 square foot covered dining pier to be located in the RIO Lake. The Schematic Development Plan will add commercial as an allowed use on the RIO lake parcel. The restaurant currently has two locations in Montgomery County with the other in Downtown Silver Spring (928 Ellsworth Drive).
Per the City of Gaithersburg: The Joint Public Hearing is scheduled for Monday, May 1, 2023 in the City Hall Council Chambers at 31 South Summit Avenue. The public hearing is hybrid, where public comment can be accepted both in person or virtually. Further information may be obtained from the Planning and Code Administration, 31 South Summit Avenue between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, visiting the City’s website at www.gaithersburgmd.gov/meetings, or calling 301-258-6330. The final agenda is posted to the City’s meeting agenda website Friday before the scheduled meeting and includes all background material. Any questions or comments on the application should be directed to the Planning Department at [email protected] or 301-258-6330. Featured photo shows existing bridge at Rio Lakefront.
In October, we let you know that a new Korean barbecue restaurant signed on to take over the space previously occupied by Saffron Indian Cuisine at Woodmont Station in Rockville (1319 Rockville Pike). In February we let you know that the restaurant is Damso Korean BBQ, and now we know that the soft opening will be held on Friday, April 14th from 5pm-9pm.
Construction is complete and signage has been up for a couple months at the upcoming Korean bbq restaurant. A hearing with Montgomery County’s Alcohol Beverage Services (ABS) took place in March the restaurant is now ready to go. Saffron Indian Cuisine occupied the space from 2014 until it closed in May 2022.
Japong Bakery, which opened at 785 Rockville Pike in the Ritchie Center nearly five years ago in October 2018, has announced that it’ll temporarily close for approximately three weeks as the bakery transitions to its new location at 765 A Rockville Pike within the same shopping center.
“Dear Japong Customers, We will be moving to our new and improved location, to better serve you in the future! Please excuse our closing from 4/17/2023 to 5/09/2023, as we transition our operations to the new storefront. We thank you for your continuous support and understanding, and we look forward to seeing you again soon for our grand reopening! Let’s Japong! 765 A Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20785”
Ji Bei Chuan Noodle House is now open at 19520 Waters Road Unit 5 in Germantown. The new restaurant has taken over the location that was formerly home to Provisions Cafe closed in January 2022 after just over three years in Germantown.
Ji Bei Chuan is a restaurant franchise based in China that was founded in 2018. In just five years it has become one of the fast growing noodle restaurants in China with over 400 locations across the country. There are now several locations in the United States (over 50 in the last two years) with the Germantown location being the first in Maryland. Ji Bei Chuan Noodle House is open on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 11am-9pm, Friday and Saturday from 11am-9:30pm, and Sunday from 11:30am until 9pm (closed on Tuesdays). The menu can be seen here. Featured photo courtesy of Ji Bei Chuan, photo below courtesy of Google Maps.
The wait is almost over as the highly anticipated Salt & Vine has announced a Spring 2023 opening (exact date not yet available). It will be taking over the Olney House, which was previously the home of Ricciuti’s at 3308 Olney-Sandy Spring Rd. Initially, things didn’t move as quickly as anticipated due to Covid delays. Then the permitting process moved at a slower pace due to the historical significance of the building, but the restaurant is now hiring ahead of its planned opening within the next few months.
Owner and head chef Thomas Zippelli is a Howard County native, having grown up in the county during his childhood and attending River Hill High School. He is passionately sharing his message “EAT LOCAL!” Since his return to the area, Thomas has worked on building his relationships with the local farmers and farmer markets. His morning wouldn’t be complete without taking his truck around to pick up some local produce to add to the menu each night. Zippelli has worked at some of the most notable restaurants in the country, including Michelin three-star restaurants Eleven Madison Park in New York and The French Laundry in California.
California Tortilla has reopened its Cabin John Village location, according to a report by Store Reporter. Per the report, the newly reopened fast-casual restaurant now has a “revamped design (now featuring a Cava-style assembly line) and an expanded patio area.” Often referred to as “Cal Tort”, the fast-casual chain serves fresh, made-to-order burritos, quesadillas, and salads all grounded in a foundation of Mexican cuisine.
California Tortilla has nearly 50 locations in the DMV, burn its first ever location came in August 1995 on Cordell Avenue in Bethesda. The restaurant’s headquarters are also currently in Rockville/Potomac. Featured photo courtesy of Google Maps.
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 in Silver Spring. After a few months, construction has begun at the upcoming Starbucks location. The interior appears to have been gutted with a lot left to go, so we would anticipate a wait of a few months before coffee is being served at the lcoation again.
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. Featured photo courtesy of Google Maps.
Last October we let you know that French pastry shop Le Macaron is coming to 7 Grand Corner Ave (next to BurgerFi) in Gaithersburg’s Rio. The shop is expected to open in the coming months, and is owned by MoCo residents Natalia Mejia and Camilo Beltran. Le Macaron, a Florida-based pastry shop now has more than 70 locations across the US, with more locations on the way as franchisees are opening in shopping centers like Rio, food trucks, and kiosks in malls.
Menu items at the upcoming Rio location will include macarons (available in 20 flavors), gourmet chocolates, French gelato, specialty European style coffees, classic French pastries, and homemade candies. The store is scheduled to open in “Spring 2023”, but our best guess would be late spring based on where it’s at in the construction process. More on the history Le Macaron, per its website:
Giacomo’s, a Neapolitan-style mobile brick oven pizzeria that has operated in various places across MoCo, has announced that it will cease operations at the end of this month. The pizzeria was founded by Giacomo Sciuto, an MCPS history teacher and son of a Sicilian immigrant who came to the country in 1988. According to an announcement made via social media, Giacomo’s will continue with all of its April events and will post that schedule later this week. The full post can be seen below (featured photo courtesy of Giacomo’s Brick Oven Pizza Instagram):