Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) responded to a call for a fire at the Fire Station 1 restaurant at 8131 Georgia Avenue in Downtown Silver Spring. Units arrived to find a fire in and around the exhaust system of the restaurant and fire coming from the chimney. The bulk of the fire was quickly knocked out and units checked for hot spots and extensions in other parts of the chimney, shaft, and ductwork of the restaurant.

No injuries were reported, but some lanes were blocked due to the fire in the Downtown Silver Spring area.


$6 gyros are now available on Wednesdays in Frederick County as Big Greek Cafe has officially opened its new Urbana location in Village Square at Urbana– joining the likes of Chipotle, Jersey Mike’s, Tropical Smoothie Cafe, and Domino’s at the new retail development (3290 Bennett Creek Ave). After a few delays with supplies and kitchen equipment the restaurant officially opened on Monday, October 10th.

This is the 6th location for the local restaurant, and the first outside of Montgomery County. Big Greek Cafe opened its first location in Downtown Silver Spring in 2009 and has quickly grown to become a local favorite across the county. There are currently additional locations in Bethesda, Hillandale, Kensington, and Rockville, along with Big Greek Cafe on Wheels– a food truck that debuted in 2020.


The multi-tenant retail shipping center known as The Shops At Congressional Village, a one/story commercial building and a leasehold interest on the first floor of 192 Halpine Rd in Rockville went for $44 million at an auction on Wednesday, October 12th, 2022 at 11:00AM.

The auction was won by the IVEA restaurant group (who owns local restaurants like Gyuzo BBQ, Gong Cha, The Spot, Kyoto Matcha, Lao Sze Chuan, and more) and Chicago-based Windfall Group LLC who we are told plans to add additional restaurants to the shopping center. The Shops at Congressional Village is currently home to 7-Eleven, ATI Physical Therapy, Heartland Dental, MyEyeDr., Verizon, and more.


Z&Z, the popular new bakery/restaurant in Rockville (1111 Nelson Street) that got its start in local farmers markets in 2016, has announced that its popular manoushe is now available in local DC, MD and VA Whole Foods. Z&Z recently earned national recognition, being included in a list of 2022’s “Best New Restaurants” by national food website bon apetit.

Co-founder Danny Dubbaneh tells us that this the first time ever that manoushe is available in a major grocer, citing the importance of this kind of cultural representation in the frozen pizza aisle. “Ever since we started at farmers markets way back in 2016 we’ve always had one goal in mind: make everyone know and love manoushe as much as we do. And that’s why we’re excited to be partnering with Whole Foods to make manoushe available for everyone— from the comfort of their own homes.” Dubbaneh said.


Last December we let you know that The Creek Lodge Bar & Grill would be replacing Urban BBQ at 5566 Norbeck Rd in the Rock Creek Village Center. Back in May, permanent signage went up and the restaurant has looked ready to go for a couple weeks. We have now received word that the grand opening will take place on Monday, October 17th.

The Creek Lodge Bar & Grill is co-owned and operated by the folks that have brought you Taco Daddy (now closed, but locations formerly located in Gaithersburg and Frederick), Brews & Barrels (Kentlands), Royal Tandoor (Gaithersburg), and Vine Alley (Kentlands).


Pizza Rosa, a pop-up pizza shop located inside of Open Hand Pasta & Provisions, which just opened at 220 Girard St. Suite B in Gaithersburg, is currently holding its soft opening. The store is offering a free small pizza (pepperoni or cheese) to anyone that stops by the location this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 4-9pm. Open Hand, who are a staple at local farmers markets, specialize in handmade Italian foods like pasta, cheeses, bread, sauces, and desserts.  The new store eventually plans to sell beer and wine and has a hearing with the Montgomery County ABS scheduled for next month. Open Hand’s hours are 12-9pm Tuesday through Sunday, and Pizza Rosa is available each day after 4pm. Photos below:

According to their website, “Our pizza is built for what we do – carryout and delivery.  It has a thicker crust than what you might find in most pizza shops, but not as thick as a pan pie.  We mix our dough by hand and use a slow fermentation at room temperature to make a light and airy crust.  Of course we only use the best ingredients available – spring water, artisan flours, organic san marzanos, mediterranean sea salt, and the mozz that we make daily.  Our not so secret ingredient is the nixtamal we make from local corn. We add a little nixtamal to the dough for flavor, nutrition, and to help it hold up better in a box. Please don’t ask silly questions like what style pizza this is (Neopolitan, Roman, Detroit, NY, NJ, Chicago, Sicilian, etc). Imitation is is best left to chains and hacks. This is pizza OUR style – you won’t find it anywhere else.”


Last month we let you know that Filo Cafe, a self-described “mom and pop restaurant” that will offer Filipino cuisine, is coming to 4836 Boiling Brook Pkwy.

The restaurant has announced that it will begin its soft opening on Saturday, October 8th at 10am. It will take over the storefront that was previously home to NYC Pizza and Subs. The restaurant will offer all-day breakfast, noodles, “Filo Faves”, combos, and more. New tentative hours are 10am-4:30pm Tuesday through Sunday, and closed on Mondays. The full menu can be seen below:


Back in September 2021 we let you know that Kusshi, a popular sushi restaurant in Pike & Rose, would be opening a new location called Kusshi.ko in Downtown Silver Spring, taking over the location that was formerly occupied by Gusto in Downtown Silver Spring (8512 Fenton Street). The restaurant has since dropped the “ko” from its name, but the soft opening is happening now.

Co-owner Wesley Yao has told us that a soft opening discount is available if you send a direct message to @thekusshisushi_silverspring via Instagram and that @thekusshisushi and @YaoFomo will be doing giftcard giveaways.


Mochinut, a restaurant that serves mochi donuts, Korean rice flour hotdogs, soft serve, and bubble tea drinks (menu available below), is coming to 838 Rockville Pike– the current location of Tea-Do. Tea-Do is a “contemporary tea house” that was on the early side of MoCo’s bubble tea explosion in recent years, opening in January of 2016. Mochinut will be located inside of Tea-Do.


Back in May we let you know about ‘That Smoothie Place’ coming to Damascus, taking over the location that was formerly home to Sprint in the Damascus shopping center at 9815 Main Street, suite 106. The store is now expected to open within the next couple weeks.

That Smoothie Place has been operating as a food truck since 2018, frequenting Damascus and other surrounding areas.  They offer a variety of smoothies known as “Rock Star Smoothies” named after popular rock stars of the past and present. The featured photo shows a special known as “The Lennox” named after Annie Lennox of the popular 80s group Eurythmics and contains apple, banana, apple cider  and a few other ingredients. Other smoothies on the menu include the Ozzy, Ringo Starr, Jagger, Morrison, and more.


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