Back in June of 2020 we let you know that Ela Mesa Taste of Greece would be coming to the Spectrum Town Center in Gaithersburg. After almost two years, the restaurant has announced it will hold its grand opening on Monday, May 2nd. The new Greek restaurant is located at 109 Paramount Park Drive in the Spectrum Town Center in Gaithersburg, which is currently home to restaurants like Barking Made Cafe, California Tortilla, Hot Pot Hero, and Firebirds.

The pandemic, coupled with permitting and supply chain issues, caused the delays in the restaurant’s opening. The restaurant will offer traditional Greek fare and will also have a full bar that seats 10 people. Ela Mesa will be open Monday through Saturday 11am-10pm, and Sunday 11am-9pm.


The Crazy Mason Milkshake Bar will be opening soon in Ellicott City in nearby Howard County. The shop will be located at 8225 Main Street in the historic downtown area.

The milkshake bar, which started out just under 2 years ago in South Carolina, has recently opened locations in Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia.


Bethesda Bagels announced on Monday that they would be closing its Dupont Circle location in Washington DC this Sunday, April 24, after failing to come to a lease agreement with the landlord of the property.

After nearly 12 years and millions and millions of bagels, our Dupont Circle location will be closing. Our last day will be Sunday, April 24th. Unfortunately, we have not been able to come to an agreement with our landlord to extend our lease. Our family is EXTREMELY THANKFUL for your support over the last decade plus. We will be relocating most of our employees to our other locations.


Hickory Bar & Grill, located at 15420 Columbia Pike B in Burtonsville, has closed.

It has been closed for a while, with Google stating that the closure is temporary, but Site Realty has now placed signs in the window stating that the space is available to lease (you can call 301-622-9300 if you’re interested in leasing the space).


Back in November we let you know that The Pretzel Bakery, which opened it’s DC location at 257 15th Street SE in DC back in 2012, was coming to Cabin John Village in Potomac. The bakery is located in the space formerly occupied by the Hair Cuttery at 7961 Tuckerman Ln. According to its website, the Pretzel Bakery serves small batch, hand-rolled, Philadelphia-style soft pretzels fresh-out-of-the-oven all day.  In addition to traditional pretzels, they also sell pretzel dogs, pretzel calzones, stuffed pretzel “bombs”, and pretzel sliders.

It is now open. According to Google, the hours of operation are as follows:


A new restaurant, Laperaux, the journeymanchef’s Bistro,  is coming to 18056 Mateny Rd in Germantown, the former home of Gumbo Ya Ya, Dickie’s BBQ Pit, and Cafe Mileto (located in the same strip as Shoppers). Chef and owner Gregory Webb, who has earned such accolades and awards as “Chef of the Year 1998” in Houston, Texas, “Winner all Categories” at the Texas Open Wild Game Cookoff, “Top Chefs of Mexico City” and many others, will be bringing a French bistro to the location, which hopes to open this Spring.

The restaurant will offer high casual cuisine created by Webb, who has competed against Bobby Flay on The Food Network, and won numerous ‘chopped style’ competitions put on for various local charity and fund raising events, including DC Central Kitchen’s Chefs Cook Off. Webb decided on the location because it’s close to his Gaithersburg home. Previously, he spent 7 years as the executive chef at Downtown Crown’s Paladar. He looks forward to continuing to serve the community and is hoping for an August opening. We’ll have updates for you as construction progresses at the upcoming restaurant.


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