Hot Pot Hero opened a few weeks back at the Spectrum Town Center in Gaithersburg and many have inquired about the “Rougamo” sign and bar-like area towards the back of the restaurant.

Today we were told Rougamo will be a noodle bar and that Hot Pot Hero hopes to have it ready to go by the end of this year or January.


CM Chicken is coming to Germantown– taking over the space that was home to Johnny’s Kabob Restaurant (12933 Wisteria Drive) in Germantown Plaza.

Originally started in South Korea, CM Chicken specializes in Texas-Korean-style fried chicken. On the menu, expect to see items like red hot pepper chicken, garlic spicy chicken, curry chicken, fried chicken, bacon spinach chicken, lemon spring onion chicken and tikku soy sauce chicken gizzards, along with sides such as rice, coleslaw and fried calamari.


Kyoto Matcha, an international chain dedicated to Matcha desserts, opened in Rockville Town Square on Black Friday.

Today we stopped in for some amazing desserts and were pleasantly surprised by a full restaurant during off-peak hours– definitely great to see at Rockville Town Square.


Kara Hibachi & Sushi is coming to the Potomac Valley Shopping Center across from Quince Orchard High School in Gaithersburg.

I stopped in last night and was told that they expect to open by the end of the month, but it looked like there was plenty of work left to be done.


UPDATE: Bethesda Magazine has reported that Fran Pepe has delayed its plan to open in Montgomery Mall and that the restaurant is no longer expected to open in late 2020. No new date has been provided.

In a tweet this morning, he wrote that Frank Pepe’s is opening a location in Montgomery Mall in late 2020.


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