Rio

Miss Toya’s Southern Kitchen at 229 Boardwalk Pl. in Gaithersburg has announced it will open in two weeks. The restaurant posted the following message on its Instagram page on May 16: “We are excited and proud to announce that we are two weeks away from opening. Join our constantly growing team. Please send all resumes to the email address above. We will be accepting in-person interviews starting next week. Be a part of the Miskiri Hospitality Group and join our 7th location!”

The restaurant is part of Jeffeary Miskiri’s Miskiri Hospitality Group, which describes itself as a unique collective of Black, family and woman-owned products and restaurants in the DC area. Miss Toya’s will be located in the 2,741SF space that was previously occupied by BGR and serve southern-influenced dishes such as red beans and rice, macaroni and cheese, and a southern fried chicken sandwich. . Miss Toya’s Southern Kitchen in Rio will be a fast-casual restaurant, while the Miss Toya’s Creole Kitchen at 923 Ellsworth Dr in Downtown Silver Spring is full-service (wait staff, etc.) We will post an update when the opening date is announced. Featured image courtesy of Google Maps. 

Acclaimed DC restaurateurs Jackie Greenbaum & Gordon Banks (Little Coco’s, El Chucho, Bar Charley, Quarry House Tavern) will open Charley Prime Foods, a modern American restaurant, on May 12 at Rio Lakefront in Gaithersburg. Chef/Partner Adam Harvey, long time Executive Chef with Greenbaum & Banks, will helm the kitchen, along with Russell Pike, currently the Chef de Cuisine at Little Coco’s. Located in the former Tara Thai space (9811 Washingtonian Blvd, Gaithersburg, MD), the restaurant will be centrally positioned on the boardwalk. The space will seat roughly 90 inside, with another 100 on an expansive patio, complete with lake views. Editlab@Streetsense designed the space.

The team envisions the restaurant as a mature version of their popular DC restaurant Bar Charley, with an expanded menu, but keeping its lively cocktail forward energy.  The broader menu will remain steak focused and will also feature house made pastas (a la Little Coco’s) as well as other items unique to just this location. Starters include Five Spice Pork Shoulder & Crispy Rice with Korean BBQ and peanuts and Rustic Cheesy Bread with homemade rustic bread, garlic and three kinds of cheese.  Guests will find mains like Roasted Lamb French Dip with harissa aioli, onions, Swiss cheese, au jus and fries and house made pastas include dishes like Spicy Rigatoni with marinara, Grana Padano, and Calabrian chiles and Squid Ink Tagliatelle with Kauai shrimp, shrimp butter and nduja crumble.  An extensive steak menu includes the staples, as well as a Wagyu menu (both American and Japanese A5) and a section devoted to Linz Heritage Angus Prime beef.

Charley Prime Foods, the new restaurant from Jackie Greenbaum & Gordon Banks (Little Coco’s, El Chucho, Bar Charley, Quarry House Tavern) that is replacing Tara Thai on the Rio Lakefront boardwalk at 9811 Washington Blvd in Gaithersburg, will now open on Saturday, May 13 at 4pm (the restaurant had previously announced an opening date of Friday, May 12.) Charley Prime will feature an extensive steak menu that includes filet mignon, New York strip, and a 36oz Tomahawk ribeye, as well as house made pastas and sandwiches like the Roasted Lamb French Dip. Additional details below:

Acclaimed DC restaurateurs Jackie Greenbaum & Gordon Banks (Little Coco’s, El Chucho, Bar Charley, Quarry House Tavern) will open Charley Prime Foods, a modern American restaurant, on May 12 at Rio Lakefront in Gaithersburg.   Chef/Partner Adam Harvey, long time Executive Chef with Greenbaum & Banks, will helm the kitchen, along with Russell Pike, currently the Chef de Cuisine at Little Coco’s.  Located in the former Tara Thai space (9811 Washingtonian Blvd, Gaithersburg, MD), the restaurant will be centrally positioned on the boardwalk. The space will seat roughly 90 inside, with another 100 on an expansive patio, complete with lake views.  Editlab@Streetsense designed the space.  

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.

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:

Back in November we let you know of the impending arrival of an Auntie Anne’s/Cinnabon combination restaurant at 220 Boardwalk Place in Rio, set to take over the location that was recently home to Lilly Magilly’s (the cupcakery is preparing for a move to a new, soon-to-be-announced location). Construction is ongoing (photo below) and though an opening date isn’t yet available, we’d expect a mid-2023 opening.

The two brands, popular for their presence in malls, are co-branding to open locations across the country. I’m recent years, Cinnabon left then returned to Montgomery Mall. There’s also an existing Cinnabon location in Wheaton Mall. Auntie Anne’s has locations at the outlets in Clarksburg, Ellsworth Place Mall, Montgomery Mall, and Wheaton Mall in MoCo.