Urban Plates has closed permanently in Montgomery Mall after almost two and a half years in the location.
The Southern California-based assembly line style fast casual restaurant took over the Naples Ristorante location in the mall’s food court and opened in March of 2019.
The location’s voicemail message confirmed the closing– “This location has closed permanently.”
Nearby locations in Columbia and Tyson’s Corner are also listed as permanently closed.
Montgomery Mall is awaiting the arrival of Frank Pepe’s Pizza, Gameworks, and Peking Duck.
Aerie, stylized as aerie, has opened in Montgomery Mall.
Aerie is an intimate apparel and lifestyle retailer and sub-brand owned by American Eagle Outfitters for girls and women. In addition to intimate apparel, the store offers activewear, leggings, swimsuits, and more.
The brand has no age demographic and the company encourages customers of all ages to shop there.
The store is located on the lower level of the mall.
Update: Gelato Galaxy is now open.
A new dessert spot is coming to the Montgomery Mall food court. Gelato Galaxy will be opening “very soon” according to a mall employee we spoke to today.
The new location will offer gelato, soft-serve custard, Italian ice, and gelati (which is a combination of custard and Italian ice).
Gelato Galaxy will be taking over the location that was previously home to Coldstone Creamery.
Back in December of 2019, we learned that Frank Pepe’s would be opening its first Maryland pizzeria right here in MoCo.
After many delays we have learned that the restaurant is back on track to open, as they currently have a hearing to sell beer and wine scheduled for 10am on September 2nd.
Frank Pepe’s will be located in the old Bobby’s Burger Palace location on the lower level across from Cheesecake Factory. No opening timeframe has been provided yet, but we will relay the information as soon as it’s available.
The Daily Meal has referred to Frank Pepe’s as “America’s finest pizzeria” and many publications have tabbed the pizza joints as a must-try in the New England area.
Per its website, Frank Pepe originated the New Haven-style thin crust pizza which he baked in bread ovens fired by coke. Coke is a byproduct of coal and it was used extensively until the late 1960’s when it became unavailable and hence coal was then put into use to fire the oven.
Pepe’s signature pizza, the White Clam Pizza, was most likely an organic inspiration by Frank Pepe; an idea born from the fact that Pepe’s also served raw little neck clams from Rhode Island, on the half shell, as an appetizer.
Featured image courtesy of @FrankPepePizza
Lucky Strike Sets May 20th Reopening Date at Montgomery Mall
Lucky Strike, the bowling, ping pong, and billiards lounge and restaurant that opened in Montgomery Mall in March 2017, has announced on its website that it will be reopening on Thursday, May 20th.
Lucky Strike has been closed for over a year after Covid restrictions were put in place, but will be reopening in just under a week.
They offer 12 bowling lanes along with big screen TV’s to allow for watching games while you’re participating in your choice of game.
Tonal Demos Now Available at Montgomery Mall
Tonal, a modern home gym that has spent hundreds of thousands in online marketing in the last year, now has demos available at Nordstrom in Montgomery Mall.
The demos are available Wednesday-Sunday from 11am-7pm and can be booked online here.
From Tonal:
“Book a demo today! Come in and experience the world’s smartest home gym. Make a quick stop and feel the smoothness of digital weight, or experience some of the 170+ moves possible with a full-body workout — whatever works for you.
Tonal is partnering with Nordstrom. We are bringing our revolutionary digital weight and strength training home gym to 40 Nordstrom locations nationwide. Now, you have the opportunity to discover Tonal in 20 states across the U.S., including flagship stores in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and Dallas.
Head to a Nordstrom near you and discover the magic of digital weight for yourself. You can read all about it, but trying digital weight for the first time is a game-changer. Tonal’s shop-in-shop locations can be found in Nordstrom’s Women’s Active departments, where you can see what it’s like to lift with digital weight and experience what makes Tonal so unique in person.”
Seoul Spice is Coming to Montgomery Mall
Seoul Spice, a fast casual Korean restaurant that opened its first location in DC in 2015, is coming to MoCo.
It will take over the Spice 6 location in the Montgomery Mall food court. Spice 6 announced the location closed permanently back in October.
We don’t currently have an opening date for the restaurant.
Seoul Spice offers bowls with a variety of options on the menu. Per the Seoul Spice website:
”Our recipes come from the Shin family, which have been passed down from generation to generation. All of our entrees are inspired by traditional Korean comfort foods. Our rice bowls come from bibimbap, our noodles from japchae, and the Korrito from gimbap. We respect the food we serve by using the best ingredients and preparing all our food from scratch.
In Korean tradition, we hand things to others with two hands as a sign of respect. So much interaction in these modern times happens half-heartedly. It’s nice to stop and acknowledge someone whole-handedly, even if just for a moment.
This is our little way of sharing our mission with you — one bowl at a time.”
