Nando’s Peri Peri has let us know that the last day of business for its Bethesda location (4839 Bethesda Ave) will be this Saturday, December 18th. Federal Realty recently announced that Madewell will be moving in to the location in 2022.

Nando’s is a South African fast-casual chain that specializes in flame-grilled peri-peri style chicken. The restaurant was founded in Johannesburg in 1987, and now operates over 1,200 outlets in 30 countries.

The restaurant was founded in 1987 in Rosettenville, Johannesburg by Mozambique-born Fernando Duarte and South African-born Robert Brozin. Upon visiting a Portuguese-Mozambican takeaway named Chickenland, and trying the chicken with peri peri (a sauce that was first developed in nearby Mozambique and further refined in South Africa before being exported to other Portuguese territories and mainland Portugal) they bought the restaurant for about 80,000 rand (equivalent to about £25,000 at the time).

They renamed the restaurant Nando’s after Fernando’s firstborn son. By 1989, the restaurant had three outlets in Johannesburg and one in Portugal. Capricorn Ventures International acquired the chain in 1992.

Nando’s has additional MoCo locations in North Bethesda, Wheaton, Silver Spring, and Gaithersburg.