Gaithersburg

Below is a list of restaurants and businesses that will be coming soon to Gaithersburg, MD, as well as an update on the future plans for Lakeforest Mall (updated November 26, 2022).

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 serve southern-influenced dishes such as red beans and rice, macaroni and cheese and a southern fried chicken sandwich. It will be joining the recently announced Sportrock Climbing Centers and Charley Prime as well as the recently opened Donutchew, as locally-based businesses opening in Gaithersburg’s Rio. No opening date has been provided.


Montgomery Village

The Joint, an “affordable chiropractic care center,” is now open at 19218 Montgomery Village Ave in the Montgomery Village Center, located between Dollar Tree and Moe’s Southwest Grill. Click here to see a full list of restaurants and businesses coming to the Montgomery Village Center, which includes Baskin Robbins and Hangry Joe’s Hot Chicken.

The Joint Corp., a Scottsdale, Arizona based operator and franchisor of chiropractic clinics, opened 130 new clinics across the country in 2021 to bring its national count up to 706. It was originally founded in 1999 by a Doctor of Chiropractic with “a vision to transform the traditional, often misunderstood concept of routine chiropractic care by making it more convenient, friendly and affordable.” In March 2010, The Joint was re-founded with the acquisition of the original eight franchised clinics.


Silver Spring

Silver Spring Wings at 11335 Elkin Street (former site of El Rinconcito Catracho) in the Wheaton Urban District is now open for carry out and delivery. The menu features chicken wings, chicken tenders, boneless wings, fried rice, potato wedges, coleslaw, fresh lemonade, strawberry shortcake, and double fudge brownies.  The restaurant is also expected to eventually share a space with its sister brand, District Teriyaki.

Owner Evan Walton started Silver Spring Wings in 2020 around the start of the pandemic after all of his catering business events were suddenly cancelled. He decided to launch several food concepts out of his catering kitchen to  attempt to make up for the loss and keep his employees.


Germantown

Fans of summer sausage and cheese ball spreads rejoice, Hickory Farms has opened a location at 13052 Middlebrook Road in Germantown, the former site of Mattress Firm.  The holiday pop-up shop is expected to be open through the first week of January. Items for sale include sausages, cheese, crackers, mustard, and candy, as well as pre-made gift baskets. Store hours are Mon – Fri: 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM, Sat: 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM, and Sun: 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM. Photos of the store’s interior below.


Germantown

CAVA will be holding a community event on Thursday, November 17 from 10:45am-2pm at the new CAVA Digital Kitchen in Germantown. The restaurant will be giving free bowls and pitas to people who download the CAVA app and register at www.eventbrite.com/e/germantown-community-day-tickets-465741464257.  CAVA Digital Kitchen, which officially opens for business on Friday, November 18, differs from a traditional CAVA location in that there is no in-store ordering, all orders must be placed through the CAVA app. The restaurant does feature an indoor and outdoor dining area. Additional information courtesy of CAVA:

“A CAVA Digital Kitchen is headed to 19865 Century Blvd, Germantown, MD – and we’re celebrating with free Chef-Curated Bowls and Pitas before we officially open our doors. Not familiar with our Digital Kitchens? They’re exclusively for app & online orders, which means quick pickups and no waiting in line. Stop by for a free Chef-Curated Bowl or Pita (no build-your-owns until opening day). Just remember to download the CAVA app to order ahead and start earning app-exclusive rewards once we are open. To sign up, pick a 15-minute time slot and make sure to hold onto your digital ticket. Please try your best to arrive on time so we can keep the line (and the hummus) flowing. LUNCH: 10:45am–2pm”


Restaurant

Over a year ago we let you know that Black Lion Café, which has a location at 9705 Traville Gateway Dr in Rockville, will be opening a new location in the Fenton Silver Spring apartments at 8240 Fenton St in Downtown Silver Spring.  Originally scheduled to open on November 1, Source of the Spring now reports that opening has been postponed due to a delay in the cafe’s final inspection. A new opening date has not yet been announced.

The cafe opened its first location at the Traville Gateway shopping center in late 2016. Black Lion Café sources its coffee from three regions of Ethiopia known for producing some of the best tasting coffee beans in the world. Keffa, the region of Ethiopia that gave the name ‘coffee’ to the bean, Yergacheffe, and Harrar.


Gaithersburg

Clear Skies Meadery has announced it will open its new meadery at 15201 Display Ct in Rockville on December 9. Clear Skies current location, which opened at 325 Main St. in Gaithersburg in 2020, is scheduled to remain open until March 31, 2023.

The new Rockville location will include a bigger production line that will allow the company to expand the canning and bottling of its product. Mead is an alcoholic beverage created by fermenting honey with water, sometimes with various fruits, spices, grains, or hops. Clear Skies offers a rotating list of flavors, including current seasonal ones like apple pie, cranberry, and pumpkin pie.


Germantown

CAVA Digital Kitchen at 19865 Century Blvd in Germantown is scheduled to have its grand opening on Friday, November 18. CAVA Digital Kitchen differs from a traditional CAVA location in that there is no in-store ordering, all orders must be placed through the CAVA app. The restaurant does feature an indoor and outdoor dining area.

“CAVA Digital Kitchen has arrived… Just order ahead on our app or our site for easy pickup or delivery! Convenient *and* delicious. Build your bowl: order.cava.com” CAVA, the fast-casual restaurant that started in MoCo, acquired Zoe’s and its 200+ restaurants in 2018 for approximately $300 million


Beyond MoCo

At the beginning of the year we let you know of Raising Cane’s planned expansion into the D.C. region, with the first restaurant planned for Sterling, VA at 45545 Dulles Eastern Plaza. We were informed by a representative of the company today that the Sterling location is now scheduled to open in mid-December.  Raising Cane’s aims to open 14 stores in the next year, stretching from suburban Baltimore to the Richmond area, with more to on tap for 2023 including Bowie, Dumfries, Manassas and Springfield. No Montgomery County locations have been announced yet.

Founded by Todd Graves in 1996 in Baton Rouge, La., Raising Cane’s has more than 460 restaurants in 27 states, Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates with multiple new restaurants under construction. The international expansion began in 2015. The menu is simple and focuses on chicken finger combos , chicken finger sandwiches, crinkle-cut fries, Texas toast, sweet/iced tea, and Cane’s sauce.


Rockville

Planet Fitness has announced that its new location in the Montrose Shopping Center in Rockville is scheduled to open this December. The gym is moving from its 15,000 sq ft space at 1776 E Jefferson St to the 30,000 sq ft space at 5520 Randolph Rd, which was the previous site of Gold’s Gym. This will also be the first Planet Fitness location in Maryland to feature the new RelaxSpace Wellness Pod, where the gym’s Black Card members can “select between a variety of videos, scents and even temperatures while learning more about diet, nutrition, breathing and the benefits of exercise.” Additional details below per Planet Fitness:

TIMONIUM, Md. (Nov. 3, 2022) – Planet Fitness – one of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing franchisors and operators of fitness centers with more members than any other fitness brand – announces plans to relocate and expand its Rockville, Md. club. In December, the Judgement Free fitness center will move from a 15,361-square-foot space at 1776 E Jefferson St., Rockville, MD 20852 to a 30,000-square-foot space in the Montrose Shopping Center at 5520 Randolph Rd., Rockville, MD 20852.


Gaithersburg

Chicago based Aloha Poke Co. has announced that it will be opening a Gaithersburg location sometime in 2023.  Aloha is a fast-casual style restaurant that serves “fresh-packed and tasty bowls filled with sushi-grade fish and Hawaiian-inspired raw ingredients.” Franchise operator Mary Grace Barnebey is currently considering several options for the location, according to a report by WTOP.  Aloha has area locations at 1333 19th St and 50 Massachusetts Ave in NW, Washington, DC.

“Delicious and healthy are two things I aim to provide my family in every meal,” said Barnebey in a press release. “When I decided to bring Aloha Poke Co. to our community, I knew that the menu needed to be aligned with the way I think about taste and nutrition. I also like the franchise support system and the brand’s cornerstone belief of in fast, beautiful, sustainable foods. I am proud to that Aloha Poke Co. will dramatically expand our community’s access to health-minded food options.”


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