Germantown

Dog Haus announced today that the company has executed a development agreement with local franchisees Faizan and Adila Khan to to open 15 new Dog Haus locations over the next five years. Cities listed include Annapolis, Baltimore, Columbia, Frederick and Germantown.  No specific information has been released on dates and locations. Faizan Khan currently franchises three MoCo Dog Haus locations in Bethesda, Gaithersburg and Silver Spring.

“We’re thrilled to see Faizan and Adila parlay their success with Dog Haus into expanding throughout the entire state of Maryland,” said Dog Haus Director of Franchise Development Erik Hartung in a press release. “Faizan has been a highly accomplished franchisee with Dog Haus by entering the restaurant industry with an incredibly unique, effective business strategy. We can’t wait to see this growth unfold and bring our one-of-a-kind creations to more markets throughout this great state!”


Gaithersburg

A new, modern American restaurant from Jackie Greenbaum & Gordon Banks (Little Coco’s, El Chucho, Bar Charley, Quarry House Tavern) will be coming to 9811 Washington Blvd in Gaithersburg, the former location of Tara Thai.  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.

According to a press release, 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, but will also feature house made pastas (a la Little Coco’s) as well as other items unique to just this location. The group has tapped Editlab@Streetsense to design the space.


Gaithersburg

Ela Mesa Taste of Greece held their grand opening this past Monday, May 2nd. The new Greek restaurant is located at 109 Paramount Park Drive in the Spectrum Town Center in Gaithersburg, which is currently home to restaurants like Barking Made Cafe, California Tortilla, Hot Pot Hero, and Firebirds.  The restaurant offers traditional Greek fare and also has a full bar that seats 10 people. Menu items include Pastitsio, Thalassina (seafood pasta), Kanelonia (veggie cannelloni), Kebabs, Lamb Chops, and Seafood Risotto.


Bethesda

Planet Bethesda, a plant-based food festival, will take place on June 5 from 12-6pm at Elm Street Park in Bethesda.  According to the events website, there will be more than a dozen area restaurants and vendors, live DJ, Bier Garten, and a plant-based pie eating contest.  Participating restaurants include Dog Haus, Berries & Bowls, True Food Kitchen, and Tikka Masala. Entry to is the event is free and vendor food and beverage will be available for purchase.


Bethesda

Big Al’s Subs and Soups in the Montgomery Mall food court has closed. It was located in the space that was previously home to Wicked Waffles, next to Charley’s. The restaurant, which had a menu very similar to that of Subway, opened in December of 2021.  The restaurant offered ten different signature sandwiches, including a vegetarian option called “The Mediterranean”, and a rotating list of soups.

In other Montgomery Mall restaurant news,  HalfSmoke Bethesda will be opening in the Montgomery Mall food court, as first reported by The MoCo Source on Instagram. It will be located in the former home of Coldstone Creamery and more recently Gelato Galaxy.  HalfSmoke was the first restaurant of its kind to serve gourmet sausages via an assembly line format. Its sausages and toppings can be fully customized to create over 50,000 variations. The HalfSmoke menu also features craft beer, mac and cheese balls, tater tots, milkshakes, funnel cakes, wine, cocktails, and more, but there is no word on if the Montgomery Mall location will offer everything the DC restaurant does. No word yet on an opening date.


Olney

Coming soon signage is up at the Olney Crab House, located at 18200 Georgia Avenue, the former site of the Olney Tavern in the Hillcrest Center in Olney. In February we were informed by the property management of the center that the original owners had pulled out of the location and new owners had just recently taken over the lease. We first reported that the Olney Alehouse was coming back in November 2019.  Renovations on the building began in the summer of 2020 but remained dormant until the new tenants took over. No opening date has been announced.


Gaithersburg

Dogfish Head Alehouse, which opened its first location at 800 W. Diamond Ave in Gaithersburg in 2005, announced it has donated a combined $1,000,000 to charity over the past 17 years between its three locations.

Dogfish Head Alehouses, which are owned and operated independent from the Dogfish Head brewery in Milton, DE through a licensing agreement, announced recently that it will be closing its Falls Church, VA location at 6220 Leesburg Pike in the Seven Corners Shopping Center.  The restaurant says it was unable to come to terms with the property owner when it came time to renew its lease.  The last day of service will be on May 15. The Dogfish Alehouse locations at 800 W. Diamond Ave in Gaithersburg and 13041 Lee Jackson Memorial Hwy in Fairfax, VA will remain open.


Bethesda

Honeymoon Chicken (4201 Georgia Ave NW, DC) has received a “Bib Gourmand” award from the Michelin Guide. Started in 1997, the Bib Gourmand award has been given to restaurants that have “good quality and good value”. Honeymoon Chicken opened it’s standalone location in DC this past January, but is also available in Montgomery County from Ensemble in Bethesda. Ensemble is a digital food hall from Salis Holdings (Ted’s Bulletin, Sidekick Bakery, Federalist Pig), located 4856 Cordell Ave. Food from Ensemble is only available for pickup or delivery and you must order through their mobile app.  The menu features items from four the different Salis Holdings restaurants that can be mixed and matched. You can get a brisket sandwich from Federalist Pig, side of French toast from Ted’s Bulletin, fried chicken from Honeymoon Chicken, and dessert from Sidekick Bakery all at the same spot.


Gaithersburg

Coming soon signage is up at Taco Bamba in Quince Orchard Plaza in Gaithersburg. The new restaurant will be located in the space that was formerly home to Urban Crawfish at 670 Quince Orchard Road, next to the upcoming Miyaji Kebab and Rumali Rolls (which is next to Beers & Cheers Too).

Chef Victor Albisu opened the first Maryland location of Taco Bamba in Rockville’s Congressional Plaza in June 2021.  Albisu stated that Maryland is a “priority area of growth for Taco Bamba” citing the line at last year’s Rockville opening, according to a report by Bethesda Beat.  “We can’t wait to build a whole new food and cocktail menu for our friends in Gaithersburg. It’s a town with an eclectic mix of restaurants serving a diverse community that knows good food.” The news of Taco Bamba’s second MoCo location was first reported by Bethesda Beat.  Right now the restaurant is looking at a June or July opening.


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