José Andrés brings veggies to the mall
Coming this summer to Westfield Montgomery Mall: a new vegetable-centered restaurant from local celeb chef José Andrés. Beefsteak, a year-old concept with two locations already open and two more on the way to D.C. and Philadelphia, is the newest venture from the man who brought us Jaleo, Zaytinya, Oyamel and Minibar. The menu isn’t entirely vegetarian — you can top your meal with a poached egg or salt-cured salmon — but the focus here is on pairing veggies with grains, nuts, seeds and sauces. Pricing is moderate: Most dishes are less than $10, and the signature Beetsteak sandwich shown here sells for $5.99 with a side of chips. At the mall, Beefsteak will move into the Dining Terrace space that was recently vacated by Qdoba. (See our Feb. 11th issue for more on that.)
Potomac Village Deli on the comeback trail
Potomac Village Deli, which left the Village a decade ago to focus on its catering business, is making a comeback this spring — in The Kentlands. The new deli will take over the Gaithersburg location of its sister business, Potomac Pizza, where the owners say they’ll be serving pent-up demand for a kosher-style deli with matzoh ball soup, fresh-sliced meat sandwiches, lox and baked goods. Bagels will be provided by another sister company, Bagels ‘n Grinds, and the restaurant will continue to offer pizza and calzones in the evenings. Potomac Village Deli was an institution on Falls Road from the late ’70s until it closed in 2006, after which many customers continued to support the catering business. Owners say the pizzeria/deli switcheroo will not affect their other three Potomac Pizza restaurants in Potomac Village, Traville and Chevy Chase.
Camp store on the way to King Farm
The winter weather is far from over, but sleepaway camp is already on the radar for many local parents. Enter Bee Bee Designs, a New Jersey-based camp outfitter that will open a pop-up shop at King Farm Village Center early next month. Bee Bee sells all the camp essentials and plenty of just-for-fun stuff, from packing trunks and personalized pillows to monogrammed stationery and custom camp lip gloss. Most of the business happens online, but the company operated a similar pop-up store in Bethesda last year to serve its sizable customer base in Montgomery County. Many people appreciate the chance to shop in person, says co-owner Brian Bailey — especially the parents of first-time campers. “A lot of our staff is made up of camp moms who just went through this themselves,” Bailey says. “For parents who aren’t quite sure what their kids will need, we offer one-on-one shopping appointments where they can get all of their questions answered.”
Congrats to our ArcLight winners — and keep sending us your family favorites!
Congratulations to Store Reporter readers Marilyn Feldman and Jennifer Primerano, who each won ArcLight Cinema movie tickets in our February drawing. And thanks to all who entered by contributing suggestions to our upcoming Store Reporter Kids Issue. We are still taking nominations, and we’d love to hear your thoughts about the best kid-friendly businesses in the greater Rockville/Potomac area: restaurants, toy stores, children’s clothing stores, after-school classes… all the local places that you and your kids enjoy. To post your comments on our Facebook page, click here. To email your suggestions to us directly, click here.
Sorry, Jersey Mike’s
More than a few sharp-eyed readers caught our mistake in last week’s article about The Habit Burger Grill and Jersey Mike’s Subs. The two fast-casual chains are still scheduled to open at Wintergreen Plaza this fall, but we were wrong when we said that both were new to Maryland. It turns out that Jersey Mike’s already has several restaurants here, including one in The Kentlands. If you’d like to read the updated version of that story — plus some other news for burger fans from our Feb. 11th issue — you’ll find it by clicking here.