Gusto Italian Grill to open Silver Spring location this week
Update – The second location for the new fast-casual restaurant Gusto Italian Grill is preparing to open Thursday in Silver Spring. The 8512 Fenton St. location is across from the Whole Foods Market.
Like the Bethesda restaurant, the new location will offer pastas, flatbreads and salads served with a variety of toppings. The two restaurants were built at the same time; the Bethesda eatery opened about three weeks ago. The Silver Spring location is larger, at 3,400 square feet, and has an al fresco patio.
CEO Josh Grim has said he’s examining ways to expand the concept elsewhere, but first plans to evaluate how the two locations perform. He said the first 100 diners to enter the Silver Spring restaurant will receive a free meal when it opens at 11 a.m. Thursday.
Editor's note: Due to Veteran's Day Wednesday, Grim said shortly after this article was published that the restaurant will now open Thursday.
First Potomac Realty Trust CEO resigns
Bethesda-based real estate investment company First Potomac Realty Trust announced Monday its CEO and founder Doug Donatelli resigned and will be replaced by the company’s chief operating officer, Bob Milkovich. Nicholas Smith, the chief investment officer, also resigned.
Donatelli founded the company in 1997 with Smith and took it public in December 2003. “I believe First Potomac is very well positioned today,” Donatelli said in a statement. “As I hand over the reins to Bob [Milkovich], I am confident that I am leaving the company in the hands of an outstanding leader and a strong team that will build on the important progress we have made.”
Milkovich said in a statement that he will be tasked with streamlining the company’s real estate portfolio by selling off at least $200 million in assets.
Donatelli recruited Milkovich in 2014 from Spaulding & Style Investments, according to the Washington Business Journal. Donatelli told the newspaper he and Smith plan on taking some time off before pursuing a different opportunity.
Goldman to be inducted into the Washington Business Hall of Fame
Seth Goldman, founder of Bethesda-based Honest Tea, will be inducted into the Washington Business Hall of Fame next month. Goldman, who founded the beverage company in 1998 with his Yale professor, has grown the company over the past 18 years into a business with more than $100 million in annual sales. The company has since been acquired by Coca Cola, but Goldman still operates it out of the company’s Bethesda headquarters.
Goldman, 50, will be among four other area business leaders honored at the event, which is hosted by Junior Achievement of Greater Washington, the Greater Washington Board of Trade and Washingtonian.
The TeaEO, as Goldman calls himself, will soon be changing his title to “TeaEO emeritus” as he reduces his role at the company to become executive chairman of Beyond Meat, a start-up that uses plant-based products to deliver the taste and nutritional aspects of meat, according to The Washington Post.
CohnReznick merges Bethesda offices
The New York-based accounting firm CohnReznick announced this week it has merged its two Bethesda offices into one office located on three floors at 7501 Wisconsin Ave. The move comes after the firm’s acquisition of the Bethesda-based firm Watkins Meegan in 2014 left it with two Bethesda offices. The office employs about 450 people, according to the company.
