Urban Heights, the two-floor Bethesda restaurant that opened in April, is closed for the rest of the holiday season for renovations and other “new things,” according to chef Robert Wiedmaier.
The Robert Wiedmaier Restaurant Group took over the space at the corner of Norfolk and Cordell avenues from Roof, a bar and restaurant that closed within a year of opening. It installed former Matchbox Food Group executive chef Cliff Wharton as the restaurant’s chef and Wharton focused the menu on his Filipino roots and Southeast Asian cuisine.
On Monday, Wiedmaier said he was unsure about what exact changes might come to the restaurant because his restaurant group is still negotiating with the building’s landlord. He didn’t rule out a change in the restaurant’s concept.
“I can’t really say at this point,” Wiedmaier said. “I’m really not sure what we’re going to do with it at this point.”
Wiedmaier said the plan is to “for sure open back up in January.”
The restaurant operates in one of the most unusual restaurant spaces in Bethesda. The first floor of the building is a Smashburger and Urban Heights has stairway and elevator access to its second-floor main dining room and third-floor rooftop bar above.
In November, Urban Heights added a large white tent with portable heaters to the third-floor space.
Wharton also made changes to the menu, including splitting small plate offerings into categories called garden, ocean and pasture and adding steamed buns.
The Robert Wiedmaier Restaurant Group owns four other restaurants in Bethesda and Potomac, including Villain & Saint, the music venue it opened earlier this year on Wisconsin Avenue.
