A popular local deli is planning a comeback with a new brick-and-mortar location.
Potomac Village Deli, which closed its longtime Potomac location in 2006 to focus on catering, plans to reopen in the Kentlands in Gaithersburg this spring.
Adam Greenberg, who co-owns the deli with the founder Sam Lerner, said Tuesday they hope to have the restaurant open sometime in mid-April at the current Potomac Pizza spot on Center Point Way. Greenberg is also the owner of Potomac Pizza.
“We cater all over the [area] with Potomac Village Deli and people kept asking me when are you going to open a restaurant?” Greenberg said. “We thought now is a good opportunity.”
To make it happen, Greenberg says they’ll tear down a wall that separated the deli’s catering operation from the pizza shop and turn the entrance area of the restaurant into a full-service deli counter. The pizza shop will close March 14 so the renovations can take place, Greenberg said.
He said the deli will offer what it’s long been known for—fresh sliced pastrami, corned beef, turkey and brisket, as well as traditional Jewish-style fare like matzoh ball soup and knishes. It will also bake fresh bagels using specially filtered water from one of Greenberg’s other businesses—Bagels ‘N Grinds—a bagel shop in Hanover, Maryland.
Greenberg said the bagel shop uses a $50,000 filtration system designed to emulate New York City water by purifying water then adding certain minerals that aid in the baking process.
“My belief is that one of the reasons New York bagels are so good is because of the mineral content in the water that comes down through the Catskills,” Greenberg said.
The dining room will also be renovated and will include about 60 seats for deli customers. Greenberg said the plan to switch from pizza shop to deli has been in the works for about six months.
As for lovers of the pizza shop, don’t fret. Greenberg said the deli will sell pizza at dinner time and delivery customers will be able to get Potomac Pizza delivered from the Traville Village Center location.
