Community waiting on building permit, planning late summer or early fall opening
The new diner Community coming to the 7770 Norfolk apartment building in Bethesda’s Woodmont Triangle is waiting for a county building permit to begin construction, owner Mark Bucher said Thursday. Bucher said the restaurant applied for a permit about three months ago when it was ready to begin construction. He said the permit is expected to be issued in the next few weeks.
“I think [the permitting department] is doing the best they can,” Bucher said. “They’re probably understaffed and overworked.”
Montgomery County permit records show a restaurant applied Jan. 29 for a construction permit for $400,000 worth of work at the building, although the online records don’t specifically note that the applicant is Community.
Bucher said that once construction begins, he expects the restaurant to be ready to open sometime in late August or September. Bucher, an experienced restaurateur who founded the BGR The Burger Joint and Medium Rare restaurants, described Community as “an old New York-style coffee shop” that will serve breakfast all day and offer comfort food.
Potomac Village Deli opens in the Kentlands?
Owners Adam Greenberg and Sam Lerner have re-opened a brick-and-mortar location of Potomac Village Deli in the Kentlands 10 years after it closed in Potomac. The deli announced on its Facebook page it started offering breakfast and lunch service this week at its 625 Center Point Way location and next week plans to start dinner service.
In February, Greenberg told Bethesda Beat the restaurant will be a traditional Jewish deli, offering everything from bagels and knishes to freshly sliced pastrami, corned beef, turkey and brisket. The deli replaces Potomac Pizza, although Greenberg, who owns the local pizza chainlet, said the deli will continue to serve pizza.
A #ditl @potomacdeli now open in #Kentlands. @mymcmedia pic.twitter.com/UnWwqbxwUe
— Sonya Burke (@SonyaNBurke) April 22, 2016
Politics and Prose in Chevy Chase, D.C., opens The Den
The interior of The Den at Politics and Prose. Photo via Politics and Prose's Facebook page.
The popular Northwest Washington, D.C., bookstore Politics and Prose underwent extensive renovations to its lower-level space before opening its new coffeehouse The Den last week. The bookstore partnered with nearby eatery Little Red Fox to create a menu of pastries, soup, grilled cheese sandwiches, coffee and tea for the coffeehouse. The new café also offers a selection of beer and wine.
Owners Bradley Graham and Lissa Muscatine told The Washington Post the renovations were the first physical renovation of the bookstore in more than two decades. The store is a popular book tour stop for big-name authors visiting D.C.
