The Bethesda Water Store location won’t be vacant for long.
The business team behind Butchers Alley, the butcher shop next door to the water store, and Pescadeli, the seafood market across Bethesda Avenue, plans to take over the storefront to open a new cheese and charcuterie shop.
Pescadeli manager Chris Hadley said the team signed lease papers Monday to take over the water store space. The water store closed abruptly over the weekend.
Hadley said the plan is to connect Butchers Alley with the new space, where the business will offer a variety of cheeses and deli items such as chorizo, Spanish ham and house-made roast beef and roasted turkey. Other offerings being considered for the new store include fresh produce, grilled cheese sandwiches and a dry-aged meat section.
The business plans to begin construction soon and hopes to open in mid-November, before the start of the winter holiday season.
Hadley said the owners decided to expand after the success of Butchers Alley, which opened in January and sells fresh cuts of meat, sausages, whole chickens, ribs, spices and meat rubs. The sister seafood market Pescadeli has been selling fish, cheese, spreads and Spanish charcuterie in Bethesda for the past 30 years. It also has a wholesale Spanish ham business.
The new shop will give the business a sizable presence on Bethesda Avenue—all three stores are near the Bethesda Crab House and just across Arlington Road from Bethesda Row.
