Colada Shop, a Cuban café, is expanding from Washington, D.C., to Cabin John Village in Potomac.
Colada Shop CEO Daniella Senior said in an interview with Bethesda Beat that she hopes to open the Potomac location in April.
She likes the Potomac area’s “dynamic customer base” and the fact that many who eat at the two D.C. locations of Colada Shop live in Montgomery County, she said.
Colada Shop serves breakfast items such as egg tortilla and swiss on Cuban bread, tostada (Cuban bread with butter) and Avocado toast for $2 to $9.
For lunch and dinner, there are Cuban sandwiches that include the Colada Shop Cuban (ham, pork and swiss), veggie Cuban (Portobello mushrooms, cauliflower, swiss) and fried chicken croqueta (chicken, slaw, pickles). The sandwiches are all $12.95, according to the website.
The Potomac location will also carry items specific to the Potomac location, including plantain nachos and plantain latkes — a Cuban take on the Jewish fried potato pancake delicacy, according to company spokeswoman Maru Valdes. Those items will be priced between $3.50 and $14.50.
The new restaurant will be at 7993 Tuckerman Lane.
At normal capacity, the restaurant will seat up to 80 inside and 50 outside. Montgomery County currently is allowing restaurants to serve up to 25% capacity indoors.
Senior said customers can order at the counter or from their table by scanning a QR code with their mobile device. Customers can also order pickup and delivery through the restaurant’s website or third-party applications, she said.
Senior said Colada Shop opened its first D.C. location on 14th Street in 2017, and its second at The Wharf last summer.
Opening a new restaurant during the COVID-19 pandemic, she said, can be challenging due to delays with shipments and changes in the allowed occupancy level.
“Opening a restaurant always has a lot of uncertainties, but definitely opening during a pandemic has an added layer of complications that you have to account for,” she said. “You’re basically doing a lot of hypothesis on what would be the best-case scenario for that time.”
Washingtonian previously reported on Colada Shop’s expansion plans in Potomac on Monday.
Dan Schere can be reached at daniel.schere@moco360.media