Raku, a sushi restaurant chain with a location in downtown Bethesda and others in Washington, D.C., is expanding into another Bethesda location.
The newest addition, Rakugaki, will be in the Wildwood Shopping Center along Old Georgetown Road. The 2,188-square-foot space will be near Sarah’s Handmade Ice Cream.
Raku has a restaurant on Woodmont Avenue in Bethesda. Its menu includes sushi, sashimi, soups, broths and salads.
Co-owner Marcel The said in an interview that the new restaurant will have some differences from its other Bethesda restaurant and the D.C. locations in Cathedral Heights and Rakuya at Dupont Circle, but plans are still underway.
He hopes Rakugaki can open this fall, depending on the licensing and permitting process, along with any potential supply chain problems in ordering kitchen equipment.
“We’ve been in Bethesda for so long, and with the success that we’ve had there, we love the community, we love the people in Bethesda and there is room for us to expand,” The said. “And at the same time, it’s not so far away from each other that it’s more difficult to manage.”
Updates will be posted on the restaurant’s Facebook page.
Steve Bohnel can be reached at steve.bohnel@moco360.media