The Potomac Place shopping center will soon have two new restaurants with the addition of Duke’s Grocery, a British-style gastropub expected to open in late fall, and Cava Mezze Group’s yet-to-be-named Italian eatery coming in 2025, according to the center’s management company.
The management company, JLL’s Mid Atlantic Retail Group, announced Monday in a release that the two restaurants signed leases for spaces at the River Road shopping center in Potomac Village. Duke’s Grocery is replacing the former space of Lock 72 Kitchen & Bar, which closed in 2023. Cava’s Italian restaurant will occupy the former home of Renato’s at River Falls, which closed Sept. 30.
According to the release, Duke’s Grocery is expected to open “imminently” at 10128 River Road. The East London-inspired eatery, which operates five locations in Washington, D.C., is opening its first location outside of the city. The release did not provide information regarding the exact opening date for the gastropub and a spokesperson for the eatery did not immediately respond to MoCo360’s email request for comment Monday afternoon.
An early September Instagram post by the eatery, which showed a video of the restaurant space still under construction, said the new location will open in late fall.
In April, the restaurant company announced its plan to open a Potomac location with a 32-seat dining room and a separate 14-seat bar area. Diners can expect standard Duke’s Grocery items including sandwiches, salads, seasonal beverages, local beers and wine, according to a statement from the company. Outdoor seating will also be available.
Among other dishes offered at Duke’s Grocery are its double angus patty “Proper Burger” and a spicy eggplant sandwich, as well as British fare such as fish and chips and bangers and mash.
Every year from 2016 to 2023, the eatery has won Washington City Paper’s Best of DC Best Burger award and received Washingtonian Readers’ Favorite Burger award in 2023.
“Our goal everywhere we operate is to be fully engaged with the local community,” Duke’s Grocery Managing Partner Daniel Kramer told MoCo360 in April. “We are very much looking forward to being a part of Potomac Village.”
The first Duke’s Grocery in the District opened in Dupont Circle in 2013. Its other locations are Duke’s Counter Woodley Park, Duke’s Grocery Foggy Bottom, Duke’s Grocery Navy Yard and a shop in the British embassy.
Something new from Cava
Cava’s new eatery is expected to offer Italian-inspired cuisine and to be led by chef Aris Tsekouras, who oversees Cava’s other eateries — Julii, Melina and Bouboulina – in North Bethesda’s Pike & Rose neighborhood, according to Ted Xenohristos, the founder and chief concept officer at Cava.
In the JLL release, Xenohristos said the restaurant will feature dishes including classic Italian meatballs, fried mushroom polenta, handmade pasta, burrata, fresh crudo and chicken parmesan.
In mid-September, MoCo360 reported that Renato’s in the Potomac Village Shopping Center had been sold and was closing Sept. 30. A week later The MoCo Show confirmed that the buyers were Cava Mezze Group.
“As someone from this community, I understand what Renato’s meant to Potomac, and we’re committed to honoring that legacy while continuing to lead in hospitality,” Cava co-founder Ike Grigoropoulos told The MoCo Show.
