The team behind Duke’s Grocery is hoping to open its Potomac location of the British-style gastropub in the next couple of weeks, according to the restaurant.
Duke’s Grocery is taking over the former home of Lock 72 Kitchen & Bar, which closed in 2023 in the Potomac Place shopping center at 10122 River Road. The Potomac location will be the East London-inspired eatery’s first restaurant outside of Washington, D.C., where it operates five other Duke’s eateries.
While an official opening date for the Potomac location has not yet been announced, the Duke’s Grocery team is busy with preparations such as scheduling Montgomery County inspections to secure operating permits and hiring and training staff, Sam Sanchez a media spokesperson for the restaurant told Bethesda Today on Monday.
Diners can expect standard Duke’s Grocery items including sandwiches, or “sarnies,” salads, sweets such as sticky toffee bread pudding, cocktails, wine, and a selection of local and English beers, according to the restaurant’s menu.
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 a full English breakfast, fish and chips and bangers and mash.
From 2016 to 2024, the eatery won Washington City Paper’s Best of DC Best Burger award. It received Washingtonian magazine’s 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 Bethesda Today last year during the initial announcement. “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. In April 2024, the restaurant company announced its plan to open a Potomac location with a 32-seat dining room and a separate 14-seat bar area. Outdoor seating will also be available.
In mid-February, Kramer posted a video update on social media about the progress of renovations at the Potomac restaurant. The video showed the space still covered with construction paper and tools but also with nearly completed lighting and a U-shaped bar.
“The kitchen behind me has new floors, new equipment. It’s all kind of happening. Of course, not as fast as any of us want it but it’s kind of the nature of things,” Kramer said in the video. “But a lot of excitement and we’re looking forward to seeing you in the spring.”
