Recent News – May 2016

Hey everyone, things in the area have been relatively quiet for the last number of months but there have been a number of news items…

The much-loved local French restaurant Cafe Des Artiste closed back in March. It initially was looking like it was going to shut down and leave a large fine dining gap in the area, but thankfully a restaurateur from up near DC opted to purchase the location. Chef Brian Wilson will be opening La Rive Breton in June. I know I’m definitely looking forward to it.

Lenny’s, another one of the staple restaurants in the area has also closed it’s doors. Bollywood Masala, the only Indian restaurant in the county, has since moved to the location. The Bollywood Lounge went along with it, renaming to Taphouse 1637. While a number of my coworkers are sad about the move because it takes Bollywood farther from Gate 2, it seems to have been a good move for them. The new location is huge compared to the old and has been extremely busy. Supposedly Bollywood had been kicked out from San Souci when the developer found a big-box store that would occupy that entire set of storefronts, though I haven’t heard news on what the store is yet.

The only pho restaurant in the St. Mary’s area, Pho Saigon, has closed. They apparently had closed rather suddenly and with little notice. I’d heard a rumor that a new tenant is already in the process of moving in, one which supposedly the area’s already familiar with, but I don’t have any concrete details yet.

As far as restaurant chains go, a Jimmy Johns sandwich shop just opened last week in the Lexington Village Shopping Center next to Kohls. While it’s just yet another sandwich chain, I do look forward to trying them again after eating at Jimmy Johns a lot back in college.