Monday, November 02, 2015

Bethesda construction update: Community restaurant (Photos)

Who will win the diner face-off across Veteran's Park in Bethesda's Woodmont Triangle? Well, first they have to build Community before it can challenge the venerable Tastee Diner. And that's exactly what they're doing right now, in the ground floor of the future 7770 Norfolk luxury condo tower on Norfolk Avenue.



34 comments:

Anonymous said...

It could be a worthy opponent indeed. Tastee is a local icon but that's about it. The food just isn't as good as it could be. Diner staples? Absolutely but there's concern here now that people want scratch made quality food items. It's not all bad if course and much is made in house but when you serve corned beef hash out of a can with horrendous coffee, that's a problem. I'll certainly try Community but likely never Tastee again for breakfast at least.

Anonymous said...

"Well, first they have to build Community before it can challenge the venerable Tastee Diner. And that's exactly what they're doing right now, in the ground floor of the future 7770 Norfolk luxury condo tower on Norfolk Avenue."

Logorrhea alert!

Anonymous said...

Will Berliner move to designate Tastee Diner historic?

Anonymous said...

If they don't own the building, that'd be the only way to save them long term.

Anonymous said...

Berliner doesn't have to do anything. Tastee Diner is already designated historic.

Betsy said...

That building is designated historic?

Does Tastee own it? Or who does?

Who is the owner of Tastee now anyways?

Anonymous said...

If it's historic, that means they're not going anywhere.
They'll be the little traincar diner with highrises built around them.

Robert Dyer said...

9:10: Always projecting your own psychological problems onto others - but at least get yourself a good dictionary, because you clearly have no idea what the word you used means.

Anonymous said...

Per their website, Mr. Gene Wilkes has been the owner since 1970. They own the property.

Anonymous said...

And:
The Silver Spring property is a historic landmark.
Don't think Bethesda is.

Anonymous said...

Any idea why the Bethesda Tastee isn't designated historic yet?

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

I don't see Community and Tastee going head to head. It's a different experience and probably a different price point too. The only thing in common is they both claim to be diners.

You wouldn't go into Tastee and ask for the wine list, and you wouldn't go into Community and ask for coffee poured from a big pot sitting under a drip coffeemaker.

Anonymous said...

It'll compete and if they make everything and I mean everything, they'll put a hurt on them.

Anonymous said...

I almost completely disagree with what you said about the diner. What I would say though is that their food just isn't that good anymore. People have really woken up about quality and expect it. There's always a place for diners but they have to be great. Tastee's breakfast is just not good enough and the coffee is awful. How bout local ingredients and scratch make everything? As I've said, their corned beef hash is out of a can. You can't do that. And again, if Community did that and more, they'll attract people away.

Anonymous said...

@5:44pm Based on that logic, McDonald's would be out of business since their hamburger is inferior to what you can get at Five Guys, BGR, etc.

My guess is Tastee will be at least half the price of community, and a certain segment of the market cares more about price.

Anonymous said...

Well, the comment at 2:49 PM provides an excellent opportunity to determine how consistently Dyer enforces his comment policies.

Anonymous said...

Don't know what the heck you're talking about. McDonald's invented the market. Their food was, at one time, thought to be very good. Their marketing is mostly what made them and how they became one of the most recognizable brands in the world. I do like Five Guys but BGR is also pretty good. Yes, price matters and diner likely will be less. I think diner folks will certainly give Community a try. Bottom line, I just want Tastee to step up their game. If they don't, they'll regret it.

Anonymous said...

You have to send him an email. He doesn't see all of these comments sometimes. He'll evaluate it from there.

Anonymous said...

Community's owner stated in the City Paper that Bethesda didn't have a diner. Those were fighting words considering he's opening within sight of Tastee.

Maybe he knows something we don't. Is Tastee on the way out?

Anonymous said...

spoke with owner/management a few weeks ago, u will always be able to go in and get a coffee and doughnut for a $1. they are trying to bring that old school diner feel to a modern time. saw the blueprints, will be an exciting feel.

God Bless Al Molinaro

Anonymous said...

What did the person say that you disagreed with?

Anonymous said...

Those are certainly fighting words. Tastee on the way out? I doubt it but just ask some classic delis and restaurants in NYC what happens if you don't own the building. That could be a high-rise easily. There was some mention of historic status. I hope they don't get it cause we'd be stuck with them forever. I don't think they do have that status now. Community, if really good, will rock the house. Tastee may lose breakfast patrons but folks will still go there for lunch, etc. We'll see.

Anonymous said...

I loved Al. Can you say Italian? Whoa! I like the idea of a walk up. There's nothing like that. With parking bring what it is, you can double park, walk up, get your coffee and donuts and roll out. These are the folks from Burger Joint. Best burger around? Maybe not but a successful local chain. They seem like they know what they're doing. The walk up reminds me of Montgomery Donuts for some reason. Man, I miss that place.

Anonymous said...

On a related diner note, anyone tried the new Silver? I walked by a few times and it seemed half-full in the evenings. Menu looked OK.

Anonymous said...

Haven't tried it. Not sure it's intrigued me enough to do so. I've said before, why'd they name it Silver when it isn't a diner? They already have classic diners which I think are horrible by the way. This just confuses the public. They think it's a diner when the owners of Silver envisioned something else entirely hence the name issue. People in this area don't want dinner at an upscale diner I don't think. I don't know what these folks were thinking with this place. Let's see some reviews come out. Tom Seitsema probably can't wait to unleash his keyboard on these folks. They won't survive I don't think. It's an expensive restaurant they've built and looks nice but I think the name connection to diner is a problem.

Anonymous said...

Anyone remember how "The Crab House" came in, and drove the Bethesda Crab House out of business within a few years?

I don't, either.

Anonymous said...

I've gone a couple times for lunch and it was pretty jumping. Glad to see them doing well whenever I'm there. Such high rents. So many businesses going out of business.

G. Money said...

5:39/6:42 - I tried Silver a few weeks ago, wasn't very exciting. I had some mushroom and squash thing that was aight, and a "peppermint patty" milkshake that actually tasted like girl scout cookies (good) but had chunks of Oreo (not as good), and a bunch of the Oreo filling at the bottom (gross). Oddly, I've been told that the Silver Diner has been changing its menu recently to be more farm-to-table oriented, so I'm not even sure that the cuisine at Silver is any more "upscale" than the diners.

They were doing good business though, so maybe some of their options are better. Or maybe people are just curious.

Anonymous said...

7:10 - You mentioned that Bethesda Crab House is still there after competition came in. How Beth Crab House is still there is actually a mystery. Anyway, Tastee will do fine. It's been there for so long. I think they will lose some customers like me for instance for breakfast because I think it's not up to par at all. But other folks will be happy with what Tastee offers. For folks like me that want quality over price will be happy to have a good breakfast alternative. Pancake House won't win any food awards but it's just ok. Ever seen Divers, Drive-ins and Dives? What I'm saying is the food showcased on that show is incredible and many diners have been featured. I see Community not as a dive but as a place to get the quality of food and creativity I've seen on that Food Network show. We'll see what happens so enough. It won't be long until they are open. I'll be heading over there when they do.

Anonymous said...

How long did Johnny Rockets last?

Anonymous said...

Johnny Rockets. Why? Not long as I remember.

Anonymous said...

Go to peter's Carryout just up the street. Love the breakfast and lunch there!

Steve D. said...

"Anonymous said...
Haven't tried it. Not sure it's intrigued me enough to do so. I've said before, why'd they name it Silver when it isn't a diner?

6:42 AM"

Also it looks like a lot of their customers probably aren't AARP members.