Thursday, November 17, 2016

Former Red Tomato Cafe demolished in Bethesda (Photos)

All that's left of the popular Red Tomato Cafe this morning is their old brick pizza oven. It stands amid the rubble of the restaurant, which was condemned after the building was damaged during excavation for the neighboring Bainbridge Bethesda luxury apartment tower.

You'll notice one wall remains standing, which means it is not technically a full demolition under Montgomery County code; in contrast, the old BCC Automotive facility adjacent to this had demolition permits posted.

This is part of the Lot 667 project by Greenhill Capital, which will transform an L-shaped collection of properties (old Fresh Grill and Dansez! Dansez building on Fairmont Avenue, and Red Tomato and BCC Automotive on St. Elmo Avenue - - renovation of 4901-A Fairmont has already been completed and is occupied by Tapabar and European Wax) into a new retail and restaurant center.

The project's design is by the local architecture firm of Steven J. Karr, AIA, Inc.