Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Rock Bottom to reopen in Bethesda

After months of rumors about the future of Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery at 7900 Norfolk Avenue in Bethesda, now we know their immediate fate. Rock Bottom will reopen this Friday, June 19, 2020 at 12:00 PM.

Concerns over the future of the longtime fixture began last year. Rock Bottom's landlord began marketing the space for lease. During the coronavirus lockdown, Rock Bottom closed and did not offer curbside or takeout sales. One employee reported the staff had been let go during the lockdown. Eventually, the curtains were closed in the windows, and many people began writing Rock Bottom off.

Instead, Rock Bottom will return just as Montgomery County enters Phase 2 of its reopening from the lockdown this Friday at 5:00 PM. That means indoor dining is allowed at 50% of capacity, with staff and customers wearing masks and other precautions. Fortunately, Rock Bottom has a large space, meaning they can serve more at 50% capacity than many other restaurants. 

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Many people began writing them off because they declared bankruptcy right before the lockdown:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CraftWorks_Holdings#Bankruptcy
https://www.brewbound.com/news/parent-company-of-gordon-biersch-rock-bottom-and-old-chicago-files-for-chapter-11-bankruptcy-protection


With the lockdown, they had to wait and were not allowed to reopen any of their restaurants until they could get the Chapter 11 proceedings worked out, which they have done. Almost all of their restaurants in the network are allowed to reopen as of this coming Friday (though the owner told me 3pm, but that may have changed).

Anonymous said...

BTW -- Most of the restaurants in the area "let their staff go" as that allowed them to collect unemployment.

Anonymous said...

I wonder if the brew master has been brewing beer during the lockdown? I guess we'll know on Friday when they re-open.

Anonymous said...

Hopefully that cute bartender still works there

Anonymous said...

Not allowed due to the bankruptcy. The owner says they went online last weekend and will have a full beer menu by Friday. The food menu's going to be way stripped down, though.