Prato Italian restaurant to replace Matchbox at Bethesda Row

Prato, an Italian restaurant concept with one existing Florida location, is gearing up to expand across the country. The first place parent company Park Lights Hospitality looked to was Maryland, where Prato will replace Matchbox at 7278 Woodmont Avenue at Bethesda Row this fall, property owner Federal Realty announced in a press release on Tuesday. Nashville will follow next year. Despite the disparate markets, Park Lights will try to import the interior design elements that worked in Winter Park - "rich textures, brick, and warm wood - highlighted by that thoughtful, perfect lighting," to Bethesda and Music City.

The press announcement focused more on the hospitality, "energy," and welcoming atmosphere of the restaurant than the menu. But with Prato having achieved Michelin-recognized status in the Sunshine State, the cuisine is unlikely to be a mere afterthought. For now, they're promising dishes from multiple regions of Italy, a fusion of "Italian classics with modern techniques and seasonal ingredients."

"We’re a very busy restaurant, and that long-term success has allowed us to explore expansion opportunities in multiple markets," Park Lights CEO Scott Bowman said in a statement Tuesday. "We couldn’t think of a better or more vibrant community than Bethesda to open our second Prato." While the prominent corner Prato has leased has been home to three different restaurants over the years, each one has lasted long enough to be considered successful by the standards of the volatile dining industry, in a town where some eateries have shuttered after only a few months in recent years. Montgomery County elected officials are much more hostile to business than those in Florida, and MoCo's high taxes and wages and government monopoly on liquor sales mean thinner profit margins, so Prato will have to bring its A-game to Bethesda Row this fall.

Top photos courtesy Prato; bottom photo by Robert Dyer