UPDATE - 7:39 PM: The CEO of Pike El Diamante provided the following statement:
"Pike El Diamante is not closed and will be operating as usual. We value the support we have received throughout these two years and look forward to continue serving the community.
If you're looking for a great way to spend your evening, join us tonight 06/26/2026 starting at 6:00 PM for our $7 Margaritas special. We'd be delighted to welcome you in for great food, drinks, and hospitality.
Mario Terrazas
CEO
Pike El Diamante"
Original story:
One restaurant has closed in downtown Bethesda, and the future of a second is undetermined. Pike El Diamante has shut down at 4906 St. Elmo Avenue. The property owner has posted signs warning the business ownership or other parties not to attempt to gain entry to the building, in which the contents of the restaurant remain under lock and key. An online listing indicates the space is available for lease immediately.
Also being marketed as available for "immediate" lease is the building at 4858 Cordell Avenue. That is currently home to Smoke BBQ, which is still open for business at last check. Both properties have not had much difficulty attracting tenants, as both are highly visible storefronts in the Woodmont Triangle with lots of lunch and after-work foot traffic.
Also being marketed as available for "immediate" lease is the building at 4858 Cordell Avenue. That is currently home to Smoke BBQ, which is still open for business at last check. Both properties have not had much difficulty attracting tenants, as both are highly visible storefronts in the Woodmont Triangle with lots of lunch and after-work foot traffic.
15 comments:
Smoke may be one of the worst restaurants in Maryland. How in the world they've been open for as long is beyond me and especially in a busy restaurant corridor. They will not be missed that's a gross understatement.
Pike El Diamante is not closed and will be operating as usual. We value the support we have received throughout these two years and look forward to continue serving the community.
If you're looking for a great way to spend your evening, join us tonight 06/26/2026 starting at 6:00 PM for our $7 Margaritas special. We'd be delighted to welcome you in for great food, drinks, and hospitality.
Mario Terrazas
CEO
Pike El Diamante
Mr. Terrazas: Thank you - I have updated the article. What happened? The restaurant was closed during business hours last night, and I've never seen a business reopen after being locked out by the property owner before (the same property owner has posted those same signs about trespassing and changing locks in the window of other businesses that closed in the past).
Smoke is no Joke ! Hopefully they work things out with their Landlord. Poor JAC continues with his negative drivel. He must be great at parties.
I can confirm the lights on and they were open on Friday night... but I didn't see any customers when I glanced inside. To be fair, it was a generally quiet night in Bethesda for nightlife.
You must be a shill or just a dick and obviously you’ve never eaten at Smoke. Everything on the menu is terrific - I’ve had most everything - so STFU.
6:03 - A comment shared by no one. Worst excuse for BBQ anywhere. Boggles the mind. Want real que? Try 2 Fifty in Riverdale and report back.
12:04 - First of all, the bad language is revealing. Secondly, it's the worst excuse for BBQ anywhere and that's being generous. It's not personal it's just not good. If you like it, great. But it's never busy and there's no buzz anywhere about the place and there never has been. If they close, it'll be a positive not a negative.
I like Smoke just fine. Comparing it to 2Fifty is unfair; 2Fifty is the gold standard. Smoke has been around for a pretty long stretch, even without Jac's patronage.
8:57 - Not unfair at all. Smoke BBQ serves the same cuisine and has been in business for a long time as you say. So I don't see why that's not fair to compare the two.
JAC, are you living is in? You’re so unhappy with everything across many posts. South Carolina beckons!
3:46 - Not unhappy just opinionated. Yes, SC certainly does. I'll be there Friday. Heaven!
What JAC really feeds on is attention.
I could barely swallow anything that smoke peddled me and my friend when we went. Garbage-tier food and good riddance.
"Let's go to Smoke BBQ" - a statement spoken exactly once, then never again.
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