Bethesda Barbecue Company cleared out (Photos)

The contents of the now-closed Bethesda Barbecue Company were being emptied out into a rental truck Thursday evening on Elm Street. Rumors that the restaurant owners will try a third concept in the space (it previously was Newton's Apple) are hard to believe. Such a restaurant would have to function with no kitchen, no seating, no appliances, and no toilets. That's right. Workers were even carrying the commodes out of the restaurant. Stay tuned.

Here comes a commode

On to the truck it goes

Bethesda Barbecue Company confirmed as restaurant being liquidated/closed in auction

Surely you'll be shocked - shocked - to learn that the secretive online auction of the entire contents of an "upscale Bethesda barbecue restaurant" is indeed Bethesda Barbecue Company at 4917 Elm Street. The restaurant's identity was finally disclosed by the auction site last night, so that potential bidders could know where to go for the auction preview today, from 1:00-3:00 PM.

That auction will take place online beginning at 11:00 AM tomorrow, August 26.

This means that, after having its doors locked for over a month, Bethesda Barbecue Company has clearly closed. The future of the space is unknown for now.

Is Bethesda Barbecue Company closed? Part III

The mystery online auction of the contents of an "upscale Bethesda barbecue restaurant" has been updated with an inventory of items, and a date for the auction (Wednesday, August 26, 2015). As I reported yesterday, not only does Bethesda Barbecue Company remain closed and without an active online presence, but the model of smoker they used appears to be the same model being offered in the auction. Alas, the online auction page continues to hide the name of the restaurant. But the word "barbecue" has now been removed from the description of the restaurant.

An anonymous commenter suggested yesterday that Bethesda Barbecue Company would be reopening with a new concept in the Elm Street space.

If it does - and if it is indeed the restaurant in this auction listing - it would have to operate without the following items listed for bid in said auction:

• ovens
• "complete kitchen"
• blender
• air conditioning
• "digital music amplifier"
• sink
• security system
• kitchen door
• pots and pans
• all dining room furniture
• ice machine
• fryer
• grease trap
• dishwasher and dishes
• trash cans
• refrigerators
• the chef's line
• microwave
• hood exhaust
• answering machine

Just to name a few.

If you can run a restaurant (or a "deli", as the rumor suggested) without all of that, I'd love to hear the explanation of how. I'm having a flashback to Pizza Pass. 

Stay tuned...the name of the restaurant will supposedly now be revealed Monday evening.

Bethesda Barbecue Company closed? Part II

Bethesda Barbecue Company remains closed on Elm Street, a month after I first reported it appeared to have closed. Its website is still no longer operating, and its social media accounts have still not been updated. 

I found an auction for an "upscale Bethesda barbecue restaurant", which is "making a complete urgent liquidation" online this week. The auction page is not going to reveal who the seller is until the last minute. In fact, it doesn't even clearly state which day the auction is being held, leaving that space blank as of this writing.

One item listed is a "1 year old new" Old Hickory smoker. The owners of BBC posed with one in a photo posted to their Twitter account this past January.

We won't know for sure until the auction page is updated...stay tuned.

Fish Taco finds downtown Bethesda location, Bethesda Barbecue Co. closed? (Photos)

We knew Fish Taco was planning a downtown Bethesda location, and now we know where it will be. You may recall I reported that the Cabin John restaurant was expanding to Wildwood Shopping Center a couple weeks back. Eater DC then reported a second Bethesda location was in the works, as well. This one would be in the "heart of Bethesda," Missy Frederick quoted a spokeswoman saying.

It turns out it will be in The JBG Companies' Artery Plaza building, at 7200 Wisconsin Avenue. Fish Taco will take over a 2800 SF space there, which JBG has been offering with outdoor patio seating to prospective restaurant tenants.

A renovation of Artery Plaza, by HITT Contracting, is still underway. This quiet corner a Sonny Jurgensen throw from Bethesda Row could certainly use the activity a Fish Taco might generate. JBG also has a second space available for a potential restaurant, which would double the revitalization effort.

Patio dining area that's
been marketed to
prospective restaurant
tenants recently

View from patio dining
area 

Promising "Bethesda's
Next Great Restaurant";
JBG wants to remove
the arch in front of this
space to open up more
patio dining area

Bethesda Barbecue Co. status?

On the other end of the spectrum, Bethesda Barbecue Company on Elm Street has either closed, or just wants us to believe it has, by giving us a multitude of signs.

They've had a spotty schedule since a Pepco worker wreaked havoc on their business a few months back, snipping the wrong line under the street and damaging their kitchen equipment. The result was a long closure that certainly didn't help the restaurant's business.

But it's been closed on consecutive days recently, and the phone doesn't work anymore. The website has been down every time I tried it. There's even been mail sitting outside recently.

There's no official word on the restaurant's status (it's hard to get in touch when the phone is down, obviously), but it doesn't look good. Their Facebook page is still up, but hasn't been updated since May 2; same goes for their Twitter account.

If anyone from the restaurant can email an official update, I'll be glad to print it. A number of readers have been asking me about it over the last few weeks.

Pepco snips wrong wire, shuts down Bethesda restaurant (Photos)

If you noticed Bethesda Barbecue Company closed at 4917 Elm Street in recent days, it wasn't by the restaurant's choice. BBC says a Pepco worker mistakenly cut the wrong power line on April 17, causing the restaurant's ventilation system to shut down. The resulting damage has taken days to fix, but they had the smoker ready yesterday.

The restaurant is scheduled to open on time this morning, at 11:30 AM.

This may be where the wire
was cut, below Elm Street