TacoArepa, 202 Donuts & Coffee, 202 Next Door close

It was a strange 72 hours on Fairmont Avenue in Bethesda. On Wednesday night, a very solid source told me TacoArepa, 202 Donuts & Coffee and 202 Next Door - all located in a row on Fairmont Avenue - had permanently closed, and that employees were beginning to pack up and move out. Yet, when I went by early the next morning, 202 Donuts was open for business, and the furniture and equipment remained inside all three establishments. Sources in a position to know were unable to confirm the closures on-the-record at that time.

Later Thursday, TacoArepa and 202 Next Door opened as well. Over the next 24 hours, TacoArepa was even still promoting itself on social media, urging folks to come in. Needless to say, this was a confusing series of events.

Then Saturday, the original tipster was vindicated. All three restaurants, founded by brothers Alvaro and Alonso Roche, served their final meals. Messages in the windows announced this was it, for now, for the Roches' downtown Bethesda restaurant empire that began with Bold Bite on the same street seven years ago.

But anyone who has dined at Bold Bite or TapaBar will have to predict that this is not the last we've heard from these talented brothers in Bethesda.

Frida Beer Garden now open in Bethesda (Photos)

Frida Beer Garden, which is attached to the new TacoArepa restaurant at 4905 Fairmont Avenue, opened over the weekend. Although I mentioned this in my St. Patrick's Day specials report, I wanted to post some photos of the beer garden space now that it is complete.

Signs of new Roche Bros. dining ventures in downtown Bethesda (Photos)

Signs of the next culinary ventures of Alvaro and Alonso Roche have been popping up on Fairmont Avenue in the last few days. Their Pho pop-up in the former TapaBar space at 4901-A Fairmont now has new signs and menus announcing a fusion/hybrid concept called R Family Kitchen & Bar. The menu keeps the Pho, but also adds American, Venezuelan, Argentinian, European and Mediterranean dishes and influences.

This means you can start with a piquillo pepper and chickpea hummus, have a bowl of pho, and then one of their western main courses - chicken, steak, or Norwegian salmon. Sides skew Euro-American, but sometimes with a Spanish twist of serrano ham or pimenton butter added. Interestingly, R Family's steak is of the coulotte variety, the cut that across-the-street rival Medium Rare has made its trademark in the D.C. area.

Menu for R Family

The difference? For $20.45, Medium Rare gives you steak with Secret Sauce, fries, bread and a salad; R Family's includes chimichurri, mojo picon and your choice of one side for $19.75. R Family also promises your main course will be served on a sizzling plate. In terms of flavor and portion size, that debate can only be settled with a taste test at both restaurants. R Family will be serving lunch and dinner.

Two doors down Fairmont, in the revamped space that once belonged to local favorite Fresh Grill, workers were applying the sign for the Roches' TacoArepa. That fast casual spot will draw on Venezuela, Cuba and the Caribbean for culinary inspiration. In the alley alongside the building, construction for the associated beer garden is also underway now.

Beer garden under construction
in back of the future TacoArepa
on Fairmont Avenue

Artist using stencil to create
logo for TacoArepa at
4905 Fairmont Avenue

Stencil removed, et voila!

TacoArepa to pay homage to owners' childhood in Venezuela

TacoArepa, the new fast-casual concept from restaurateurs Alonso and Alvaro Roche, will lean heavily on nostalgia from the brothers' childhood in Venezuela. Expected to open by October, the restaurant will serve a fusion of Caribbean and Latin American tacos, arepas, bowls and salads.

Alonso Roche, the chef and co-owner of the operation, will draw from memories of his Cuban grandfather, and of West Indies curry dishes, to create the flavors for the 50-seat space. An industrial interior design will also pay tribute to the kind of Caribbean street vendors who inspired the brothers' first venture, Bold Bite, and outdoor dining will be available on a 16-seat patio.

As I reported yesterday, the restaurant will also serve beer, with a list combining local and Latin choices. TacoArepa will be located at 4905 Fairmont Avenue.