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.

R Family Kitchen and Bar to be replaced by 202 Next Door on Fairmont Avenue

Alvaro and Alonso Roche, the prolific brothers behind many downtown Bethesda and D.C. dining ventures, have announced that their R Family Kitchen and Bar at 4901-A Fairmont Avenue in Bethesda has closed this weekend. They will reopen the space on May 29, 2018 as 202 Next Door.

202 Next Door will take the area's most-Instagrammable donuts, breakfast sandwiches and Vigilante coffee from next door's 202 Donuts & Coffee, and add a new menu of light lunch and dinner options, snacks designed for sharing, and a craft cocktail bar. The Roches say 202 has outgrown its small space next door, and the expanded 202 Next Door will be able to accommodate the crowds in a more comfortable setting with couches and free WiFi.

More details on 202 Next Door will be coming soon, as the menu and concept are finalized. Given the quality and inventiveness of the food at each venture the Roches have launched, I'm surprised at the last two closures (this and the well-reviewed TapaBar), but look forward to what they've come up with this time.

Free donuts at 202 Donuts & Coffee August 7 in Bethesda

202 Donuts & Coffee in Bethesda will give a free donut to the first 100 customers this coming Monday, August 7, 2017. The giveaway will begin at 7:30 AM Monday. More good news: 202 Donuts will do the same thing on the first Monday of every month for the rest of 2017.

202 Donuts & Coffee is located at 4901-B Fairmont Avenue.