CITY LIGHTS OF CHINA REPAIRING FIRE DAMAGE

City Lights of China is working towards reopening after a devastating kitchen fire that caused over $400,000 in damage to the restaurant about 3 weeks ago. The Bethesda Avenue Chinese restaurant has requested a construction permit from Montgomery County's Department of Permitting Services for $19,000 worth of interior fire damage repair and restoration.

A reopening date has not yet been set.

CITY LIGHTS OF CHINA FIRE CAUSES OVER $400K IN DAMAGE AT BETHESDA RESTAURANT (PHOTOS)

A kitchen fire after midnight on Sunday at City Lights of China caused over $400,000 in damage to the Bethesda restaurant, according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue spokesperson Pete Piringer. Piringer said the fire has been ruled accidental, and investigators determined it was electrical in nature. Heavy smoke poured from the roof, and fire officials had to temporarily close that block of Bethesda Avenue.

City Lights moved to 4953 Bethesda Avenue last year, and its original Bethesda Row location was taken over by ShopHouse. Piringer said a health inspector has been requested to examine the damaged restaurant.

Interior damage at
City Lights of China

Photos: Pete Piringer via Twitter

CITY LIGHTS OF CHINA OPENS ON BETHESDA AVENUE (PHOTOS)

The "Open" sign is lit at City Lights of China

City Lights of China has officially reopened, after moving one block west to 4953 Bethesda Avenue. The Chinese restaurant's original location has been taken over by ShopHouse. City Lights' new home was previously occupied by Taipei 101 Tokyo Cafe, until last May. Much like another local favorite, Foong Lin, City Lights has moved to a spot with less pedestrian activity than its old one. So if you're a City Lights fan, make sure to spread the word that the restaurant is open again.

On Sunday, the City Lights awning sign was installed; witness it vicariously through these photos:

It's a quiet Sunday on Bethesda Avenue

The first order of business is to unfasten
the awning from atop the van

Ladder 1 is in place...

...and now Ladder 2

Mission accomplished

CITY LIGHTS OF CHINA POSTS COMING SOON SIGN IN BETHESDA (PHOTO)

The new location of City Lights of China on Bethesda Avenue (west of Arlington Road) has posted a "reopening soon" message out front. City Lights' former home, one block east on Bethesda Avenue, now belongs to ShopHouse.

CITY LIGHTS OF CHINA CLEARS OUT AT BETHESDA ROW (PHOTOS)

City Lights of China is clearing out to make way for future tenant, ShopHouse on Bethesda Avenue.

Here's a last chance to see some of the decor and design of this longtime restaurant.

SHOPHOUSE BETHESDA ROW LOCATION TO OPEN LATE 2013 (PHOTO)

Parent company Chipotle is now publicly announcing what you exclusively read here first last week:

ShopHouse is coming to Bethesda Row, to take over the former City Lights of China space on Bethesda Avenue.

ShopHouse is an Asian-menu-themed spinoff of the Chipotle concept.

The company is targeting a late 2013 opening for the new Bethesda location.

This now confirms my exclusive report last week.

SHOPHOUSE OPENING AT BETHESDA ROW - ASIAN CHIPOTLE SPINOFF TO TAKE OVER CITY LIGHTS OF CHINA SPACE

Exclusive!

Bye-bye,  City Lights of China.

Hello... Shophouse!

That's right, Dupont Circle's favorite Asian Chipotle spinoff, Shophouse, is coming to Bethesda Row.  Shophouse will move into the City Lights of China space at 4820 Bethesda Avenue, which City Lights is vacating ...now.

As the auction announcement I found (below) shows, the contents of City Lights are being auctioned off today.

That's the bad news.

The good news is that Shophouse is taking its place. Have you heard before that a particular restaurant is the "[fill in type of ethnic food] Chipotle" before? Or "trying to be Chipotle?"

Well, Shophouse literally is Chipotle, an Asian spinoff from the same company. So prices and ordering procedures will be fairly familiar to regular patrons of Chipotle. I expect Shophouse will be hugely popular at lunch.

Of course, having a corporate chain take over a small Chinese restaurant will likely cause some minor grumbling in the community. As might the closure of a second independent Asian restaurant on Bethesda Avenue in a month (Taipei 101 being the first). It will be interesting to hear public reaction, given the popularity of Shophouse in DC.

Appropriately, the name Shophouse comes from Chinese buildings that had residences above commercial shops. What's old is new again, as Shophouse comes to Bethesda Row, which urban planning experts refer to often as the best example of a mixed-use development in America.