Sunday, May 20, 2018

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.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

R had a tiny menu and inconsistent execution. Not sure why Tapabar went under though -- that was quite good the couple times I visited.

Any word on how Taco Arepas is doing?

Anonymous said...

Says the guy who makes the bizarre Taco Bell reviews. Leave food reviews to the real journalists, Robert.

Anonymous said...

Taco Arepa is ok. They should just steal from Taco Bamba. That place is the real deal.

Anonymous said...

Tapabar was good. I heard they just didn't make enough money at the end of the day to stay open. Feel bad for em because it had good food and service. I think they were just missing out on opportunities to increase profitable hourse, i.e lunch, weeknights, etc.

Anonymous said...

Not surprised at all. Their previous Tapas restaurant was mediocre at best. Next will be their Taco Arepa which downright sucks and gives Frida Kalho a bad name by naming their beer garden after her. There was so much potential here (I liked the connection to Frida) but the execution was bad. If this were like Taco Bamba (best tacos this side of the Mississippi/DC area) then I would be there every Saturday beer in hand.

Suze said...

Taco Arepa is great, and has a good crowd every time I've eaten there. Between the weather and work I haven't had the chance to enjoy the beer garden, but I'm hoping to get out there soon.

202 Next Door sounds interesting. I do think Bethesda needs more of a casual coffee shop, like Zed's or Kaldi's in Silver Spring. I'll definitely visit once they reopen!

Anonymous said...

In related food news-I went by Bold Bite at 9pm Friday night- it was closed for the evening.
Meanwhile, Dog Haus was poppin...

6:49 AM Business Insider, Forbes, Thrillist, Food & Wine, Business Journals, etc. all covered new products or promotions at Taco Bell recently. It's relevant.

Business Insider headline from 2 days ago: "We ate everything on Taco Bell's Dollar Cravings Menu — here's what we thought"