Jeff Black to Resurrect Addie’s at Park Potomac

The longtime Rockville Pike restaurant that closed in 2013 will reopen at a new location in Potomac

By Andrew Metcalf

Addie’s is coming back.

Restaurateur Jeff Black will reopen the former North Bethesda restaurant at the Park Potomac development, according to a press release sent Wednesday. The release noted that Black Restaurant Group signed a 20-year lease for the restaurant.

Addie’s closed at its longtime Rockville Pike location in 2013 after Black was unable to negotiate building updates to the aging house-turned-restaurant where it had operated since 1995. Owners Jeff and Barbara Black opened the original Addie’s and later grew their restaurant business into the Black Restaurant Group.

Since it closed, “I’m asked almost every week, ‘When are you reopening Addie’s?’ ” Black said in a statement. “I’ve been looking tirelessly for the right space, and while we can’t resurrect it in its original form, I’m excited to bring back the spirit of Addie’s to Park Potomac.”

The new Addie’s will be housed in a 4,000-square-foot space with an “indoor-outdoor” feel similar to the original, according to the press release. An opening date has not been set.

Old Addie’s dishes—such as the eponymous Addie’s mussels served at Black’s other restaurants—will return to the menu. The new restaurant will also have a raw bar and cocktail bar.

The former Addie’s location on Rockville Pike recently reopened as Helen’s, an American-Asian fusion concept from longtime Washington, D.C. caterer Helen Wasserman.

Black Restaurant Group operates seven restaurants in the region—including Black’s Bar & Kitchen in Bethesda, Black Market Bistro in Garrett Park and Republic in Takoma Park.

The Park Potomac development includes restaurants such as MoCo’s Founding Farmers and The Wine Harvest. In September, Roberto Pietrobono, the co-owner of the popular Bethesda taqueria Gringos & Mariachis, said he was expanding the Mexican concept with a second location at Park Potomac opening later this year.

The new Addie’s will open in a space at the new office building at 12435 Park Potomac Avenue, which is also where Gringos is opening.