Ruth’s Chris to Open in October at Downtown Crown

Steak house is the latest in a slew of restaurant openings at the new Gaithersburg development

Andrew Metcalf

Ruth’s Chris Steak House will open at Downtown Crown on Oct. 13, marking the latest restaurant opening at the Gaithersburg development.

The new location will be the international chain’s second in Montgomery County; the other is located on Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Bethesda. The restaurant is known for its prime steaks and upscale American cuisine.

Earlier this month, two other restaurants—Coastal Flats and Venti Tre Modern Italian—opened at Downtown Crown off of Sam Eig Highway.

The Coastal Flats location is Great American Restaurant Group’s first in Maryland. The company operates Sweetwater Tavern, Coastal Flats and several other restaurant concepts in Northern Virginia.

Coastal Flats serves a variety of seafood from lobster rolls to sea bass.

Venti Tre held its ribbon cutting Sept. 8 with County Executive Isiah Leggett in attendance. The fast-casual concept by the Kentucky-based chain restaurant group Fazoli’s features a Chipotle-like assembly line where customers choose a wrap, pasta or salad and then add their choice of toppings, such as chicken, steak, pancetta, roasted mushrooms and a variety of sauces.

The Gaithersburg location is Venti Tre’s second. The other opened at Canton Crossing in Baltimore in March.

County Executive Ike Leggett tries out the Venti Tre at its grand opening earlier this month. Provided photo.

The Downtown Crown restaurants represent a continuing trend we’re seeing in Montgomery County—the opening of upscale chain restaurants or new fast-casual concepts. This is particularly true at the major new real estate developments under construction in the county.

For example, these chains are open or set to open at Downtown Crown: Paladar Latin Kitchen and Rum Bar, Coastal Flats, &pizza, Chop’t, La Madeleine and Smashburger.

At Pike & Rose on Rockville Pike, the story is similar. Del Frisco’s Grille already opened, while other scheduled openings include ShopHouse Kitchen, La Madeleine, Chipotle, Roti Mediterranean Grill and Stella Barra Pizzeria and Summer House, which are both concepts by Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises—a restaurant group that owns more than 50 concepts across the country, including Maggiano’s and Mon Ami Gabi.