Two Dark Storefronts at 5471 Wisconsin Avenue Already Have Their Next Tenants

"Something exciting is on the horizon. We're reimagining this space to bring you a fresh new dining and hospitality experience."

That sign was taped to Junction Bistro, Bar & Bakery's door at The Collection at Chevy Chase on the Tuesday after the restaurant's last service, according to Bethesda Magazine. The Collection posted the sign, not Junction. The landlord already had a plan for the space while the pastry case was still being cleared.

That detail explains this fall on Chevy Chase's stretch of Wisconsin Avenue. Two restaurants at the same address closed within a week of each other, which usually means a block is struggling. This time the replacements were announced faster than most people noticed the closures. The real question for anyone who walks past Clyde's on the way to dinner is timing.

One address, two closures, six days apart

Junction served its last customers at 5471 Wisconsin Ave. on Friday, August 28. Junction is based in Alexandria. Its farewell post said the Alexandria location was "open and doing great" and didn't explain why the Chevy Chase location was closing, Bethesda Magazine reported. The post thanked guests for "morning coffees and weekend brunches to quick lunches, celebrations, and everything in between."

The Hunter's Hound shared the address and closed on Thursday, September 3. It had been open nearly five years, since December 2021. A representative for the Irish-themed restaurant told The MoCo Show that the location "was not generating enough business to continue operating." Its menu included beef and Guinness stew, fish and chips and sticky toffee pudding.

Taken alone, that week looks bad. An all-day bakery and a pub, side by side and across from Clyde's of Chevy Chase, both went dark in the first days of September.

Twelve days from last service to an announced replacement

On September 9, CCLC, the firm formerly called the Chevy Chase Land Company, announced that Metropolitan Hospitality Group would open restaurants in both spaces. That was twelve days after Junction's last service. CCLC owns and operates The Collection. The Washington Business Journal began its coverage this way: "It didn't take long for the real estate investment firm CCLC to fill two large restaurant vacancies."

The split works like this:

• Open Road takes the former Hunter's Hound space. It is an American restaurant with what the press release calls a "nautical twist," and MHG already runs locations in Merrifield, Arlington, Reston and Tysons. According to Bethesda Magazine, the existing menus include wings, pizza, burgers, steak frites, fish tacos, grain bowls, an eggplant parmesan sandwich and fajitas.
• Cove takes the smaller former Junction space. It is a new all-day cafe and wine bar that will debut at The Collection. No menu, hours or other details have been released.

These are MHG's first restaurants in Maryland. The group opened its first restaurant, CIRCA at Dupont, in 2007, and its portfolio now includes Él Bebe, TRIO Grill, SALT, Heirloom and Open Road Distilling Co. MHG President Matthew Carlin said in the release published by PoPville that the group had "been thoughtful about where and how MHG would make its first move into Maryland, and Friendship Heights immediately stood out."

So the block lost two independent operators with different owners and gained one regional group running two connected concepts. The mix also stays about the same. A bakery-cafe that served breakfast through dinner gives way to an all-day cafe and wine bar. An Irish pub gives way to a broad American menu. Morning coffee and a casual dinner should both still be possible on this corner once the doors open.

The neighbors that stayed, and the one that just arrived

The rest of The Collection held steady through all of this. Clyde's, Sushiko and Potomac Pizza are still the restaurants Bethesda Magazine named when it described the development in September.

One storefront opened just as the restaurants closed. Le Creuset announced it would open at 5481 Wisconsin Ave. on August 28, the same day Junction closed next door. Its grand-opening events ran September 10 through 13. On the day Junction cleared out, the block gained a shop selling Dutch ovens.

Across Western Avenue, a slower fall

At The Shops at Wisconsin Place, the changes are additions, and they are behind schedule.

Kneads Bakeshop, the Baltimore-based bakery and cafe, is moving into the former Peet's Coffee space at 5330G Western Ave. The MoCo Show reported in December 2025 that the target was the second quarter of 2026. That window passed. PoPville spotted "coming soon" signs at the storefront on September 24, and the center's listing now says "Fall 2026."

Two more Wisconsin Place tenants are listed for this fall. My Gym, a children's fitness program, is marked "Coming soon" and "Opening Fall 2026." Toastique is also listed for Fall 2026. Neither has a published opening day.

Where every storefront stands as of October 12

The Collection's directory still lists Cove and Open Road Grill as "Coming Soon," with no opening day. Today is October 12, so the fourth-quarter window has a little under twelve weeks left. Kneads already missed its first target by a full season. Until a business posts an actual date, treat any of these as possible before New Year's but not promised.

What fills the weekends while the corner waits

Closed storefronts don't mean the area is quiet this fall. Several events around Friendship Heights and greater Chevy Chase run through the stretch when the new restaurants are still dark:

1. Ch/Art's 7th Annual Art Walk, Saturday and Sunday, October 17 and 18, noon to 5 p.m. The free event puts 86 artists in 35 homes throughout Chevy Chase, according to the Friendship Heights Alliance listing.
2. The Sunday Commons Market, Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. through November 22, with no market on November 15. It sets up on the sidewalk in front of 5210 Wisconsin Avenue NW, on the D.C. side of the line.
3. Paint-your-own-pumpkin at the same market on Sunday, October 18, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. RSVP is required for the workshop.
4. "The Living Dead," an immersive play running through November 8 on the Metro level of Chevy Chase Pavilion at 5335 Wisconsin Avenue NW, also in D.C. Tickets are $40, per BroadwayWorld.

Chevy Chase Lake's Harvest Fest on Connecticut Avenue was October 10 and has already happened.

If Open Road and Cove open on the late side of their window, the Commons Market's last Sunday on November 22 may come before either does. Until then, 5471 Wisconsin Avenue has two announced tenants and two locked doors.

If you'd like to talk through what the turnover on Wisconsin Avenue means for your own street, Wydler Brothers follows these storefronts closely and is happy to help. Start the conversation and request a personalized consultation.