Potomac Village New Restaurants: Where the Openings Stand

"We loved the store, and we put so much of our heart and soul into it, but it has lost money for years," Courtney Spaeth told Store Reporter in June. She was explaining why Sprinkles, in Potomac Village since 1989, would serve its last cones at the end of that month. About two years apart, the River Road strip has now lost two businesses that held specific jobs in local life. Renato's was the long-running Italian dinner. Sprinkles was the after-school treat. Neither replacement is open yet.

Both of those jobs have already been reassigned. Maurizio's is being built partly as a successor to Renato's. Playa Bowls will take over the smoothie-and-sweets counter that Sprinkles ran. The landlords lined up both tenants well ahead of time. The wait is about construction calendars, and in the meantime part of Potomac's frozen-treat traffic has settled somewhere else entirely.

The Italian dinner seat at 10120 River Road

Renato's was sold and closed in September 2024 after a long run as an Italian staple at 10120 River Road. The space is going to Maurizio's, a modern Italian restaurant from WildGoat Hospitality. That's the group behind Cava Mezze in Rockville and Julii, Melina and Bouboulina at Pike & Rose.

The name matters here. The restaurant honors Maurizio Luise, a longtime friend of the founders and the group's operations leader. In the restaurant's words, the concept reflects "his warmth, generosity, and love of bringing people together around the table." The menu is also expected to include some dishes that nod to Renato's and its decades in the community. So the restaurant is being designed as the next tenant in a room locals already know.

The previews add up to a fairly detailed picture. Executive Chef Aris Tsekouras leads the kitchen. Plans include fresh pastas and pizzas, crudo, burrata and chicken Parmesan. Eater DC's preview added rosemary focaccia, fritto misto, linguine and clams, grilled branzino, and a dedicated Negroni bar menu "full of riffs on the classic cocktail." Washingtonian's late-August preview also mentioned spaghetti carbonara and Barolo-braised beef. Co-founder Dimitri Moshovitis told Bethesda Magazine the cooking would be the group's own take on Italian, with clean flavors and reworked classics. The plans describe a bright room with rich textures, patterned details and an open kitchen.

In May, co-founder Ted Xenohristos said, "Opening our next restaurant in the Village is incredibly meaningful to us." When Eater DC published its list of the area's most anticipated fall 2026 openings, Maurizio's was the only Maryland restaurant on it.

How the target dates have moved

Both projects have the same habit of pushing back their target dates, and seeing them together explains the "any day now" feeling on River Road.

For Maurizio's, a liquor license hearing was scheduled for May 7, back when an opening was still expected in late spring. When we checked on Oct. 4, the restaurant's website still read "COMING SOON," with no opening day or hours posted. Any date in this post is a target that has already moved at least once, so treat it that way.

The smoothie counter at 10148 River Road

Sprinkles sold much more than its name suggests. Its counter carried small-batch ice cream, handmade cookies, smoothies, candy, pies, donuts, cakes and party supplies. Courtney and John Spaeth bought the shop just before the pandemic and described six years of getting hit from one direction after another: Covid, supply chain disruptions, equipment repairs and tariffs.

Before it closed, Sprinkles announced that the landlord had already signed Playa Bowls as the next tenant. The chain focuses on build-your-own bowls and smoothies on açai, pitaya, coconut and banana bases, plus juices and coffee. That covers the smoothie half of what Sprinkles did, minus the ice cream case and the birthday-party aisle.

Permanent signage went up in late September, which MoCo Show read as a sign the opening is getting closer. The end-of-summer target has passed, and the current target is year's end.

Where the frozen treats went in the meantime

The same Store Reporter column that announced Sprinkles' closing carried a second item. Carmen's Italian Ice had just opened at Cabin John Village. By June 5 it was open at 11325 Seven Locks Road, Suite 113. Co-owners Jerry Walters and Brad Riddle and operations partner Ajay Jalloh run the location in partnership with founders Jason and Boodie Mandler.

Carmen's started in Rockville 25 years ago. It serves shakes, frozen custard, Italian ice and gelati, which layers the custard with the ice. The shop has indoor seating by the ordering window, and the shopping center's backyard gathering space is right outside. That makes the Seven Locks Road end of town the working dessert stop while 10148 River Road is dark. If the Playa Bowls timeline holds, Carmen's will have had about half a year to itself.

Cabin John Village has been turning over too. Colony Grill shared the 11325 Seven Locks Road address and closed by late August after a little over three years. A recorded message explained, "The lease at this location is not being extended and the restaurant is now closed." Glowbar, which offers 30-minute facials and memberships, had opened by late July. The center's own directory still lists Purée Juice Bar and Hammer & Nails as coming soon. In May, Purée targeted a summer opening. Its own location page lists 7937 Tuckerman Lane, Suite B, and still says "Opening soon." Once both Purée and Playa Bowls open, Potomac's two shopping districts will each have a juice-and-bowl counter.

The weekly Cabin John Village Farmers Market, held Sundays at 7919 Tuckerman Lane, had Oct. 4 on its calendar as the last day of the season.

Potomac Day lands while the storefronts are still dark

Potomac Day is Saturday, Oct. 17, two weeks from today, at 10220 River Road. The Chamber's listing runs from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and includes a classic car show, a parade, rides, a business fair and a petting zoo. The Chamber hasn't posted a parade route or start time. The 8 a.m. start applies to the car show, so check back closer to the day if the parade is your reason for going.

That puts the busiest day of the year in Potomac Village at a time when both 10120 and 10148 River Road are, as far as anyone has announced, still closed. If Maurizio's opens before then, its first big weekend will coincide with the parade. If not, festival crowds will walk past paper-covered windows and new signs.

A smaller seasonal opening comes the next day on Seven Locks Road. The Cashmere Sale, a cashmere clothing and gifts pop-up run by Jessica Weiss and Kim Levine, is scheduled to open Oct. 18 at Potomac Woods Shopping Center, 1085 Seven Locks Road, and run through Dec. 13.

What to watch for

These are the concrete signs that will matter over the next few weeks:

1. Hours on mauriziositalian.com. On Oct. 4 the site still said "COMING SOON."
2. Opening-date coverage for 10148 River Road. Signage is already up, so the next update should be a date.
3. Purée Juice Bar and Hammer & Nails at Cabin John Village, both still listed as coming soon.
4. The Potomac Day parade time on the Chamber's calendar before Oct. 17.

We'll update this tracker when either River Road space sets an opening date. Watching a storefront change hands is one thing. Knowing what it means for the blocks around it is another. Wydler Brothers follows these corridors closely as part of our work across Potomac. If you'd like to talk about how changes in Potomac Village and along Seven Locks Road affect your own plans, start the conversation and request a personalized consultation.