A family-owned Gaithersburg restaurant has signed a lease in Bethesda and plans to reopen in late spring or early summer 2027 after its current location closes Sunday, Nov. 15.
OTC Bar & Grille will permanently shut its doors at 226 E. Diamond Ave. in Olde Towne Gaithersburg, ending a 26-year run, The MoCo Show first reported. An exact Bethesda address has not been announced.
"We're sad to leave the place that has been our home for so long. Because of a change in ownership, we're unable to continue our business here. But our story isn't over," the family said, according to The MoCo Show.
The owners announced in October that a change in the property's ownership would prevent them from staying. The building sits on a site where drugstores have operated since 1893, when Dr. Elisha C. Etchison purchased the corner of Diamond and Summit avenues and opened a drugstore.
The Aliakbar family has run the restaurant since 2000. Shahab "Sean" Aliakbar, the owner and head chef, is a Gaithersburg High School graduate who has worked full-time at the restaurant since 2018, Bethesda Today reported in July. His parents, Ali and Afi Aliakbar, started with a tiny breakfast counter inside Diamond Drugs, a later pharmacy in the same building.
The trouble started when the building went under contract to be sold. In July, Aliakbar told Bethesda Today that prospective new landlords had doubled the rent. The family launched a GoFundMe campaign at the time seeking $75,000 to cover lease or relocation costs.
Diamond Drugs closed in 2021. The family expanded into the vacant storefront, renovated the space themselves and reopened in 2022 as OTC Bar & Grille, an 80-seat restaurant with a full bar. The business had previously operated as Diamond Fountain Cafe and Olde Towne Cafe.
The owners plan to host a soft opening at the future Bethesda location for longtime customers. Regulars have been encouraged to contact the restaurant before the closing to receive an invitation.
