A Baltimore-born comfort food restaurant has landed in downtown Bethesda, and it's giving away free meals to kick off brunch service Saturday.

The Food Market, owned by chef Chad Gauss, opened in the Hampden House building on Hampden Lane in June, offering dinner and happy hour on the ground floor of the 25-story apartment tower. The restaurant launches brunch service on July 11, at 9 a.m., with free food for the first 50 diners. On July 12, the first 25 guests eat free. Diners pay only for drinks and service both days.

“We’re really looking forward to servicing the whole entire community and being part of it for the longevity,” Gauss said.

Brunch runs until 2:45 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. The menu includes Dubai chocolate French toast, shakshuka, corn muffin benedict, a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich and shrimp and grits, among other items.

The Bethesda location is Gauss's third Food Market in Maryland, joining the original in Baltimore's Hampden neighborhood, which opened in 2012, and a Columbia outpost. He also runs La Food Marketa, a Latin-inspired restaurant in Pikesville, a snowball stand in Baltimore, and a catering company called Hoopla. A business investor first suggested Bethesda as a location around 2012, making the opening a long-held goal for Gauss.

He called Bethesda "welcoming, friendly, clean and approachable" and told Bethesda Magazine he saw the brand fitting well here.

The 156-seat restaurant includes a 100-seat dining room, a 16-seat bar and a 40-seat covered outdoor patio facing a small plaza near the intersection of Hampden and East lanes. Hampden House is one of two mixed-use high-rises completed along Wisconsin Avenue in late 2025. The Food Market is one of the building's first restaurant tenants, adding a significant dining option to a growing residential corridor.

After several weeks of dinner, brunch, and happy hour service, the restaurant plans to add weekday lunch.