BETHESDA, Md. — Bethesda’s famous restaurant scene was hit hard during the pandemic, but businesses are hoping more new customers will come in as the Montgomery County mask mandate lifts Monday night. It is timing out perfectly for Savor Bethesda Restaurant Week which is happening through February 27th.
The pastries bring the customers to Fresh Baguette, but the pandemic has been a challenge. Montgomery County saw more than 20 restaurants close in 2020 alone, and dozens more have closed since.
Stephanie Copula of Bethesda Urban Partnership says the food scene has bounced back, welcoming new spots like Planta and the Salt Line to Bethesda.
"We do things like Restaurant Week to remind people we have this wonderful restaurant community with foods from all over the world, and we want them to come out and support the restaurants and enjoy dining in Bethesda," said Copula.
Fresh Baguette has been a success story in the pandemic with three locations already open in Bethesda, Rockville and Georgetown. Two more locations are opening this year in Alexandria and McLean. Even with all of their success, where they have seen a lot of impact is in their wholesale business.
"We deliver every night [to] 170 customers, we deliver to coffee shops, hotels, restaurants," said Florent de Felcourt. "This went down something like 80 percent during the pandemic. But it went back up and its even above where we were during the pandemic."
Along with 25 other restaurants, Fresh Baguette celebrates Savor Bethesda Restaurant Week this week, with a $10 lunch deal to draw new customers.
"It’s a love story," said de Felcourt, who moved to the area from Paris to create Fresh Baguette 8 years ago. "We started here in Bethesda. It’s a relationship with the community. People love our products, we love having them and during the pandemic they continued to come."
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