Moby Dick House of Kabobs is set to open a new location in Burtonsville in mid-May and one in Kensington later this year, Chief Operating Officer Alex Momeni told MoCo360 on Tuesday.
The restaurant is known for its freshly made Mediterranean cuisine, including kabobs, gyros, rice, falafel, pita bread and hummus. Food is cooked-to-order, and the only things pre-made are the dips, Momeni said.
The franchise has 28 locations, including in Bethesda, Gaithersburg, Germantown, Potomac, Rockville and Olney. Most recently, Moby Dick’s North Bethesda location opened in December.
Momeni said that the Burtonsville location at 15701 Old Columbia Pike will have a soft opening to introduce customers to the new restaurant before holding a grand opening with giveaways and discounts, but there are no dates set yet.
There is signage posted at the Kensington location at 10506A Connecticut Ave., but Momeni said there’s no exact time frame yet for the opening since the restaurant just signed the lease. He said that it is projected to be open by this summer. Momeni said that they decided to sign a lease in Kensington because “we thought it would be a no-brainer to end up in that part of Montgomery County as well.”
Also, he said that the new locations will be able to hit the ground running as soon as they debut because Moby Dick will transfer team members from other locations.
Momeni said that the franchise does this so that there are “no blips” that typically come with opening a new restaurant.
The franchise’s founder and president, Mike Daryoush, died in 2019, but Momeni said that his legacy is still very present in the restaurants, with his main goal of serving “food with character” always being carried out.
“The rule of thumb that we live by is making sure the food is always craveable, always delicious and obviously as healthy as possible without cutting corners,” Momeni said.