Up a level at 5471 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 206B was where people went for coffee and pastries, biscuits and gravy, French toast and house-smoked brisket. Junction Bistro, Bar & Bakery served there until Friday, August 28. In its goodbye message, The MoCo Show reported, Junction thanked the Chevy Chase community for the morning coffee runs, weekend brunches and lunches.
Junction's breakfast business is getting more than one replacement. Three cafés are lined up to take it over. One will sit in Junction's old space at The Collection at Chevy Chase. The other two are across Western Avenue at The Shops at Wisconsin Place. A weekday coffee that used to come from one counter will soon come from several, spread over both sides of the Friendship Heights Metro.
Two Closings, and New Tenants Within Two Weeks
Junction closed first. Soon after, The Hunter's Hound, the "Modern Irish Americana" restaurant right around the corner, shut too. PoPville passed along the restaurant's note that "a new concept is coming soon."
That new concept turned out to be two concepts. The Washington Business Journal reported that both restaurants "abruptly closed their doors," and that less than two weeks later CCLC had announced its replacements. CCLC, formerly the Chevy Chase Land Company, owns The Collection. Metropolitan Hospitality Group will open Open Road in the former Hunter's Hound space, joining the group's Open Road locations in Merrifield, Arlington, Reston and Tysons. Junction's smaller space goes to Cove, a new all-day café and wine bar that MHG is introducing for the first time here.
The MoCo Show reported that this is MHG's first expansion into Maryland and that the Chevy Chase Open Road will have a nautical twist. MHG was founded in 2005. Its first restaurant, CIRCA at Dupont, opened in 2007, and the group now also runs Él Bebe, TRIO Grill, SALT, Heirloom and Open Road Distilling Co. in D.C. and Northern Virginia. Group president Matthew Carlin explained the choice of location in the announcement The MoCo Show quoted:
"We have been thoughtful about where and how MHG would make its first move into Maryland, and Friendship Heights immediately stood out. It is an established community with a strong sense of place, excellent connectivity and residents who value quality dining and genuine hospitality."
Both restaurants are slated for the fourth quarter of 2026.
Cove Takes Over Junction's Space
Junction's old space keeps the job Junction did. Cove is described as an all-day café and wine bar, which covers the same morning-to-evening hours that Junction's coffee runs, brunches and bar used to cover. Open Road goes into the larger Hunter's Hound space as an American restaurant and gathering place, so it is the one built for dinner and groups.
When the deal was announced, CCLC President and CEO John Ziegenhein said the two concepts "will bring new energy, new experiences and more reasons for people to spend time at The Collection," according to PoPville's copy of the press release.
Western Avenue Picks Up the Rest
The rest of the morning business is going across the street. Two of the new tenants at Wisconsin Place are built around bread, pastry and espresso. That is the same menu Junction's bakery counter used to sell.
| Business | Address | What it serves | Timing as announced |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cove | 5471 Wisconsin Ave., The Collection | All-day café and wine bar | Q4 2026 |
| Open Road | 5471 Wisconsin Ave., The Collection | American restaurant with a nautical twist | Q4 2026 |
| Kneads Bakeshop & Café | 5330G Western Ave., Wisconsin Place | Artisan breads, pastries, all-day breakfast and lunch, coffee | Fall 2026 |
| Toastique | 5310 Western Ave., Wisconsin Place | Gourmet toast, smoothie bowls, cold-pressed juice, full espresso bar | Buildout permitted October 2026 |
| J.Jill | Wisconsin Place | Listed in the shopping directory | Fall 2026 |
PoPville readers sent in photos of Kneads' "coming soon" signs right outside the Friendship Heights Metro at 5330G Western Ave. The same report showed signs for a second Kneads at 1460 P Street NW in Logan Circle. The Wisconsin Place directory lists Kneads Bakery and J.Jill as fall 2026 arrivals.
Toastique is moving in at the same address as a steakhouse that opens no earlier than lunchtime. According to The MoCo Show, the café received a $578,000 buildout permit for 5310 Western Ave., near The Capital Grille. It will be the brand's first location in Montgomery County. The Capital Grille has the same street number, and its listed hours begin at 11:30 a.m. on weekdays, noon on Saturday and 4 p.m. on Sunday. Toastique runs a full espresso bar with lattes, cappuccinos and nitro cold brew. It also sells grab-and-go chia pudding, overnight oats and protein waffles, which is food meant for the hours before a steakhouse opens.
Who Is Behind the New Names
The incoming cafés are not new names to the region. Each comes from an operator with history nearby.
- Kneads comes from a Baltimore baking family. In its company history, H&S Bakery was founded in 1943 by Harry Tsakalos and Steve Paterakis in the basement of a Baltimore rowhome. It grew into the largest privately owned bakery in the country, and John Paterakis Sr. later developed Baltimore's Harbor East waterfront. Kneads has also said it is starting to supply artisan breads and pastries to restaurants, hotels and businesses around the DMV.
- Toastique was founded in 2018 by Brianna Keefe, a former college athlete, who opened the first location at The Wharf in D.C. It has since grown through franchising across the Mid-Atlantic and beyond. Its menu includes an Avocado Smash with watermelon radish and chili oil, a Tomato Burrata toast, and a PB Crunch on walnut raisin toast.
- Metropolitan Hospitality Group has run neighborhood restaurants around the region for more than two decades. Cove is the only concept on this list that is opening for the first time anywhere.
That mix changes what the corner offers in the morning. Junction was a single local spot that did bakery, brunch and bar in one room. What replaces it is spread across three operators: an all-day café, a bakeshop and a toast-and-juice bar. They sit on two sides of the same intersection, each run by a group with locations elsewhere.
Already Open on The Collection Side
The Collection has added more than restaurants. Le Creuset set August 28 to open its 76th store at 5481 Wisconsin Avenue, a few doors from the Junction space. The store's grand-opening celebration ran September 10 through 13 and included a ribbon-cutting. A shop selling enameled cast iron for fall entertaining fits well next to an all-day café and a wine bar. On an ordinary weekday, the corner looks set to work more as a place for errands, coffee and a quick lunch than as a dinner destination.
The Holiday Calendar Close to Home
While the new cafés finish their buildouts, the neighborhood's own holiday dates are set. Chevy Chase Village has scheduled its annual holiday party for Wednesday, December 16, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Lambert Room, 5906 Connecticut Avenue. The event is listed on the Village calendar. The Wisconsin Place events page is the place to check for holiday programming across Western Avenue.
At Levin Group Real Estate, we've followed the shops and restaurants around Friendship Heights for decades, and we're glad to see a morning stop coming back to the corner Junction left. If you have a question about this part of Chevy Chase, from which storefronts are changing hands to what a new café might mean for your block, get in touch for a personalized consultation.
