Kareem’s Lebanese Kitchen is hiring as it prepares to open its first Washington metropolitan area location at 212 Boardwalk Place in Rio. While an exact opening date has not yet been announced, the restaurant is targeting an August debut. Exterior and interior construction both appear to be nearing completion.

The menu for the Gaithersburg restaurant is expected to closely resemble the one offered at Kareem’s Naples, Florida location, featuring a wide selection of authentic Lebanese dishes. Guests can expect traditional mezze including hummus, baba ghanoush, grape leaves, falafel, kibbeh, labneh, and moussaka, along with shawarma wraps, grilled kabobs, kafta, lamb shank, stuffed vegetables, and Chef Rachid’s signature platters. Entrées include Chicken Farrouj, Salmon Harra, Mixed Grilled Mashawi, Shish Taouk, Chef’s Lamb Mouzat, and Ovzi with Grape Leaves. Desserts include baklava, Beirut qatayef, and chocolate lava cake.

According to the restaurant, Kareem’s is led by Chef Rachid, whose culinary roots trace back generations in Beirut, Lebanon. Growing up in a family where cooking was both a tradition and a way of bringing people together, he later attended the prestigious Culinary School of Beirut before beginning his career at the InterContinental Hotel in Beirut. He eventually moved to the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington DC, where he became known for his authentic Lebanese cuisine and personalized approach to hospitality.

The restaurant says Kareem’s was created to honor Chef Rachid’s family heritage while sharing the vibrant flavors and hospitality of Lebanon. “For years, Kareem’s has offered residents and visitors in Southwest Florida an authentic taste of Lebanese cuisine, earning a reputation for exceptional food, warm hospitality, and a welcoming atmosphere,” the restaurant says on its website. “Now, the same commitment to quality and tradition is coming to the Washington metropolitan area.”

K2 Cafe has announced it will close its original Poolesville location later this month as the owners consolidate operations at their newer Clarksburg cafe.

In a heartfelt message shared with customers, owners Ashar Abbasi and Nichole Hodges-Abbasi thanked the Poolesville community for embracing the cafe since it opened in 2021. “There was never an us without you,” the couple wrote. “We love you with our whole hearts.”

The cafe’s final day at 17610 W. Willard Road will be July 30. Going forward, K2 Cafe will operate exclusively from its Clarksburg location at 23329 Frederick Road, which opened earlier this year.

The announcement included special messages to the Poolesville High School students and cyclists who helped make the cafe a local gathering place. “Students: that hour of massive chaos during lunch was so wonderful. You give us hope for the future,” they wrote. “Cyclists: we loved being your oasis and getting to know so many friends.”

We’ve previously shared the story of K2 Cafe, involving the husband-and-wife team that had transformed a pandemic-era dream into one of Poolesville’s most popular lunch destinations. The cafe became known for its American menu with Himalayan influences, serving bowls, wraps, specialty coffee drinks, and homemade treats. Long lunch lines regularly stretched outside the door as Poolesville High School students chose K2 over nearby fast food, while weekend cyclists made it a favorite stop during rides through western Montgomery County.

The couple’s story has been as memorable as the cafe itself. Nichole, a Montgomery County Public Schools teacher, and Ashar, whom she met during a chance taxi ride in Washington, D.C. in 2003, built K2 Cafe around their shared passion for food, community, and hospitality. Their dream, launched with little more than pandemic stimulus funds, quickly found a loyal following.

While the decision marks the end of an era for Poolesville, customers will still be able to enjoy K2 Cafe’s menu and welcoming atmosphere at its Clarksburg location. “We are excited to get to know our Clarksburg community but we will never forget our first roots in Poolesville,” the owners wrote. “We thank this community for everything that we are. Much love. See you in Clarksburg!”

After earning a No. 13 worldwide ranking in its population category among more than 17,000 participating National Night Out communities, Olney’s National Night Out is set to return for its 31st annual celebration on Tuesday, August 4.

Hosted by the Olney Chamber of Commerce, the free community event will take place from 5pm to 8pm in the parking lots of The Fair Hill Shops and Olney Village Center, bringing together residents, local businesses, first responders, and elected officials for an evening focused on community engagement, public safety, and family fun.

The evening will begin with an Opening Ceremony at 5pm, featuring a motorcade of elected officials and community leaders. Olney is traditionally their first stop of the evening and has become one of Montgomery County’s most recognized National Night Out celebrations.

Now in its 31st year, the event has grown into one of Olney’s signature community traditions, drawing thousands of attendees annually while earning national recognition for strengthening relationships between residents and public safety agencies.

“Being ranked #13 among more than 17,000 National Night Out events is an incredible honor because it reflects the commitment of our entire community,” said Terri Hogan, executive director of the Olney Chamber of Commerce. “National Night Out showcases what makes Olney special, strong partnerships between residents, businesses, first responders, and local leaders working together to build a safer, more connected community.”

This year’s event will feature several new interactive experiences, including a live vehicle extrication demonstration, a Narcan demonstration showing how the medication is used to reverse opioid overdoses, and impairment goggles that simulate the effects of drunk driving.

Returning attractions include police horses, K-9 units, police vehicles and motorcycles, fire engines and rescue apparatus, a drone demonstration, the interactive Fire Safety House, U.S. Secret Service child fingerprinting, an obstacle course, dunk tank, face painting, crafts, children’s activities, a live DJ, dance and martial arts performances, and dozens of exhibits from local businesses, nonprofits, and public agencies.

“For years, I thought National Night Out was simply a night to shop local in Olney,” said Sarah Formichelli, events coordinator for the Olney Chamber of Commerce. “Now that I’m involved in planning the event, I realize I couldn’t have been more wrong. National Night Out is about bringing neighbors together with the police officers, firefighters, first responders, and public servants who work every day to keep our community safe. It reminds us that these aren’t just uniforms, they’re our neighbors, our friends, and our local heroes.”

Attendees can also purchase food and drinks from a variety of local vendors, including Olney Ale House, Carmen’s Italian Ice, Dumplings 88, Grubbing Hard Barbecue, Kona Ice, Palmetto Bay Cuisine, Sandy Spring Volunteer Fire Department Canteen, Tacos el Pariente, Travelin’ Tom’s Coffee, and The Greene Turtle.

National Night Out is a nationwide campaign designed to strengthen relationships between law enforcement and the communities they serve while promoting crime prevention and public safety. Proceeds from Olney’s event benefit the Officer Noah Leotta Olney Police Satellite Station, Sandy Spring Volunteer Fire Department, Maryland-National Capital Park Police, and the Officer Noah Leotta “Act Responsibly” Scholarship Fund.

For more information, visit www.olneymd.org

Nintendo urged a court to dismiss a lawsuit demanding that it pass tariff refunds on to customers, saying that people who bought a Switch console or other products have no legal right to refunds that Nintendo is due to receive from the government.

Nintendo said in a motion to dismiss yesterday that plaintiffs are "ask[ing] this Court to invent a legal duty out of whole cloth to retroactively re-price completed sales simply because the legal landscape has changed." Nintendo said the plaintiffs "have no legal entitlement to the tariff refunds Nintendo stands to receive."

The lawsuit was filed in April by two customers who seek to represent a class of all US residents who bought Nintendo products from February 2025 to February 2026. California resident Gregory Hoffert and Washington resident Prashant Sharan filed the class action complaint in US District Court for the Western District of Washington, alleging unjust enrichment and a violation of the Washington Consumer Protection Act's prohibition on unfair or deceptive acts.

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