Sneak peek: Bethesda’s Call Your Mother set to open Monday

Woodmont Triangle location is bagel chain’s second in Montgomery County

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July 28, 2026 11:32 a.m. | Updated: July 28, 2026 11:33 a.m.

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Call Your Mother, a Washington, D.C.-based fast-casual bagel and deli chain, will soon mark its return to the Bethesda area with the opening of its new location in Woodmont Triangle on Monday.

The bright blue-and-pink shop at 4828 St. Elmo Ave. is a burst of color in the downtown Bethesda neighborhood. The shop’s teal façade is dotted with curvy pink sconces. “Call Your Mother” is painted in bright yellow on the curved building.

The chain, co-founded by husband-and-wife-duo Andrew Dana and chef Daniela Moreira, previously operated a pink and teal mobile “Lil’ Deli” at a site on Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda from 2020 until February 2025. The Lil’ Deli now operates in Riverdale in Prince George’s County. Since its inception in 2018, the Washington, D.C.-based chain has opened more than two dozen shops around the country, including a location in North Bethesda’s Pike & Rose.

In a Monday press release announcing the opening, Dana said that Bethesda has “always felt like home for us.”

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“It’s a community where people care deeply about supporting local businesses,” Dana said. “We received so much love the first go round that we knew we needed a bigger space and we’re so excited to welcome folks back and meet new friends!”

On opening day, the Bethesda shop will serve visitors from 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., according to the eatery.

Bethesda Today got a sneak peek of the new space on Monday afternoon. Workers were finishing some of the last touches to the interior, including painting a wooden merch display a bright yellow.

The space is even more colorful inside than outside, with bright pink ceilings accented with teal blue walls, yellow-painted air conditioning ducts, pink chairs paired with yellow four-top tables and yellow stools tucked under wooden high-top tables facing the shop’s windows.

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The shop also boasts colorful wallpaper throughout, including a blue-and-white striped paper at the front entrance that is dotted with illustrations of beach and pool goers relaxing on inner tubes and lying out in the sun. In the bathrooms, there is pink and blue wallpaper covered in illustrations of Dachshunds wearing sunglasses at the beach.

Call Your Mother is known for its breakfast bagel sandwiches as well as sandwiches for lunch, whole bagels, baked goods and sides including potato latkes, pickles and yuca cheesy bread. The fast-casual eatery also offers coffee, matcha and tea beverages.

The new location is at the corner of Norfolk and St. Elmo avenues, surrounded by eateries including Max’s Best Ice Cream, Kusshi Sushi, Rosetta Bakery and Jetties. The shop is in the former space of Hardwood Artisans. Before it was a furniture shop, the space was occupied by a Johnny Rockets diner that Dana said he frequented in his youth.

“I remember eating burgers and fries at Johnny Rockets at this very location as a kid, which are some great memories,” Dana wrote in a text message to Bethesda Today on Monday. “Pumped to hopefully bring some new great memories to this awesome corner.”

Moreira said she and Dana hope the new shop “becomes a place where neighbors start their mornings, meet up with friends, and make new memories.”

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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine