The Food Market now open in Bethesda, to launch brunch this weekend

Restaurant will cover cost of meals for early arriving customers Saturday, Sunday

July 9, 2026 4:47 p.m.

The Food Market opened June 29 in downtown Bethesda at 4720 Hampden Lane. Photo credit: Courtesy of Justin Sharoky

The Food Market, a casual restaurant specializing in classic American comfort foods, is now open in downtown Bethesda with brunch service set to begin on Saturday morning, according to chef and owner Chad Gauss.

The eatery, which has locations in Baltimore and Columbia, is on the ground floor of Hampden House at 4700 Hampden Lane and opened on June 29.

The restaurant has been open for dinner service and happy hours, Gauss told Bethesda Today on Thursday and plans to begin offering brunch service starting at 9 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.

“We’re really looking forward to servicing the whole entire community and being part of it for the longevity,” Gauss said.

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With the launch of brunch, which will run until 2:45 p.m., the restaurant plans to cover the food costs for the first 50 diners on Saturday and first 25 guests on Sunday, the restaurant wrote Thursday in a post on social media. Diners will only pay for drinks and service.

Brunch at The Food Market will include dishes such as Dubai chocolate French toast; shakshuka; corn muffin benedict; a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich; and shrimp and grits, according to the menu.

Following several weeks of dinner, brunch and happy hour service, Gauss said the restaurant will introduce lunch service during the week.

The downtown Bethesda restaurant is Gauss’s third Food Market eatery in Maryland. He also operates a Latin-inspired restaurant called La Food Marketa in Pikesville, Maryland, a snowball stand in Baltimore and a catering operation called Hoopla.

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According to Gauss, the restaurant offers American cuisine with menu options he has described as “down to earth, approachable food that we take seriously.”

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Popular menu items at the eatery’s other locations include Amish soft pretzels, cheesesteak steam buns, beet salad, spaghetti with crab meatballs and pickle-brined fried chicken, according to Gauss.

Bethesda has been a destination for the chef since an original business investor suggested the area 14 years ago, Gauss told Bethesda Today when he announced plans to open in Bethesda in March.

He said that Bethesda feels “welcoming, friendly, clean and approachable” and a place where he saw The Food Market brand fit well.

The new restaurant is located on the ground floor at the back of the 25-story Hampden House building and faces a small plaza near the intersection of Hampden and East lanes. According to Gauss, the restaurant seats up to 100 people in the dining room and there are an additional 16 seats at the bar and 40 seats on the covered, outdoor dining patio.

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Hampden House is one of two prominent mixed-use, high-rise apartment buildings along Wisconsin Avenue that were completed in late 2025. The buildings are situated next to each other at the intersection of Wisconsin Avenue and Hampden Lane.

Daily Provisions, a New York City-based restaurant and café chain, is planning to open a location in the Charles, a high-rise apartment building next door at 7342 Wisconsin Ave. The opening timeline for the eatery remains unclear.

The Food Market is an American restaurant offering creative takes on classic comfort foods. Photo credit: Courtesy of Justin Sharoky
The Food Market’s Bethesda location has a open kitchen concept. Photo credit: Courtesy of Justin Sharoky

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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine