Bethesda Site of Modern Market Restaurant Now Open

BETHESDA, MD — A Colorado-based fast-casual restaurant that focuses on using healthy, locally sourced ingredients opened its first East Coast location in Bethesda on Monday.

Modern Market is located at 4930 Elm St. at Bethesda Row. The small chain has venues in Colorado, Arizona and Texas.

The company plans to open venues in Rockville, Reston and Washington, D.C., as well, reports Bethesda magazine.

The restaurant is open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. weekdays, and serves breakfast from 8 to 10:30 a.m.

Menu offerings focus on healthy food: tofu scramble, a sausage and kale scramble and a spinach bacon plate. The lunch and dinner menu offers plenty of salads, sandwiches, brick oven pizzas, homemade soups and “homestyle plates,” such as sesame tofu and chicken breast served with sides.

The first Modern Market opened in 2009 in Boulder, CO, focused on serving artisan fare with simple counter service and scratch-made food. The company says dishes are priced low enough that you can afford (around $10), but high enough that true high quality sources can be used and vendors can be fairly compensated.

“We have a holistic view on health,” the chain says on its website. “We think added sugar is the devil and (good) fats are our friends. We live by the Michael Pollan philosophy, ‘Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants’.”

Modern Market is a place where paleo, vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free friends can all enjoy a great meal, together, the company says.

The kitchen cooks with what it calls good fats - real butter, extra virgin olive oil, whole milk cheeses and raw nuts – which are filling.