OTC Bar & Grille will close its longtime Olde Towne Gaithersburg location at 226 E. Diamond Avenue on November 15, 2026, ending a 26-year run at the corner spot before reopening in Bethesda sometime in late spring or early summer 2027. The family-owned restaurant has already signed a lease for the new location, though an exact address has not yet been announced.
A Forced Move After a Building Sale
The closure caps months of uncertainty that began when restaurant owners learned the building housing OTC was under contract to be sold, according to The MoCo Show. The owners said the potential sale could lead to significant changes to their lease terms, a concern that was first reported back in July. Owners said in a statement that a change in property ownership prevents them from continuing operations at 226 E. Diamond Avenue, adding, “We're sad to leave the place that has been our home for so long. Because of a change in ownership, we're unable to continue our business here. But our story isn't over.”
Those fears traced back to owner and head chef Shahab “Sean” Aliakbar, who told Bethesda Today, according to Bethesda Magazine, that prospective new landlords were threatening major changes to the restaurant's lease. “They've literally doubled our rent,” Aliakbar said at the time. In response, the owners launched a GoFundMe campaign to help cover potential relocation costs or lease changes, seeking $75,000; by the morning of July 23, the campaign had raised a little less than $3,600 toward that goal.
Deep Roots at a Historic Corner
The restaurant's history runs through the building itself. Ali and Afi Aliakbar started the cafe in 2000 as a breakfast counter inside Diamond Drugs, per the same account from Bethesda Magazine, and the same family has operated the business ever since. After Diamond Drugs closed in 2021, the family converted the former counter space into a full kitchen and added a dining room and bar, reopening in 2022 in an expanded footprint that combined the old Olde Towne Cafe with the neighboring Diamond Drugs storefront. The restaurant had also previously gone by the name Diamond Fountain Cafe.
The site's pharmacy roots stretch back more than a century. The location has been a neighborhood pharmacy for a long time, dating to 1893, when Dr. Elisha C. Etchison purchased the northwest corner of Diamond and Summit Avenues from John B. Diamond and opened a drugstore there, the station's report notes. According to Gaithersburg History, there has always been a drugstore at this location despite changes in ownership over the decades, and the property historically included a luncheonette on the left side of the store — a small echo of the cafe counter that would eventually grow into OTC.
Loyal Regulars and a Bethesda Send-Off
By July 2026, the Olde Towne Cafe Bar & Grille had been a community staple in Gaithersburg for more than 25 years, with a staff of about 12 workers keeping the kitchen running. Among the most devoted regulars was James Alderman III, who at 82 had been coming to OTC for more than 50 years and had earned his own section on the menu, Bethesda Magazine reported.
As the Gaithersburg chapter closes, the owners are trying to keep longtime customers in the loop for what comes next. OTC Bar & Grille plans to host a soft opening for longtime customers at the new Bethesda location once it's ready, and the restaurant is encouraging regulars to contact it before the Gaithersburg closure to receive an invitation. The owners also thanked customers for supporting the restaurant through the years as they prepare to carry a 26-year legacy to a new address in Bethesda.
