Construction is underway at 109A Market Street in Kentlands Square, where Venezuelan restaurant Arepa King is preparing to open its first Montgomery County location. The spot takes over the former home of Potomac Cookie Co., and while no official opening date has been set, the restaurant is targeting a debut before the end of 2026.
The news comes from The MoCo Show, which reports that owner and founder Jorge Ramos, a 1994 graduate of Watkins Mill High School, previously operated Arepa Queen before launching Arepa King as its own independent brand. Ramos opened Arepa King’s Hagerstown location in February 2025, and that restaurant’s online ordering page still bears the imprint of its earlier identity, listed on Toast’s ordering platform as “Arepa King (Formerly Arepa Queen Hagerstown).”
What’s on the Menu
Arepa King specializes in Venezuelan cuisine, and the Gaithersburg menu is expected to include freshly prepared arepas, tequeños, patacones and rice bowls, per the same report. The signature King Arepa comes stuffed with shredded beef, black beans, sweet plantains and cheese, giving the chain its name-brand dish. The Kentlands location also plans to pour Venezuelan and Colombian coffees alongside the food menu.
If the restaurant’s beer and wine license is approved, diners could eventually order Latin American beers at the table, including Polar and Aguila, the station’s earlier report noted. That earlier coverage, published in June, first detailed Ramos’s path from a single food truck launched in 2020 under the Arepa Queen name to the Arepa King brand, which has a Hagerstown location and a Gaithersburg location in development.
Liquor License Hearing Set for Next Month
Arepa King has a liquor license hearing scheduled for November 19, attributed to Montgomery County Alcohol Beverage Services. The agency that will take up the matter, the Montgomery County Board of License Commissioners, regulates the sale of alcohol, issues licenses, enforces compliance and holds public hearings…