Permanent signage reading Bob’s Soup Dumplings & Bar is now lit up at night at 7776 Norfolk Avenue in downtown Bethesda, a clear sign that the long-anticipated Chinese restaurant is getting close to opening. The windows remain covered, though, so passersby still can’t get a peek at the finished interior.
The restaurant’s arrival caps months of back-and-forth over its name and identity. As reported by Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row, the business was originally proposed as a new Bethesda location of Bob’s Shanghai 66, the award-winning Rockville restaurant considered among the best Chinese spots in the region. That framing didn’t sit well with the Rockville restaurant, and the dispute played out largely behind the scenes before spilling into local press, according to Dyer’s reporting.
Rockville’s Bob’s Shanghai 66 publicly stated that the Bethesda location is not affiliated with it, a message echoed by an employee who told Bethesda Magazine that “the Bethesda eatery is not associated with the Rockville restaurant.” The Rockville restaurant went even further in a statement reported by MoCoShow, saying, “we are NOT opening a Bethesda location.”
A Name Change and a New Identity
The Bethesda restaurant initially went by Bob’s Shanghai Bethesda, per the same MoCoShow report, before rebranding to Bob’s Bethesda late last year — and its Instagram handle shifted from @bobsshanghaibethesda to @bobsbethesda in the process. Window signage at the space briefly read “Bob’s Shanghai” before being covered with white tape to leave just “Bob’s,” the outlet noted. The restaurant now appears to be operating under yet another name, Bob’s Soup Dumplings & Bar, according to Dyer’s latest reporting…