Just days after quietly opening its first Maryland location in Rockville, Xi’an Famous Foods is already experiencing overwhelming demand, with lines stretching out the door and wait times longer than expected. The popular New York City-based restaurant chain has taken to social media to thank customers for their enthusiasm while encouraging those planning to visit to consider waiting a week or two. A video of the experience can be seen below.
The restaurant, which opened Thursday, November 5, had been attempting to keep its arrival relatively quiet as employees adjusted to operations at the new location. However, word spread quickly, bringing large crowds to the restaurant during what the company describes as its “pre-soft opening” period.
“Our new Rockville, MD, store (pre-soft opening mode) is super busy right now, and higher than usual wait times to be expected,” the restaurant shared on Instagram. The company explained that it had intentionally avoided heavily promoting the opening to give its team time to settle in, but customers quickly discovered that the restaurant was operating…