A new all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue restaurant is aiming to take College Park’s Asian restaurant scene to the next level.

Located at 8503 Baltimore Ave., MeatUp Korean BBQ is located in the former home of Kangnam BBQ. Owner Lawrence Chen took over the space in May after buying it from the former owner.

Chen also runs Momo’s Cafe, which serves Taiwanese cuisine and Japanese bento boxes near George Washington University.

MeatUp’s main attraction is all-you-can-eat barbecue, in which customers cook their own thin slices of meat at the table, with a $20 lunch and $30 dinner option.  There’s also a ramen bar, a selection of hearty Korean stews, and chicken wings and other appetizers.

Chen is also adding a ghost kitchen — a space where food can be prepared for pickup and delivery — to be run by noted D.C.-area chef Peter Chang, who runs Chang Chang near Dupont Circle.

MeatUp joins another Route 1 corridor Korean barbecue restaurant, Iron Pig Korean BBQ, located in nearby Berwyn Heights.

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The New Deal Cafe in Greenbelt is raising money to address financial problems leftover from the coronavirus pandemic.

As part of a $10,000 fundraising campaign to keep the music venue and restaurant open, the member-owned not-for-profit that manages the cafe will hold a Masquer-AID the Cafe Ball on Oct. 14.

“We hope to capture the Halloween spirit, provide top-quality entertainment, and raise money for our music program with a costume ball,” says Katy Gaughan, co-chair of the event. “Get ready to don your favorite mask and dance the night away!”

The gala will feature music from popular local bans Just Stones and the Wild Anacostias along with other performances, finger foods and desserts throughout the evening and a champagne toast.

The New Deal Cafe is also seeking sponsors for the gala, who will receive tickets, limited-edition art prints and recognition on commemorative plaques. All proceeds from sponsorships and ticket sales will go directly to the Cafe’s music and arts program.

“Your support will enable us to continue providing award-winning musical programming that brings people together and strengthens community bonds,” says Caitlin Gompf, the Cafe’s music director. “If you love the New Deal, if you love a masquerade, or if you just love rockin’ tunes, this is a night you simply can’t miss!”

Tickets, which cost $50 a person, can be purchased online here. For questions, contact Gaughan at katy@katygaughan.com or Gompf at music@newdealcafe.com.

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A Hyattsville retiree and working artist recently painted a new mural along the Metropolitan Branch Trail in D.C.

Elliott Hamilton, 63, was one of 16 artists chosen by the NoMa Business Improvement District as part of the D.C. Walls Festival to add a mural on the wall between the popular bike trail and the Red Line tracks.

His mural uses simple shapes and bright greens, reds and yellows to depict a family biking along the trail on a sunny day.

Hamilton, who worked in the tech community as a consultant, strategic planner and market researcher, had long made art as a hobby. But after retiring, he turned to art more seriously about four years ago.

“I have more time for my art,” he told the Hyattsville Wire.

He previously painted a mural at the miXt Food Hall in Brentwood, a traffic box covering in Riverdale Park and insect houses. The new mural is located next to Alethia Tanner Park in NoMa.

Hamilton’s art can also be seen on his website or Instagram page.

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The city of Hyattsville is working with University of Maryland researchers to improve the Emerson Street Food Forest.

Located at 4515 Emerson St., the food forest is a planned garden with a variety of herbs, shrubs, berries, fruit and nut trees available for the public to harvest and eat year-round, including pawpaws, which are currently in season.

The pesticide-free garden is already mostly self-sufficient, needling little irrigation and no fertilizer and just a little weeding and upkeep from volunteers every now and then.

But researchers with the Global FEWture Alliance plan to use money from a grant program to capture rainwater from a large metal roof on a nearby building and add compost bins to dispose of weeds and food waste.

They’ll also add some new features to make the park more usable as an outdoor classroom for University of Maryland students studying agriculture and the environment.

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Route 1’s Sangfroid Distilling is planning a major expansion in Takoma Park.

The Hyattsville distillery, which makes craft brandy, whiskey and Dutch-style gin, will open a larger space at 6950 Carroll Ave., former home to a Bank of America branch.

Co-owners Jeff Harner and Nate Groenendyk told the Hyattsville Wire that the neoclassical building, which dates back to 1927, is perfect for a large-scale production facility that will allow them to dramatically increase production.

The new building has about 4,500 square feet on the main floor and a similar amount of space in the basement, compared to their current Hyattsville building’s 1,000 square feet.

The new space will also have a cocktail bar, much like the tasting room at their current facility at 5130 Baltimore Ave. in Hyattsville, which will remain open.

“We hope to start renovations early next year, once we have our building permits. Our best bet is that it will be spring or summer 2025, but we’ve grown accustomed to construction delays,” Harner told the Wire.

He said they’ve already gotten approval from Montgomery County’s Historic Preservation Commission for an exterior addition on the rear of the building and restoring some street-facing windows that were removed for ATMs.

The two are also thinking of finding ways to add food to the menu.

“Our state permit allows caterers (including food trucks) to operate on the premises of the distillery, and with an ample-sized parking lot attached to the building, we’ll be able to take advantage of that,” Harner said.

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Taqueria Habanero and its neighbors in a College Park shopping center will have to relocate after Sept. 30.

The popular Mexican restaurant and other tenants of 8145 Baltimore Ave. will shut down at the end of the month as the Campus Village Shoppes shopping center will be torn down to make way for new student housing.

Yicela Alvarado, director of operations and the oldest daughter of owners Dionicio Montero and Mirna Montero-Alvarado, told the Hyattsville Wire that the taqueria will be run out of a food truck until they can find a new location.

“We are actively working with the new project developer and City of College Park to operate under modified conditions this includes obtaining a designated space for Taqueria Habaneros food truck and a possible future location so that we can continue building community through food,” she said.

Other tenants that will be affected include Mr. Fries Man, Hanami Japanese restaurant, Pupuseria La Familiar Salvadoran restaurant, Box’d Kitchen, Jodeem African cuisine, Jidong Tea, Paris Beauty Bar, UM Nail Spa, Pandora’s Cube videogame store, Vape Exchange and College Park Liquors, which has started a GoFundMe to pay for the cost of relocating.

The owners of the shopping center said recently that they are working with tenants individually.

“Nearly all tenants have agreed to compensation and LV is actively negotiating with the remaining few,” they said in a statement to D.C. News Now. “We have partnered with some tenants to come back to the new development once completed.”

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A fast-growing national Greek franchise is opening in College Park on Monday.

The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill was started in Las Vegas in 2016 and has quickly become one of the fastest-growing restaurant chains, with College Park set to become the 39th location around the country and the first in Maryland.

Based on the menu of a mom-and-pop restaurant in Henderson, Nev., Great Greek features standards like dolmades, spanakopita, gyros and souvlaki along with salads and rice bowls. Dessert options include baklava and rice pudding.

There’s also a kids’ menu with basic options like cheese pizza and chicken fingers as well as a souvlaki plate for more adventurous eaters.

Located at 8900 Baltimore Ave., next to Rita’s ice cream shop, will be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Sunday.

The local franchise, one of 20 to open this year, is owned by Fahad Naroo of Baltimore.

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