The lawn at the center of Westbard Square now has a beverage permit, a two-day holiday market on November 19 and 20 and a monthly mahjong table that meets outdoors through February. The freestanding restaurant building between the townhomes and the Giant building is the piece most people expected to anchor the green, and its tenant has moved its opening to early 2027. So the restaurants already open around the lawn will set the pace there this winter, and only two of them can send a drink outside with you.
Two cups are allowed on the lawn
Regency Centers has owned the old Westwood shopping center site since 2017. In a Washington Business Journal feature this spring, the company said the central green was starting to host events, and that a newly secured onsite beverage license would allow "sip and stroll" experiences. That program is now in place, and the rules on Westbard Square's open container policy page are short:
- Alcoholic drinks can come only from Piccoli Piatti Pizzeria or Sense of Thai.
- They have to stay in the branded plastic cups the restaurant gives you. Pouring one into your own cup isn't allowed.
- Guests must be 21 or older.
- Drinks stay inside the designated outdoor area. They can't go into the parking garage, into retail stores or into another restaurant.
- Outside alcohol isn't permitted.
- Once you leave the restaurant with a drink, you can't bring it back in. Every new drink comes in a new cup.
The boundary is laid out on a Sip & Stroll map, dated January 2026, that the center links from the same page. The policy page also says Regency will monitor how the program affects the surrounding community and may adjust it.
The storefronts that already face the green
The green looks the way it does because of what has opened around it over the past two years. Sense of Thai is the newest dining room. It held a soft opening on June 1, 2026, and it is one of the two places whose cups can go onto the lawn.
| Business | When it arrived at Westbard | Sip & Stroll cups |
|---|---|---|
| Oak Barrel & Vine | Open by December 2024 | No |
| Tatte Bakery & Café | Opened November 20, 2024 | No |
| Silver & Sons BBQ | January 2025, after starting as a food truck | No |
| District DabbleLab | Opened March 30, 2025 | No |
| Piccoli Piatti Pizzeria | Soft opening in July 2025 | Yes |
| Sense of Thai | Soft opening June 1, 2026 | Yes |
Beyond the table, the current Westbard Square directory lists Giant Foods, Starbucks, Lucky Strike, a U.S. Post Office, Voorthuis Opticians, Stretch Zone, 1 to 1 Fitness, Kumon, Celia's Salon, Chloe's Nails & Co., Westwood Barber Shop, Westbard Dental and a Citgo. That mix is why the lawn can be part of an ordinary errand. You can go to the post office, pick up groceries at Giant and have a drink from Piccoli Piatti on the green without moving the car.
Programming is how the lawn earns its keep
Regency's spring update noted that retail developers are leaning toward necessity-based and experiential retail with thoughtful placemaking. At Westbard, that approach means events on the green. The same update described the green as becoming a community hub and called the sip-and-stroll license a way of "activating the space in new ways." The holiday calendar is the clearest example so far.
Thursday and Friday: URBNmarket comes to Westbard
The Holiday Makers Market with URBNmarket runs Thursday, November 19, and Friday, November 20, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Westbard Square. The event listing promises live music and holiday activities. Because it falls on weekdays, the market lines up with midday errands and lunch at Tatte more than with a weekend outing.
URBN Market also appears on downtown Bethesda's calendar. The Bethesda Urban Partnership's Winter Wonderland & Holiday Market is set for Saturday, December 5, from noon to 4 p.m. on Norfolk and Cordell avenues, with Santa, live ice sculpting, music, family activities and a URBN Market of 50 artisans. That gives Bethesda residents two holiday makers markets about two weeks apart, a weekday one at Westbard and a Saturday one downtown.
Mahjong Mondays are the other recurring event. Westbard Square holds them monthly on Monday evenings from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., outdoors. The next game is December 14, and the series runs through February 8. Players can take an individual seat or join the Mahjong 101 Beginner Table, and the center notes that spaces are limited.
The building at 5315 Zenith Overlook
The green's most prominent piece of architecture is the standalone restaurant building at 5315 Zenith Overlook. It sits between the EYA townhomes and the retail building that houses Giant, Piccoli Piatti, Silver & Sons, Starbucks and Tatte. Its tenant is Our Mom Eugenia, a Greek restaurant founded in December 2016 by Eugenia Hobson, who is also its executive chef, and her sons Alexander and Philip.
In March, Alexander Hobson told Bethesda Today the family planned to open this fall. The restaurant's own website now lists the Westbard location as "Opening 2027." It describes the space as the company's first Maryland location and its first standalone building, with a year-round outdoor patio and expanded catering, pickup and delivery. The family writes that the opening coincides with the brand's 10-year anniversary and brings Eugenia back to Bethesda, where she cooked early in her career. In their words, it "truly feels like a full-circle moment."
A year-round patio facing the lawn would give the green a third outdoor dining option. Until it opens, Piccoli Piatti and Sense of Thai are the only two restaurants whose drinks can go out onto the grass.
What is still going up around the lawn
The green is finished, but the blocks around it are still under construction. Regency's spring update listed 100 EYA townhomes and 200 Greystar apartments under construction, with leasing underway for the retail and restaurant space beneath the apartments. Bethesda Magazine reported that the whole project is expected to be complete in 2027.
The plan behind all of this was recognized last month. On October 22, 2026, the 2017 Westbard Sector Plan received Best Master Plan at the CREDA DC|MD Awards of Excellence, according to Montgomery Planning. The jury praised the plan for improving traffic flow, reducing car dependency and reducing imperviousness.
The next confirmed arrival at the green is further out. Always Ice Cream Company, an Annapolis-based chain, is aiming for spring 2028 in the mixed-use residential building now under construction, and co-owner Mark Cohen told Bethesda Today that timeline could shift with construction. The shop will face the central green, across from Tatte and Piccoli Piatti Pizzeria, and will be the chain's 11th location.
The Rebecca Weiner Group is watching Westbard Square fill in one storefront at a time, from the November makers market to the patio coming in 2027 and the ice cream counter planned for 2028. If you live near River Road and want to talk about what the finished square could mean for your home, let's connect. We'd be glad to set up a free home consultation and custom valuation.
