Two downtown Bethesda food businesses in the Woodmont Triangle area—Ruta Ukrainian Restaurant and Ooh La La Bakery—have recently closed their doors.
Ooh La La Bakery, a family-owned French bakery, closed its location at 8231 Woodmont Ave. on October 31 after operating for just eight months. Co-owner Luis Velasco cited a lack of daily foot traffic, parking difficulties, and potential marketing shortcomings as reasons for the closure, which has left the business with $400,000 in debt. The bakery originally opened in February following extensive renovations, and its original location in Wheaton, Maryland, remains open.
The circumstances surrounding the closure of Ruta Ukrainian Restaurant at 4862 Cordell Ave. are less clear, as co-owner Ruslan Falkov and the restaurant did not respond to requests for comment. A notice was taped to the door stating the establishment was closed, though a phone number and email were provided for urgent inquiries. Ruta opened in September 2024, offering traditional Ukrainian dishes like borscht and varenyky, and featured a 2,000-square-foot space with patio seating and hand-painted floral wall designs by a Ukrainian refugee artist. Its original Capitol Hill location in Washington, D.C., which opened in 2023, remains in operation.
