If ever the county’s restaurant industry had an odd couple, Dietle’s and Addie’s could be said to mirror Oscar and Felix.
Hank Dietle’s Tavern, a no-frills bar, and Addie’s Restaurant, a fine dining restaurant, have coexisted for a decade on the stretch of Rockville Pike that runs through White Flint. The two independent businesses have already survived some of the major changes to the area. Now, with even bigger changes ahead, owners and patrons say another growth spurt won’t hurt the two establishments.
With the county currently drafting a new sector plan for White Flint, the area could grow from 2,100 to 12,600 residences and from 2.2 million square feet to 11.5 million square feet of office and retail space over the next 20 years.
But rather than fearing the growth or worrying they won’t be able to compete with new businesses that arrive, owners of Addie’s and Dietle’s are optimistic about the future.
They say there are potential new customers in the thousands of apartments yet to be built, but also hope their old charm will outshine future restaurants and grocery stores.
‘‘[Rockville Pike] itself hasn’t changed much, and obviously what’s about to happen is much bigger than what has happened since we went in,” said Jeff Black, who with his wife Barbara, opened Addie’s in 1996. ‘‘Really, it’s going to be intriguing to see what happens with the Whole Foods and Harris Teeters coming in and the mall being redone.”
White Flint Crossing, a mixed-use development along Executive Boulevard, and North Bethesda Town Center, a similar development near the Metro, will bring in the grocery stores and other retail stores.
Tony Huniak, owner of Hank Dietle’s, which opened nearly 50 years ago, said the haunt offers a unique atmosphere that new businesses can never duplicate.
‘‘Hopefully the people that are going to come in here are the people just looking for a comfortable place,” he said. ‘‘We have architects, guys from the nuclear regulatory buildings, we have all kinds of people come in. I hope it doesn’t change. You can’t go anywhere else and find this in the county.”
While the two neighboring businesses, which allegedly inhabit some of the older buildings on Rockville Pike, are close in proximity, they are worlds apart in most other ways.
Hank Dietle’s Tavern opened as a bar in the 1950s according to Huniak. The place is named after former owner Hank Dietle, who died in 1985.
The bar gained a reputation as a haven for bikers and fights in the 1970s, and a blue-collar bar through the next decade. Since then, the fights ended and a mix of corporate types, construction workers and 20-somethings come for happy hour. Many of their names are etched in the booths and tables, preserved through the ages.
‘‘It’s just comfortable,” Huniak said. ‘‘Someone else said it, but they said there are no strangers at Dietle’s, just friends you haven’t met yet.”
As the stories go, the building was originally built as a general store in 1916 and even held church services before becoming a bar. Dietle’s used to serve sandwiches, but now customers have their choice of snack foods and can order pizzas and Chinese food delivered to the bar.
Dietle’s could possibly have the oldest liquor license in the county, although Montgomery County Department of Liquor Control Board could not confirm or deny that. The license number is 001.
Because the bar serves only beer and wine, it is not required to make 50 percent of its profits each day from food, as restaurants in the county are.
‘‘The menu’s on the wall. ...You got chips and pretzels.” said Gene Duvall, a regular from Olney.
Next door is Addie’s, the first of the Black Restaurant Group, which also includes Black Market Bistro in Garrett Park, Black’s Bar and Kitchen in Bethesda and BlackSalt Fish Market and Restaurant in Washington.
‘‘Before we opened Addie’s, the beef was not to go on the Pike because the market won’t support a chef-driven restaurant,” said Jeff Black. Most of the restaurants on Rockville Pike are chains like Bennigan’s, T.G.I. Fridays, Ruby Tuesdays and the PGA Tour Grill. ‘‘I disagreed, we went in and it’s been very successful.”
Before becoming an eatery, with bright pastel-colored rooms and a quiet outdoor dining patio, the place lived through incarnations as a bungalow, art gallery, industrial supply store and a German bakery.
Tammy Guice, Addie’s manager, said diners have come into the restaurant with black and white photos of their family living in the house.
‘‘It’s always exciting when people talk about what the place used to be,” she said.
