Haraz Coffee House Takes Over Former Seven Seas
Food operators and landlords in Rockville can watch how a long-vacant restaurant storefront is repurposed into a smaller cafe format.
Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Openings & Closings
Haraz Coffee House is opening a second Montgomery County location at Federal Plaza, 1776 E. Jefferson Street, in the space formerly occupied by Seven Seas Restaurant. Signage is now up at the former restaurant site, which closed in May 2018 after 33 years at the plaza.
Why it matters
A cafe chain taking over a long-held restaurant space in a shopping center signals continued demand for coffee-and-dessert concepts in Rockville and North Bethesda, where a vacated site was filled by a smaller specialty operator. For operators, the move shows how a long-vacant anchor-adjacent storefront can be repositioned into a fast-casual format.
Seven Seas Restaurant operated at Federal Plaza for 33 years before closing in May 2018, and the site has since been vacant until Haraz's signage appeared. Haraz's Rockville location will be its second in Montgomery County, following the Burtonsville Crossing store that opened in early 2026.
The players
Haraz Coffee House
A coffee and dessert cafe chain known for Yemeni-inspired beverages and pastries, now expanding from its Burtonsville Crossing store into a second Montgomery County location.
Seven Seas Restaurant
A restaurant that operated at Federal Plaza for 33 years before closing in May 2018, leaving the storefront vacant until its repositioning as a cafe.
The details
Haraz Coffee House, known for Yemeni-inspired coffee, tea and desserts, is taking over the 1776 E. Jefferson Street space. The storefront sits on the side of the shopping center where DMV Iron Gym is located, which places the cafe in a multi-tenant plaza with existing foot and vehicle traffic. Its Burtonsville Crossing store at 15701 Columbia Pike is the template for the new site, and a representative there confirmed the Rockville cafe last month.
Timeline
May 2018: Seven Seas Restaurant closed at Federal Plaza after 33 years.
Early 2026: Haraz opened its Burtonsville Crossing location, its first in Montgomery County.
Last month (relative to November 2026): a Burtonsville representative confirmed the Rockville cafe.
Market Landscape
The Federal Plaza site has been vacant since Seven Seas Restaurant closed in May 2018 after 33 years, so the replacement is a meaningful turnover in a shopping center with an established tenant mix. Haraz is extending a single-county footprint from Burtonsville Crossing into Rockville, a pattern of clustering locations within one county that operators of small multi-unit food concepts often pursue.
Operators of food concepts looking at vacated restaurant storefronts should note that a 33-year-old space was repurposed rather than left dark, which suggests smaller coffee-and-dessert formats can fit sites built for full-service dining. Landlords and brokers in shopping centers with recent restaurant closures may see interest from specialty food operators with lighter build-out needs.
The takeaway
Converting a long-vacant restaurant space into a smaller cafe format is a practical option for food operators evaluating used storefronts. Track the Federal Plaza opening date, which the source does not yet provide, to gauge how quickly the repositioned site moves from signage to service.
Further reading
For context on other storefront turnovers in the area, browse recent Openings & Closings coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by The MoCo Show.
