As Friday night approaches, everyone is hungry and ready to grab some food. One friend craves a juicy cheeseburger, another is in the mood for a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich, and another dreams of a hot bowl of grandma’s iconic matzo-ball soup. Typically, this decision would require fights and compromises, but thanks to the new restaurant Community, everyone can be satisfied.

Officially open next week, Community, located at the corner of Norfolk and Fairmont avenues, offers a wide variety of dining options. The chef’s recipes offer an eclectic mix of meals from around the country, said Community owner and Whitman parent Mark Bucher, who put together the menu based upon his favorite dishes.

“What I’ve done is throughout my years of travelling or being in the restaurant business or being a chef, I’ve collected all my favorite things and I put them in one spot,” Bucher said.

Through the collection of food photos taken on his iPhone, Bucher and his chefs worked together to replicate his personal favorites. Some items, like the fried chicken, took several months to master.

Bucher believes that Community offers a menu full of craveable items.  

“I believe in giving people what they want to have, not what I want them to have,” he said.

Bucher hopes to attract everyone from businesspeople and students during the workday to families for dinner and young adults on a night out.

At night, the lights dim, the music gets louder and Community changes into a bar for those looking for a lounge scene, offering another way to bring the community together.

While offering many sit-down experiences, they will also cater to those who want a way to get their food quickly; Community will feature a to-go window selling donuts and coffee.

“Sometimes I don’t have time to eat breakfast before I leave for school, so I would definitely consider stopping at the to-go window on the way to school in the mornings,” junior Abby Hemmersbaugh said.

As the name suggests, Bucher plans to support the local community in a variety of ways.

“We believe in community over competition so everything we do here supports the Bethesda community in a certain way,” he said.  

Community will be open from 7 a.m. to midnight, leaving the late night crowd to continue dining at Bethesda staple Tastee Diner across the street.

In another attempt to support the Montgomery County area, Community is partnering with the National Football League Players Association, which will match all profits from the to-go window. The money will be donated to three Silver Spring public schools to provide students with a hot breakfast.

“We’re working with a food truck operator to have him go to those schools every morning and give out free egg sandwiches,” Bucher said. “We’ll do that as far and as wide as we can.”

To support local farms, all meats and produce will be local as long as the product quality is good and the price is right.

After five years of development, Community is finally prepared to open and take its place as an iconic neighborhood spot.

“I want to make sure this gets woven into the daily fabric of everyone’s lives that live around here,” Bucher said. “It will become a well-worn pair of jeans. You can always depend on it, you always know what you’re gonna get. To me, that’s more important than winning any type of award.”