Mac And Cheese Shop Opening 2 Restaurants In Anne Arundel County

EDGEWATER, MD — A popular restaurant group is opening two locations of a new mac and cheese shop in Anne Arundel County. The eateries will also serve a variety of chicken sandwiches and comfort food.

Vivi's Chicken 'n Mac opened recently in Edgewater. It announced its debut in the South River Crossing shopping center on April 1.

The fast-casual restaurant is also opening this spring in Arnold at 1272 Bay Dale Drive. The exact opening date hasn't been announced.

The business is owned by Monte Restaurant Development Group.

Monte also manages Tuscan Prime Italian Chophouse & Dolce Bar in Annapolis and Squisito Pizza & Pasta, which has locations in Annapolis, Glen Burnie and Severna Park. The restaurant group operates 15 locations across Maryland, Virginia, Tennessee and Washington D.C.

Monte was founded in spring 2008 by Gennaro and Michele DiMeo, but the restaurateurs started their portfolio a decade earlier.

In 1997, Gennaro DiMeo opened his first restaurant, Café Mazzanotte in Severna Park.

Squisito was born the following year.

Gennaro DiMeo is also behind Carpaccio Tuscan Kitchen & Wine Bar, which opened in Annapolis in 2008.

Vivi's Edgewater replaced Lemongrass, a Thai restaurant with three locations in Anne Arundel County.

Lemongrass expanded to Edgewater in late 2022 on the heels of its flagship in Annapolis and its outposts in Parole and Arnold. The Edgewater location's last post on social media was in September 2024.

Vivi's offers everything from traditional mac and cheese to chipotle and creamy pesto parmesan variations. There are also chicken sandwiches, ranging from buffalo to barbecue and Nashville hot. Salads, mozzarella sticks and french fries are other highlights.

The Edgewater restaurant is decorated with a mural of wings surrounded by a word cloud of savory descriptors. There's also a wall of black-and-white food photos and a neon sign reading "Be Cheesy."

The eatery seats 39 customers. There are bar stools looking out the window, booths and tables.

Vivi's Edgewater is located at 3059 Solomons Island Road, Suite F1. It's sandwiched between Kay's Nail Spa and AFC Urgent Care.

Vivi's opens daily at 11 a.m. It closes at 9:30 p.m. from Sundays through Thursdays. It's open until 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

Customers can learn more by visiting vivischicken.com or following the business on Facebook, Instagram or TikTok.

The restaurant is still hiring. Job listings are posted here.

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