Two restaurants cleared out of Westfield Montgomery mall this week after less than a year in business. Say goodbye to Butter Me Up, which opened last May in the former Aroma space, and sister restaurant HalfSmoke, which debuted a few months later in the middle of the Dining Terrace. Butter Me Up served an all-day breakfast menu, with sandwiches good enough to be featured as one of our Store Reporter Favorites. But this week, its Instagram-friendly decor was festooned with a sheriff’s notice for unpaid rent. HalfSmoke, which replaced Cold Stone Creamery in the middle of the Dining Terrace, sold an oddball mix of boardwalk food, gelato, candy and cocktails. Both eateries were owned by D.C. entrepreneur Andre McCain, who was also supposed to open another HalfSmoke at Rockville Town Square. Nearly three years after he announced plans for that location, the signs are still up — but there’s no indication that it’s ever going to happen.
