The newest Nando's location in Downtown Silver Spring. (Photo: Jay Westcott)

CORRECTION: The original version of this post misidentified which business is  nextdoor to the forthcoming Nando's Peri Peri location in Silver Spring. It is actually next to LOFT, located at 922 Ellsworth Drive. Thanks to a commenter for pointing out the error.

Nando’s Peri-Peri will open its newest location in Downtown Silver Spring next month despite rumblings from nearby restaurant managers that the area is oversaturated with dining options.

The South African chicken chain, with its signature Portuguese-Mozambican recipe, secured a beer, wine and liquor license Aug. 5 from The Montgomery County Department of Liquor Control. A Sept. 15 opening date has since been set.

The restaurant will be located at 934 Ellsworth Drive, next to New York & Company LOFT, with Macaroni Grill, Copper Canyon Grill, Red Lobster, Eggspectation, and a number of other eateries just steps away.

The general managers from those four restaurants voiced concern that the addition of Nando's to the mix would hurt their bottom line. They submitted a letter to the board, protesting the award of the liquor license, arguing it would reduce business for existing restaurants.

Due to the number of licenses that have been approved for the Silver Spring area over the past several years we have seen a recent general, and some cases, dramatic decline in business revenue for the original restaurants that entered into the Downtown Silver Spring complex ... Approving any additional licenses in this market would be merely causing more difficulties for existing businesses in an environment in which no additional demand exist.

But Burton Heiss of Nando’s Peri-Peri said much of Silver Spring's appeal comes from the company's initial research, in which they found existing Downtown Silver Spring restaurants had high occupancy numbers — meaning they were full of people at peak hours.

“As far as the area and the density of people that live within one to five miles, it’s phenomenal,” Heiss told the board. “And it’s at a gut level, we can see a restaurant being successful here.”

Downtown Silver Spring is home to about 20 restaurants. Two properties are without leases, one of which is filled by a temporary occupant.

In recent years, more restaurants, rather than retail stores, have filled space in the downtown core. It’s caused concern for restaurant owners worried that without a mix of dining, shopping and entertainment options, there won’t be the right mix of foot traffic to provide a solid customer base.

"Personally, I believe it's customer service and attention to the business, whoever is going to do the best in that will survive," Board of License Commissioner Maria Peña-Faustino said at the hearing.

Nando’s is an international chain with only three restaurants in the United States: two in Washington, D.C. and one in Annapolis. The Silver Spring location plans to have four outdoor tables and a capacity of 150.