Busboys and Poets, the neighborhood coffeehouse, restaurant and bookstore that first opened on U Street NW in 2005 and has grown to seven locations, is making the leap to Columbia, Maryland.

At 10,771 square feet, the restaurant will be Busboys’ largest and its furthest from D.C. proper. Currently, Busboys and Poets has locations in Shirlington as well as Hyattsville, but that’s the extent of the brand’s suburban presence.

Owner Andy Shallal said the move to Columbia is an extension of a strategy he’s been deploying for a while now, to follow his customers to where they are.

“I think we have a lot of people that live in the suburbs, who may work in the city, but want to kick back a bit before they go out. It’s not practical to go home and come back,” he said. “So we want to give them options where they are.”

The company has seen that it has a significant social media following from the Greater Baltimore area, he said. He’s also encouraged by the close-knit community…