By SAM GAUNTT
PHOTO CREDIT Sam Gauntt
City residents will have a new casual dining option when The Greene Turtle, a sports bar and grill, opens in College Park in late September.
The popular franchise, which opened its first restaurant in 1976 in Ocean City, will debut its new location in the College Park Shopping Center, on the corner of Knox Road and Baltimore Avenue, joining more than 30 Greene Turtle franchises along the East Coast.
Representatives for the company presented their plans at a College Park City Council meeting on Aug. 7.
“We’re happy and we’re really excited to be in College Park,” Mike Wells, senior director of franchise operations for The Greene Turtle, said during the meeting. “College Park has always been a location that we’ve had expressed interest in returning back to.”
Wells said that about 15 years ago, The Greene Turtle closed its franchise in Laurel, where many guests from College Park would visit.
He added the restaurant has long partnered for marketing with University of Maryland Athletics.
“The Greene Turtle and Terps kind of go hand in hand,” Wells said.
College Park City Councilmember Susan Whitney (District 2) told College Park Here & Now it is “always great to have another restaurateur that’s interested in coming to the city.”
“They definitely have the experience to be successful,” Whitney said. “The fact that they have strong roots in Ocean City, which is a very seasonal economy, I would hope would give them, you know, even more knowledge to really succeed in College Park, which is also kind of seasonal.”
During the council meeting, Wells said food sales account for approximately 70% of the business at most Greene Turtle locations, and alcohol sales make up 30%.
But Whitney said, she has some concern about the restaurant staying within its allowed limit of alcohol sales.
Under the business’s Prince George’s County Liquor Board agreement, alcohol can only account for up to 35% of the location’s sales. According to Whitney, at Greene Turtle franchises in nearby college towns like Towson, alcohol makes up about 40% of sales.
At the August meeting, City Councilmember Stuart Adams (District 3) said he’s looking forward to the establishment’s College Park opening.
“They know the Maryland market very well, and many of the folks that live in College Park, when they come here to be at the university, might have a Greene Turtle back at home,” Adams said. “And so we look for them to be successful.”
Some city residents said the restaurant will be a good addition to the city’s dining and nightlife options.
“I’m sure you will get a lot of traction with the deals and the drink menus that they offer,” Tiffanii Rogers, who lives in College Park, said.
She added The Greene Turtle will have a different atmosphere than College Park’s other bars, with its family-friendly, sit-down environment.
Whitney said she’s happy to see more businesses investing in College Park.
“I’m excited to have more businesses, and more options as a resident,” Whitney said.
