Unlike most downtown businesses strung together in shopping centers, Little Tavern stands alone, a solitary slice of the bustling swath of bars and restaurants crowding Route 1. It’s green and white, it’s small and it’s empty.
The petite structure, at 7413 Baltimore Ave., was constructed in the 1940s and opened as Little Tavern, a successful burger place offering hamburgers at five cents a piece – 25 cents a dozen – according to landlord Ron Willoner. The business ultimately went defunct, but the name, a talgic reference to the city’s historic roots, stuck.
Since that time, the building has seen a variety of tenants with eclectic offerings, including a Philly cheesesteak joint, an Indian restaurant and several barbeque spots.
Last year, Naked Pizza – which emphasizes a healthy alternative to traditional pizzerias – signed a lease at Little Tavern but then balked on plans to renovate the space, which Willoner said would be mandatory before it could open.
“They told me they were going to remodel it, then they changed their minds,” Willoner said, adding that the building is now seeking a sublessee for the space. “They just wanted out.”
The growing company didn’t want to spend the necessary cash, according to College Park Economic Development Coordinator Michael Stiefvater, who added, “the building does need a lot of work.”
For the time being, the structure will continue to sit stagnant, as it has since summer 2008, when city officials decided against a proposal to build a hotel in its spot, according to Willoner.
This could be the chance to restore the building to the prosperous locale it once was, Willoner said he thought, but this process proved to be “torturous.”
“I looked into redeveloping it, and then it would be an easy rental,” Willoner said. “The trouble is that so many people have their hands in it. … The city and the county design the building, and you have to build it the way they want it.”
Several students, such as junior accounting major Jessica Yamini, said the building holds a mystifying presence in the city, and they’d like to see a business fill the space.
“I think it’s really cute,” Yamini said. “It’s a little bit wasted just sitting there. It looks nice; I’ve always been interested in it.”
But for Willoner, the building doesn’t hold any particular charm. It’s a money pit.
“[Beauty is] in the eye of the beholder,” he said. “As a businessman, it doesn’t produce rent.”
foley@umdbk.com
