The Greek Store is moving into the former Vertigo Books storefront over the summer after 15 years in its current location, giving it more space to offer a wider variety of merchandise, including what management is calling classier Terp-wear.
The store, which has spent about 15 years downtown next to Chevy Chase Bank on Route 1, already offers a variety of goods and services targeted at the university’s students involved in Greek Life, including Greek letters and a wall full of ceremonial paddles. But the move, set to occur no later than Aug. 1, will triple the store’s floor space to about 3,000 square feet and open up new markets for the business, said Derek Martino, the store’s general manager.
Martino’s plan calls for The Greek Store to sell university-themed clothes and other items that are more “hip and fashionable” than what students typically find at the University Book Center or the Maryland Book Exchange, making it “the Hollister of Maryland stores,” Martino said.
The move would also let the store consolidate its operations into one facility, Martino said, noting the store currently maintains an off-site location responsible for preparing custom T-shirts. Moving that production into downtown College Park will likely result in faster turnaround time for orders.
Management of The Greek Store first began actively looking for a new storefront about a year ago. They had considered the former Potomac Video storefront – also in the College Park Shopping Center – but Martino said they decided against it for its lack of wall space.
It was “fate” that led his business to the old Vertigo storefront, Martino said, as the timing of the bookstore’s departure coincided with the expiration of the lease on The Greek Store’s current location.
Although the new store location will be a block farther away from Fraternity Row, many customers in the store last week said they won’t mind the change.
“In terms of convenience, with Chipotle and Starbucks, we’re already over there anyway,” said junior Spanish major Scott Malecki, who had come to the store for a Phi Sigma Pi-lettered T-shirt.
Many customers come to the store only occasionally, and a convenient location would go a long way toward encouraging them to go in to browse more frequently, they said.
But some students said The Greek Store would have to provide a price advantage over the Maryland Book Exchange to persuade them to shop there.
“It probably wouldn’t be my first instinct, just because [the Book Exchange] was so close,” senior communications major Julia Suszyzynski said. But she added that she will be graduating soon and future students may be more willing to try The Greek Store’s new items.
Martino noted while he hoped Greek students would be attracted to his store’s upcoming new merchandise, it would not be trying to compete with existing stores in providing “rah-rah fan gear.”
“When we don’t have something, we’ll send people to Book Exchange,” he said.
holtdbk@gmail.com
