Pho Thom recently opened on Rt. 1, along with several other businesses. It has been “always crowded,” despite the competition.

While a number of local businesses shuttered their doors over the past year, the owners of three newly opened restaurants in the city said they are optimistic their eateries will survive the ongoing competition and turnover.

The fall marked the arrival of a wide variety of new dining offerings, including a Vietnamese-Thai restaurant, a pizzeria and a Turkish-inspired seafood place. While two of these restaurants have yet to attract a solid customer base among students due to their distances from the campus, Pho Thom – which specializes in pho, a chicken or beef noodle soup – has been an instant hit, city officials said, since it opened its doors on Route 1 in the space that once housed Street Tacos.

Michael Stiefvater, the city’s economic development coordinator, said Pho Thom is “always crowded” due to its unique menu of healthy cuisine.

“They brought something new to athe city, which is why they’re experiencing success,” he said.

Several students said they were eager to try something different, noting the restaurant’s distinctive decor – deep green walls, dragon statues and bamboo plants shroud the eatery.

“There are no other places around with pho,” said freshman engineering major Mara Cai, who eats at Pho Thom once or twice a week. “It’s much more convenient to students location-wise and price-wise.”

About two miles north of Pho Thom lies Fox’s Pizza Den, a Pennsylvania-based restaurant franchise. As one of several pizza eateries in the city – including Ratsie’s, Ledo Pizza, Papa John’s and Domino’s Pizza – Stiefvater said this restaurant faces some of the toughest competition.

“In order to be successful, they have to offer better products, prices and get customer attention price-wise and quality-wise,” he said.

Donald Cleveland, the restaurant’s spokesman, said the business stands out among competitors due to the quality food and the fun, family-friendly atmosphere. The sports-themed restaurant also features a special 30-inch pizza, and any single customer who finishes it in fewer than 60 minutes is awarded a $500 prize.

“We plan on being here for over 30 years,” Cleveland said. “Turnover isn’t an option for us.”

Because it is located relatively far from the campus – north of Route 193 – Fox’s Pizza Den offers an online delivery service. Sophomore theatre and family science major Rachel Barlaam, who said she has seen many fliers for the restaurant, said she will likely order food online rather than travel to the location.

“As college students, a lot of us get food delivered, especially if the place is far from campus,” Barlaam said.

Further downtown, at the 5000 block of Berwyn Road, lies Fishnet, a restaurant that co-owner Keyia Yalcin said fills the void of seafood options in the city. However, unlike traditional seafood restaurants, most of the items on the menu come in a sandwich.

While the restaurant has received attention from The Washington Post and The Washingtonian, Yalcin said it has been difficult to draw students due to the location and the higher prices. Yalcin is working to establish an online delivery service and also has launched a new brunch menu to reel in more customers.

“It’s going to take time for the students to notice that we are here,” Yalcin said. “But the community of Berwyn has so much to offer, it has a strong history of this particular block as a retail block.”

However, some students said they have already noticed the distinctive tone and menu that Fishnet has brought to the city.

“I like the neighborhood it’s in,” senior biology major Lee Stopak said. “It contributes to the different vibe of the restaurant compared to normal College Park food joints.”

John Horowitz, a freshman history major, said he enjoyed dining at a sit-down establishment instead of a fast-food place in the city’s downtown area.

“It’s nice to try something different,” he said. “You can’t really go wrong with it.”

And Stiefvater said it’s a good sign for the city that multiple businesses have set up shop in a short period of time.

“All these openings make people want to be here and invest their money,” he said.

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