Falafel at Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill
In about a month, students in the mood for Mediterranean food, barbecue or gourmet pizza will be able to trek down to Route 1 to satisfy their cravings.
Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill, The Maryland Smokehouse and Slices Pizza Co. will all most likely open within the next few weeks, according to representatives of the establishments. Over the next six months, Denny’s, Dunkin’ Donuts, Jumbo Slice Pizza, Nawaabsaab Kabobs and two convenience stores will also make their College Park debuts.
In recent years, the city has gained an influx of new restaurants serving a diversity of tastes, from Vietnamese and Thai to vegan and vegetarian. Though some of the new places are independently owned, the city’s economic development coordinator, Michael Stiefvater, said the slate is evenly split between local and chain restaurants.
The Maryland Smokehouse is the most novel of the new businesses, Stiefvater said.
“There’s nothing like that in College Park at the moment,” he said. “All the others, there’s something similar.”
Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill, which replaces the Boston Market in the College Park Shopping Center, will open March 13, said Beth Hardy, a spokeswoman for the restaurant. The “fast-casual” joint, described as a type of Mediterranean Chipotle, has 18 locations open across the country.
The eatery will serve made-to-order pita sandwiches for about $8, with ingredients such as hummus, falafel and baba ghanoush, as well as Greek salads and soups. More than 90 percent of the menu will be vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free.
“Students are actually some of the most adventurous eaters,” Hardy said. “Students just tend to be more open to different flavors and things like that, so if they’re not used to something, often they’re the first ones to be the groundbreakers and bring their friends or parents to try it.”
Although there are two other Mediterranean-influenced restaurants in the city, Roti Mediterranean Grill and Krazi Kebob, Hardy said Garbanzo will draw students in by making all of its food fresh every day.
“One of our sayings is, ‘If it was meant to grow in a can, it would come that way,’” Hardy said.
After Garbanzo opens, students can look forward to the debut of one of College Park’s first barbecue restaurants, The Maryland Smokehouse, which will open on the ground floor of The Varsity in about a month, said Chris George, the restaurant’s owner.
“I’m originally from Memphis, and barbecue is kind of king there, and I thought there was not a lot of great barbecue options in this area,” George said. “Barbecue is very popular around the country with college students and with the 20-something crowd.”
At The Maryland Smokehouse, customers will order at the counter and their food will be delivered to their tables, George said. Students can get everything from sandwiches for about $6 to a full rack of ribs with side items for $24.
“The great thing about our food — the flavors are just really, really phenomenal,” George said. “Our ribs are just absolutely to die for. They are off-the-bone tender and have a great, great smoky flavor from the very wood we smoke with.”
Any university student with a valid photo ID will receive a 10 percent discount at the eatery, which will be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 9 p.m. Sunday.
Because the area is short on barbecue spots, Julia Cha said she’s most excited for The Maryland Smokehouse to open.
“The only one I know is Urban in Rockville,” said the junior animal science major. “I don’t know about the pizza place; there’s overwhelming pizza already.”
But Slices Pizza Co., which will most likely open at the end of March down the street from Big Play Sports Grill, markets itself as a far cry from the typical pizza parlor. The owners, one of whom is from Italy, boast about 30 years of restaurant experience between them and plan to offer more than a dozen unique gourmet pizzas by the slice.
“Typically pizza places have a few slices out and then the more gourmet and other types won’t be available by the slice,” said Stefanie DiBenedetto, an owner of the restaurant. “People aren’t used to having all the offerings we have. It’s exciting for them each time to try it.”
For example, along with traditional cheese and pepperoni, the eatery will offer a “Coney Island” pizza with pieces of Nathan’s hot dogs and french fries on top, and a “Taco Loco” pizza with refried beans instead of tomato sauce and taco beef, cheddar cheese, sour cream, jalapenos and tortilla chips on top.
Other varieties include “The Thai Chicken,” “The Mac ‘n Cheese” and “The Buffalo Chicken.”
Though another pizza place, Jumbo Slice Pizza, will open most likely at the end of the summer near The Barking Dog, DiBenedetto said she hopes students will “fall in love” with Slices’ unique concept.
However, Slices won’t be able to satisfy students’ late-night cravings like Ratsie’s or Pizza Autentica. DiBenedetto said the restaurant will close at 11 p.m. every day, in part because of concerns over crime. At The Maryland Smokehouse, George also said he was “absolutely” concerned and would have security cameras and an alarm system in the restaurant.
But Hardy said the Garbanzo staff wasn’t worried about crime.
“I think we will take things in stride as we come,” she said. “We’re just really excited to be a part of the community.”
Several cuisines are still lacking from downtown, students said, such as African-based foods. However, the three new restaurants should each bring in “authentic” flavors to the city, from the Mediterranean and the American South.
“Our founder is from the Mediterranean,” Hardy said about Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill. “A lot of his recipes are from his mother and grandmother.”
Garbanzo imports several items from the region, including its pickles and baba ghanoush, she said.
And for a meal on the run, a must for many busy college students, you can’t go wrong with a pita wrap, Hardy added.
“You can grab it and go,” she said. “If you’re going to class or a meeting, you can get your stuffed pita, and we wrap it up for you and you go on your way.”
