The Greene Turtle Sports Bar & Grille celebrated the opening yesterday of its 40th restaurant, a franchise unit operated by brothers Bill and Bob Frankis and located at 696A Bel Air Rd. in the Harford Mall in Bel Air, Maryland. The full-service, casual dining restaurant includes more than 6,300 square feet of interior space and a 1,800-square foot stone and brick patio accessed through large sliding-glass doors. Inside, ten 80-inch screens have been incorporated into The Greene Turtle’s standard of 50 or so larger overhead flatscreen TVs and smaller screens installed in each of the booths, ensuring that guests have a perfect view of their favorite teams no matter where they are in the restaurant or bar.
This is the fifth unit for the Frankis brothers, who operate a second Maryland restaurant in Aberdeen and three locations in Delaware. Of the latter group, two are based in Rehoboth Beach, including one that is situated on the beach resort’s boardwalk adjacent to a large freestanding retail store selling branded Greene Turtle merchandise. The third Delaware unit is located just a few miles up the coast in Lewes.
Despite there being more than two dozen other locations around its home state of Maryland, The Greene Turtle has not had a restaurant closer than 15 to 20 minutes from Bel Air for some time. Vice president of Franchising, Tom Finn, says the Frankis brothers, whose Aberdeen restaurant is closest to the new location, are perfectly suited to bring the brand to the area, adding that they have been exemplary franchisees in developing and operating all five of their locations.
“Bill and Bob are great marketers, great franchise partners, and very engaged franchisees,” he says. “They are experts in local store marketing and embody the characteristics of the franchisees we seek. We are proud to be bringing The Greene Turtle to Bel Air under their management.”
Now stretching from the southern limits of Virginia to New York’s Long Island and west into West Virginia, The Greene Turtle enjoys fierce loyalty among its fans, who love it for its casual, welcoming atmosphere, great food and drink, and sports tie-ins. It also capitalizes on strong brand awareness generated by its involvement in community sports programs and its presence in high-traffic locations such as Ocean City, Maryland; Rehoboth Beach, Delaware; Baltimore-Washington International (BWI) Airport; and Washington, D.C.’s Verizon Center. The chain’s broad demographic appeal attracts seniors, baby boomers, couples, young families and groups of all ages. The concept’s flexible format helps franchisees to secure the best available real estate and often shortens the time to open a restaurant.
