Business & Tech

Gino's Return to Baltimore Area Starts in Towson

The iconic fast food restaurant, launched in Dundalk in 1957, is returning to the Baltimore area this summer in Towson.

The first Baltimore-area franchise of the relaunched Gino’s restaurant brand will be located in Towson, with the grand opening expected in mid-summer.

The deal was announced Wednesday afternoon by St. John Properties, the developer of the Maryland Executive Park, at the corner of La Salle and East Joppa roads.

Founded by legendary Baltimore Colt defensive end Gino Marchetti, along with running back Alan Ameche and businessman Louis Fischer, the brand was resurrected late last fall, with the opening of a new Gino's location in King of Prussia, PA, just outside of Philadelphia.

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In February, Gino’s announced it had signed a 10-restaurant deal with A&M Hospitality of Maryland, a new venture owned by Scott Autry and Jared Smith, to bring the famous Gino Giant back to the Baltimore region.

The new chain's Towson location—the first in Maryland—will be just several miles from the original restaurant's Towson location on York Road, near what is now the Towson roundabout.

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Reached late Wednesday afternoon, Jerry Wit, a senior vice president for St. John Properties, the park's owner, said he understood the passion that comes with a franchise like Gino's. He was a longtime Colts fan, and his wife was a Colts cheerleader.

"I just signed the lease about an hour ago and I was thinking, 'This is kind of history here,'" he said.

Wit said St. John Properties was looking at "another regional chain" to add to the retail space at the center, which is near other restaurants, including Glory Days Grill, Applebee's and Qdoba Mexican Grill.

For many local officials, Gino's represents a proud Baltimore tradition, one of their generation.

"I am thrilled that Baltimore's first new Gino's restaurant in a generation will be in Loch Raven, in the heart of the Fifth District," said County Councilman David Marks in an email. Marks grew up in Carney and Perry Hall and remembers the chain from his childhood. "I can't wait for the ribbon-cutting!"

County Executive Kevin Kamenetz referenced the chain's old jingle: "Everybody goes to Gino's in Towson, 'cause Towson is the place to go!"

The first Gino’s in Dundalk was located at 4009 North Point Blvd. by North Point Village, next to where Salty Dog's now sits. On Friday and Saturday nights in the 1960s and 1970s, both the inside and the parking lot were jam-packed with teenagers.

As their popularity grew in from 1960s, Gino’s stores were added throughout Maryland and expanded to Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Eventually, like many good businesses that go public, Gino's was gobbled up by a large corporation—Marriott in 1982—and soon all Gino's were either turned into Roy Rogers restaurants or just disappeared, as was the case with the Gino's in Dundalk.

Dundalk native Mary Hoffman, who worked as a waitress at the Gino's on Northpoint Boulevard in the 1970s, said she was was disappointed the first Gino's in Maryland would be in Towson – and not Dundalk – but was pleased the restaurant was returning to Maryland. She made a trip to King of Prussia with friends after the store opened there late last fall.

"At least we won't have to drive to two hours anymore," Hoffman said. "But Gino Marchetti, if he has any of the nostalgia of people here in Dundalk, he'll want to open one in Dundalk where it all began. He's got to consider bringing it full circle."


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