DAMON’S GRILL SELECTS HUNT VALLEY TOWNE CENTRE
AS FOURTH RESTAURANT SITE IN MARYLAND AREA
Local franchise holder Paul Rose and Operations’ partner Gary Uhrig have plans to open several more sites, with focus on Howard, Harford and Prince George’s Counties
Hunt Valley, MD (April 19, 2005) – Damon’s Grill, a casual dining restaurant that combines American Grill cuisine with multi-screen entertainment programs and interactive games, has selected Hunt Valley Towne Centre as its fourth restaurant site in the Maryland region. Owings Mills, MD-based Greenberg Gibbons Commercial Corporation is undertaking a comprehensive re-development program at the former Hunt Valley Mall which, upon completion, will feature more than 980,000 square feet of retail space, including 260,000 square feet in an open air “Main Street” environment, as well as various pad site locations. The restaurant is expected to open this Fall.
Damon’s Grill is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio and features more than 120 company and franchised locations around the world. Local franchise holder Paul Rose and Operations’ partner Gary Uhrig expect to open at least three more restaurants within the next several years, and is targeting Howard, Harford and Prince George’s County as its next expansion areas. Damon’s Grill restaurants are currently operating at The Village of Waugh Chapel in Crofton (Anne Arundel County), Arundel Mills (Anne Arundel County) and Nottingham Square (Baltimore County). Approximately 80 to 100 workers are employed either part or full-time at the restaurant.
“Hunt Valley Towne Centre offers us the perfect environment and demographics for our concept, and our family-style restaurant will be an excellent complement to the entire roster of merchants and dining options,” stated Paul Rose. “The popularity of our restaurant at The Village of Waugh Chapel is exceeding our expectations, and we envision the town center design and ambiance at Hunt Valley as extremely similar. The availability of entertainment-oriented merchants at the project was a major attraction for us,” he added.
Greenberg Gibbons Commercial developed and manages The Village of Waugh Chapel, a mixed-use project in Crofton, MD that combines 425,000 square feet of retail space with 400 residential units, an office building, a movie theatre and a restaurant park.
The menu offering at Damon’s Grill includes an emphasis on American Grill cuisine including barbecued ribs, flame-grilled steaks, hamburger and chicken sandwiches and a variety of seafood dishes. The restaurant serves both lunch and dinner and is recognized for its “Famous Onion Loaf” and St. Louis-style barbecue ribs.
The restaurant’s primary differentiating features are its numerous state-of-the-art multi-screen entertainment systems that offer sports, network programming and interactive games. The interactive games allow visitors to compete with patrons at various restaurants around the country, via the NTN Trivia network. Table-top speakers are available at each table station to allow patrons to customize their audio preferences.
Damon’s Grill regularly schedules special entertainment programs at its restaurant, including Kid’s Night each Wednesday, featuring the showing of cartoons on its television screens and free ice cream sundaes.
“A number of restaurant concepts have tried to imitate our entertainment-style atmosphere, although we feel our continued success lies in the local flavor that we inject into every location,” Paul Rose explained. “Our outreach programs extend deep into the community in which we are located, and we talk to and elicit the opinions of our regular customers to look for new ways to improve our menu and our presentation,” he added.
“The goal of our merchant and restaurant mix at Hunt Valley Towne Centre is to include unique and innovative product offerings, to attract consumers from an extended radius,” stated David Goldbloom of Greenberg Gibbons Commercial. “In Damon’s Grill, we have an exciting restaurant concept with a stimulating environment that has been extremely selective with its sites. This will create a ‘destination-effect’ among consumers that will only contribute to its popularity,” he added.
Construction work is on schedule for the 140,000 square foot Wegmans Food Market at Hunt Valley Towne Centre, with the grocery store expected to open its first Maryland location in October. It will join existing tenants that include Sears, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Wal-Mart, Burlington Coat Factory, DSW, Regal Cinema, Outback Steakhouse and Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Panera Bread, Caribou Coffee, Chipolte and Quizno’s Subs, among others. Stores are already open, with the majority of tenants expected to be operational by third quarter 2005.
Greenberg Gibbons Commercial, founded in 1968, focuses on the acquisition, development, leasing and management of mixed-use properties and retail shopping centers in the Mid-Atlantic region. The firm builds value in these holdings through asset management, re-development and leasing activities. The company presently owns and manages eighteen properties totaling more than three million square feet of space throughout Maryland, Virginia and Louisiana.
For additional information, contact:
David Goldbloom, Greenberg Gibbons Commercial Corporation
410-559-2500
Paul Rose, Damon’s Grill 443-253-1462
Larry Lichtenauer, Lawrence Howard & Associates, Inc.
410-719-3081
