This fall semester the incoming freshman class won’t be the only new faces on Route 1. Two new bars are opening up their doors in the hopes of attracting students and faculty alike.
The Barking Dog, which opened on Aug. 22 at 7416 Baltimore Ave, has taken over the space formerly occupied by the infamous Thirsty Turtle. The Thirsty Turtle closed last fall after it was found to be serving underage drinkers. The owner of the Barking Dog, John McManus, isn’t worried however that his bar could relive a similar fate. “Underage drinking won’t be an issue,” McManus said. “If you’re underage you aren’t getting in.”
Besides a strict door policy, the Barking Dog offers a laid back environment and an extensive menu including a selection of ten different types of hot dogs and eighteen different burgers. McManus describes his bar as “a nice respectable place to eat and drink,” with another location in Bethesda, MD. It seems that here, along with the bar, the restaurant is an equal part of the business.
This is what McManus feels sets his business apart from other bars in the area. Senior communications major Jacqueline Valois isn’t sure however that The Barking Dog is going to be a hit among students. “I think it’s good that a new bar opened but I hope it gets more crowded,” Valois said. “When I went on a Friday it was pretty empty.”
In addition to The Barking Dog, College Park can look forward to Looney’s Pub, which is scheduled to open later this month. It’s located in the new student-housing complex, the Varsity, at 8150 Baltimore Ave. Looney’s hopes to bring its popular sports bar atmosphere to College Park by creating a fun, relaxed atmosphere for students and faculty.
“It would be awesome if I came back in ten years and Looney’s was the cool place to go,” said the Assistant Manager Holly Dix. Dix says she pictures the Looney’s in College Park to be much like the other successful locations in Fulton, Bel Air and Baltimore, MD. “ I see it being a fun place, like a happy hour kind of place,” Dix said.
But happy hour isn’t the only attraction! She says the bar also plans to host trivia nights and karaoke. Dix, who started working at Looney’s Pub as a server to help pay her way through college at Towson, says that their main goal is “to be a successful business and a fun atmosphere.”
Like The Barking Dog, Looney’s Pub plans to incorporate a strict door policy. According to Dix, there will be an ID scanner at the door and any staff member who is caught serving underage customers will likely be fired on the spot. Looney’s staff even teaches police officers in Bel Air MD, how to spot a fake ID, “They can tell a fake ID just by looking at it, even a really good one” says Dix.
Even with strict door policies, new local hangouts are welcome. Senior communications major Courtney Myers says, “ I think the new bars will do really well given that this is a college town.”
After the demise of the popular bar the Thirsty Turtle, many students worried that the nightlife scene on Route 1 was dying a slow death. Thankfully, the opening of two new bars certainly seems to prove that Route 1 is alive and well