Prince Frederick, MD – The decade of The Turtle is officially over in Prince Frederick. During St. Patrick’s Day weekend The Greene Turtle in the Prince Frederick Center served up its final food order from the franchise menu. By 8 p.m. staff was stacking chairs and tables in preparation for a four-day hiatus before the restaurant-bar officially becomes Calvert Taphouse.

“Now we can do more local things,” stated bar/restaurant owner Steve Cooper, who chose not to renew his franchise agreement with The Greene Turtle. The local Turtle opened in 2008. The sports bar chain started in Maryland over 40 years ago and now has locations in several states, including New York, New Jersey and Virginia.
On his Facebook page Cooper told patrons the restaurant/bar will be reopening under its new name on Friday, March 23.

Sunday, March 18, members of The Greene Turtle Prince Frederick’s mug club—over 1,000 members registered—were invited to drop by and claim their mugs. As closing time approached a large number of mugs, each with a number on the bottom, remained hanging over the bar.

Last day patrons also got a sneak preview of the new Calvert Taphouse menu. There’s a sandwich called the “Italian Stallion.” It’s a burger with salami, capicola and provolone. “The Bus” is a blend of either turkey, roast beef or grilled chicken and slaw, fries, tomato and cheese on Italian bread. But then there’s also “The Packer,” a bratwurst patty. Other notable entrees include traditional fish and chips, and loaded crabby fries. The Slavic-American culinary favorite pierogies are also featured on the Calvert Taphouse menu.

The beer list includes domestic and imports, India pale ale (IPA) and such local brews as Mully’s Shucker Stout, described as a dry Irish Stout “packed with chocolate and roasted barley flavor.”

While The Greene Turtle brand is coming off the Prince Frederick Center site, the sports bar’s corporate officials told TheBayNet.com earlier this year that they are hoping to find a new location in Central Calvert County.

Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com