Pappas Restaurant & Sports Bar Opening Off Churchville Road In Bel Air
BEL AIR, MD – Pappas Crabcakes plans to open a restaurant and sports bar in Bel Air.
The business will be where Applebee’s was on Route 22 in the Greenbrier shopping center.
Signage in the window of the vacant Applebee’s — which closed in 2021 — says Pappas Restaurant & Sports Bar is "coming soon."
Pappas signed the lease April 1, Chief Crabcake Officer Justin Windle told Bel Air Patch. The business started discussions with Greenbrier personnel in February.
The goal is to open the restaurant by December, but Windle said the timing is subject to change.
"After COVID, getting supplies, getting equipment, getting things on schedule is harder than ever," Windle said. "So a lot depends on the timeline of when we can get the equipment to arrive."
The former Applebee's will be gutted inside, and Pappas will add an outdoor climatized space for a patio or garden-type atmosphere, Windle said.
While Applebee's could seat 140 people inside, Pappas will have 180 seats including the patio, according to Windle.
"We also wanted to do a carryout," Windle said. "Carryout has proven to be an important component of a restaurant's success."
The Bel Air restaurant’s carryout will be modeled after the Cockeysville Pappas, he said.
"You need to have a carryout that’s easily accessible, that’s really well-thought-out, that’s welcoming, that’s not going [to force you to go] through the busy bar to get your food,” Windle said, adding customers want to be “in and out.”
For the last three or four years, Windle said he and his brother-in-law —CEO Steve Pappas — have been looking for opportunities to open in Harford County.
"You get to the point where you just want to do it to make people happy," Windle said, noting customers had been driving 45 minutes in some cases to get to Pappas. "It’s so exciting to hear people say, ‘We want you here.’"
When the opportunity presented itself at the Greenbrier shopping center, he said, it fell into place.
"I've always loved Bel Air so much, and the fact that my general manager who will be the managing partner lives there — it all made so much sense," Windle said.
General Manager Tim Miller lives in Bel Air.
“We’re moving forward with such experience now, we can really think carefully about how we want it to look and feel,” Windle said. “Especially with the beautiful people up there in Bel Air, [the new restaurant] could really become something special” and perhaps even a “template moving forward for any future places.”
Pappas already operates restaurants in Cockeysville, Parkville and Glen Burnie and is moving some of its shipping operations to Perry Hall.
"I’m really excited to be in your backyard,” Windle said to those in Bel Air. “We are over the moon to be in your neighborhood. We can’t wait. We are hoping to open before the holidays.”
While many Marylanders are Pappas fans, the business gained wider fame when Oprah included Pappas crabcakes on the list of her favorite things during the 2015 holiday season.
In a 2018 survey, Maryland Patch readers deemed Pappas and Box Hill Pizzeria tied for having the best crabcakes in the state.
See Also:
Oprah Puts Two Baltimore Items on Her 'Favorite Things' List for 2015
While Filming Henrietta Lacks Movie in Baltimore, Oprah Orders From Pappas
Pappas Restaurant & Sports Bar Opening Off Churchville Road In Bel Air originally appeared on the Bel Air Patch
