Ledo Restaurant is officially coming to downtown College Park — the City Council approved a lease agreement last night that will put the iconic restaurant on the ground floor of the city's new parking garage on Knox Road.
The city announced during the summer that the original Ledo Restaurant intends to move from its 54-year location on University Boulevard in Adelphi.
Last night's unanimous council action means that the two parties can sign their lease — before the end of the week, they hope — and let the restaurant proceed with its planned renovations to the garage's empty storefront.
City officials have been very enthusiastic about getting Ledo as a tenant, saying the addition of hundreds of new parking spaces plus a well-regarded new restaurant will combine to offer a huge boost to the city's downtown.
"This will finally offer a destination to College Park, as someplace to get something to eat in a very nice atmosphere," said District 2 Councilman Jack Perry, who added he had been a fan of Ledo during his four decades living in the area.
The move will also position the restaurant closer to students, owner Tommy Marcos Jr. said.
"We've always been associated with university functions, and this just puts us a little more in the mix," Marcos said.
Also, unlike dozens of Ledo Pizza franchises, College Park's Ledo Restaurant will have a liquor license.
The restaurant was able to score a favorable lease deal from the city as it prepares to sign a 15-year lease that charges under $25 per square foot in an area where rents can reach twice that amount.
The City Council last year discussed the idea of subsidizing rents to attract what they considered to be the best possible tenants, seeking to balance its need to pay down the more than $8 million it spent to build its parking garage with its interest in getting a desirable tenant.
The city's economic development coordinator had estimated last year that a fair rate for downtown retail space would be $30 per square foot and that the city might need to charge less than two-thirds of that to attract a local independent business.
City Manager Joe Nagro said yesterday that Ledo's lease rate should not be considered a subsidy, and Ledo will still be paying nearly $150,000 a year to use the space.
Besides, he added, getting a stable tenant unlikely to fail is a good business move, and the terms of the lease will let the city negotiate a higher rate in four years.
Ledo will be closed for at least a week when the restaurant's equipment is transferred to the College Park storefront sometime next year, Marcos said. He estimated the College Park store will open within seven or eight months.
"I've run into a lot of people since this was announced and I haven't heard anything but ‘wow,'" Mayor Steve Brayman told Marcos at last night's council meeting. "I think you're going to bring a new ambiance downtown."
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It's a big mistake to move from its Adelphi location.
All of the yappy yuppies will go to the new location and ruin it for the rest of us.
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