Obrycki's closing? (Columbia: houses, quality of life, restaurant)

[Empidonax]

I just read that Obrycki's downtown is closing for good in the winter of 2011, though the two airport locations will remain open. Anyone know why? The notice I read says that the owners want to "pursue other ventures," but I wonder if there's more to it than that.

[barante]

The Fells Point location -- oh my, how success changes perceptions; until recently no one called its location Fells Point -- will close in another year. That's not the news. The news is that the operating family that already operates a branch at the BWI Airport will open Obrycki's at David Cordish' gambling palace at Arundel Mills.
So the "quality of life" issue cited in the article in pure bull. Unless we talk about the Obrycki descendants' quality of life. A smart business decision. Because people knowing today what Obrycki's is decreasing in number just like the crabs served.

[HandsUpThumbsDown]

Unfortunate. A young lady I know had thought she found her home on the waitstaff of Obrycki's for at least until she finished getting her degree.

Not to scout out Obrycki's locations, I visited the Arundel Mills Mall yesterday for the second time in my life. It was utterly overwhelming. It feels like a gold rush town might have right before the mine went bust.

[barante]

I hate the place. Soulless. The sports store is cool, though.
The nicest mall in the region, IMO, is Columbia.

[HandsUpThumbsDown]

Originally Posted by barante

I hate the place. Soulless. The sports store is cool, though.
The nicest mall in the region, IMO, is Columbia.

I actually started at the Columbia mall but didn't like the winter coats I saw there, so I continued on to that Bass Pro store. That is a big place, all right.

Arundel Mills is the hot new thing, but the old Obrycki's location was established with tons of tourist traffic. A-M barely been there long enough to hang a hat on, so why give up the flagship? Unless of course Obrycki's is poising itself to be the first nation-wide chain of Maryland-style crabhouses , in which case it really doesn't matter.

(I can just see the midwesterners' bland tongues being punished by Old Bay, or perhaps Obrycki's "signature" seafood blend that will be sold for $5 on the way out the door in a little shop a la Cracker Barrel. )

The original Red Robin restaurant was a shanty of a tavern on once working-class Eastlake Avenue in Seattle. Over the years, its offspring became just like TGI Fridays, Ruby Tuesday, etc, the original became harder and harder to manipulate into a clone, and the company eventually shut it down.