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Pr. George's Takes a Bite of the Good Life
Khalilah Crudup, left, dances with her mother Janice Crudup during Wind Down Wednesdays at the Captial Center Blvd in Largo, Maryland.
(Marvin Joseph/twp - The Washington Post)
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The crowd was mellow, the vibe was easy, and it was almost like a scene from Adams Morgan -- if Adams Morgan were almost all black.
On a Saturday night, Denise Washington, 44, a store manager from Waldorf, and Brian Stokely, 44, a real estate agent from Fort Washington, waited for a table outside Stonefish Grill, part of the Restaurant Row, which also includes Red Star Tavern, Kobe Japanese Steak House and Gladys Knight & Ron Winans' Chicken and Waffles.
"Now it's not really necessary to drive to the city," Stokely said.
"Prince George's is turning into a community," Washington added. "It reminds me of Reston or Potomac -- communities that have things -- movie theaters, nice eateries."
"I don't know why it took so long, but I'm glad it finally came to fruition," she said.
After Applebee's opened in Largo, it was followed, with great fanfare, by BET Soundstage in 2001 (which later became Jasper's). Then restaurant growth stalled. "There was an institutional belief that restaurants couldn't survive in Prince George's County," said Jeffrey Ludwig, senior vice president of NAI Michael Co., a major commercial developer in the county.
Ludwig blames the crime rate, which was high in the county but low in the black middle-class community of the Inglewood Restaurant Park area, where Jasper's was located. Also, some investors believed that if restaurants weren't there, there must be a good reason, he said.
"After a year of beating my head against the wall, I had to either admit defeat or get creative," Ludwig said. Six years ago, he created the Vote4Restaurants Web site to try to market the county to potential investors. Thousands of county residents posted essays about how hungry they were for more dining options. Now, in addition to Jasper's, the restaurant park has an Outback Steakhouse and Ruby Tuesday, and earlier this month the NAI Michael Co. confirmed a land deal for a Copeland's restaurant.
Arthur A. Turner, chairman of the county Chamber of Commerce's Economic Development Committee, said many residents blame racism for the lack of interest. But most county officials have resisted saying so publicly.
"The truth of the matter is the big 'r' word," he said. "Racism does enter into the equation."
Prince George's is the second-largest county in the state and, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, has more households making upwards of $75,000 a year than any other Maryland jurisdiction except Montgomery County. But the county's median household income of $53,659 ranks 11th in Maryland, just below the state average, according to the Census.
"There have been community leaders, business leaders, elected officials and others who have been laboring in the vineyards to get them to recognize there is a whole boatload of money that can be made in Prince George's County and, as a matter of fact, the only color that should matter is green," Turner said.
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