--- title: The Lost Haunts of Route 1 date: 2025-01-15T09:50:00-05:00 author: University of Maryland canonical_url: "https://terp.umd.edu/the-lost-haunts-of-route-1" section: Articles --- # The Lost Haunts of Route 1 *January 15, 2025* — by [Sala Levin ’10](/authors/sala-levin-10) - *Photos courtesy of University Archives* > No matter the decade, Terps found refuges and ‘Rendezvous’ points on College Park’s Main Street *collage of photos: cars driving on Route 1 at night; students standing in Rendezvous; students dancing; students standing outside on sidewalk; man wearing hat playing pinball with beer; man in aviator sunglasses* **ON SEPT. 4, 1984, JEANNE YETMAN BERGER ’85** stepped onto a national stage to demonstrate a skill she’d learned while at the University of Maryland. It was on “Late Night with David Letterman,” and the segment was “Stupid Human Tricks.” Berger, in spiky feathered hair and a mauve jumpsuit, rolled a quarter down her nose onto a table where, on her fourth attempt, it bounced into a plastic cup of water. “How did you learn how to do this?” Letterman asked. “At the Vous,” said Berger. “It’s a bar at Maryland.” UMD’s vibe today is more smarty than party, and the students who long ago put on their “Vous shoes” for a night at the sticky-floored dive on Route 1 in College Park might need to squint to recognize the street today. The state last fall [completed a $56.9 million makeover of Route 1 in College Park](https://today.umd.edu/college-parks-main-street-finishes-safety-upgrade) to improve traffic and safety by adding bike lanes, new street lighting, grassy medians, new crosswalks and other features. The streetscape gleams brighter and the apartment buildings have gotten taller, but the city’s main commercial artery is still the scene of many Terps’ most cherished off-the-clock college memories. Maybe it’s puckering your lips at a fresh lemonade from Albrecht’s Pharmacy, scouring the discount bins at Viscount Records or tucking into a late-night burger at Plato’s Diner. The first hangout on Route 1 in College Park was likely the Rossborough Inn, now UMD’s oldest building. More than two centuries ago, it began attracting travelers on the dirt path that linked Baltimore and Washington, D.C. In the 1920s, the road was paved and officially designated State Route No. 1. Now the College Park segment, known as Route 1, Baltimore Avenue or simply “the strip,” is part of a nearly 2,400-mile route from Maine to Florida, the longest north-south road in the United States. To mark its rebirth, *Terp* is taking a figurative ride down Route 1, asking alums about their favorite haunts—the spots where they breakfasted on bagels, danced on tables, celebrated snow days and met their future spouses. *collage: two people stand outside on sidewalk at night; cars drive through Baltimore Avenue intersection* ## ALBRECHT’S PHARMACY ### (1930s-70s) 7423 BALTIMORE AVE. *collage of old-fashioned cars at Albrecht's Pharmacy and a cup of coffee* A staple on the corner of College Avenue since the 1930s, the soda fountain-drugstore was a destination for cold lemonade or a bargain breakfast. (A 1969 ad in The Diamondback touted a meal of two eggs, toast, home fries and coffee for 55 cents.) Don McEvoy ’76, whose grandfather, Edward McEvoy, co-owned Albrecht’s, worked there starting as a kid and met his now-wife when she applied for a job. He remembers that the anti-Vietnam War protesters who stormed Route 1 in May 1970 left Albrecht’s untouched out of love for the establishment. “It was great for business, because it was hot out,” he says. “I’d be running up to 7-Eleven to get bags of ice for the lemonade.” ## BAGEL PLACE ### (1984-2021) 7423 BALTIMORE AVE. *two students sit at booth at The Bagel Place* ## HUNGRY HERMAN ### (1975-91) 8145 BALTIMORE AVE. *collage: student raising glass, Hungry Herman exterior, speech bubble that reads, "HUNGRY HERMAN was the nighttime go-to place for steak and cheese subs. I think I spent my entire summer job’s earnings there in the first semester.” –Larry Grimes ’75* ## LITTLE TAVERN ### (CIRCA 1940-90s) 7413 BALTIMORE AVE. *Little Tavern exterior* > I was a freshman in 1966 and lived in the trailers behind Fraternity Row. My new roommate, assorted new friends and I would load a random grocery cart and push it to the laundry. The best part of waiting for the wash and dry was walking to the Little Tavern and getting the bag of burgers for a buck. If we were especially in the money that month, we could get the burgers changed to cheeseburgers. — —Mark Zimmerman ’70 ## THE PARAGON/ITALIAN GARDENS/THE CELLAR ### (LATE 1970s-80s) 7416 BALTIMORE AVE. *Paragon & Cellar Restaurant exterior* ## PLATO’S DINER ### (1994-2016) 7150 BALTIMORE AVE. *sign that reads, "Plato's Diner: Great Homestyle Cooking Around the Clock" and a plate of pancakes, eggs and bacon* ## RATSIE’S ### (1984-2015) 7400 BALTIMORE AVE. *exterior of Ratsie's advertising PIZZA, SUBS, WINGS. Cartoon pizza illustration in corner* ## THE RENDEZVOUS INN ### (1956-96) 7325 BALTIMORE AVE. *collage: students at the Rendezvous Inn; blue pair of "Vous Shoes"; students sitting on bar stools with hands in the air, with YAY sign* For Terps spanning 40 years, one bar epitomized the image of an “Animal House” college experience: the Rendezvous Inn, better known as the Vous. “The floors were sticky with beer, and it smelled like it hadn’t been cleaned in some time,” says Sonia Amir-Bowie ’96, “but that didn’t stop the Greek system from making that one of its permanent hangouts where dancing on the tables to Pearl Jam was allowed, as pitchers of beer would make their rounds.” Terps started wearing junky shoes that they didn’t mind ruining there. “‘This place has always been known for the ‘’VOUS GOO,’” one anonymous patron told The Diamondback in 1986. “‘Kids would get a running start and see how far they could slide on the floor. I used to umpire it and see if they were safe or out.’” On snow days, the bar would open early—as in, 8 a.m.—and welcome students ready to fully enjoy their day off. “Snowball fights across the bar, over the heads of the bartenders, and beer slides into the fireplace were legendary,” says Randy Goldman ’93. Founder Sam Srour’s son attributed its eventual demise in part to UMD’s rising admissions standards. “The students became more serious,” Mark Srour told The Washington Post. “The party was secondary.” ## SANTA FE CAFÉ ### (1986-2010) 4410 KNOX ROAD *nachos and people buzzing around in restaurant* For Casey Zacher ’03 and her friends, the highlight of a Saturday night out was the midnight buffet at Santa Fe (now the home of Terrapin’s Turf). It wasn’t anything fancy—nachos, mozzarella sticks, wings—but to a bunch of partying college kids, it became something they still talk about fondly. “We were, like, this is the best thing ever,” she says. ## THIRSTY TURTLE ### (2007-10) 7416 BALTIMORE AVE. > My husband and I met at Thirsty Turtle in the fall of 2008, got married in 2013, and now have two little ones who we take back to UMD frequently for sporting events. We always joke that we’re probably the only people that met one night at Thirsty Turtle and actually ended up getting married. — —Christine Machado ’10 ## TOWN HALL ### (1949-2024) 8135 BALTIMORE AVE. Next to a liquor store of the same name, Town Hall drew more locals and fewer undergraduates than other bars. It was treasured for its lack of pretension and cheap drinks. ## THE VARSITY GRILL & BACK ROOM ### (1932-84) 8424 BALTIMORE AVE. *collage: performer sings into microphone while crowd dances; man wearing hat plays pinball with beer* Emanuel Francis Kubak Zalesak III, or “Zal,” opened the Varsity Grill on Sept. 21, 1932, seven years after he graduated from UMD. Zal made a name for his establishment by securing College Park’s first liquor license after Prohibition. Doreen Bass ’82, M.A. ’85 met her future husband of 38 years at the Varsity Grill the night before graduating. Bass and her friends preferred the Vous, “but there was a line that night,” she says. “When the bar closed at 2 a.m., we went out and got breakfast at the College Park Diner.” > If there is a typical college bar in the whole of the Western world, the Grill it is, complete with an unimpressive array of record jackets on one wall and university pennants on another. — —Argus, 1977 *cassette tapes that read, "Honorable Mentions: Terps frequented these spots to buy their textbooks, satisfy their craving for chicken tenders and browse for records: The Bastille, Cluck U, Maryland Book Exchange, Milkboy Arthouse, Planet X, Purple Pizza, The Rail, Viscount Records* ## LIVING, NOT LOST Some of today’s Route 1 hangouts and hideaways are hardy survivors, while a few newcomers are en route to becoming institutions. - **MARATHON DELI** moved in 2019 to a storefront around the corner from its original location, but’s still slicing gyros and pouring its secret sauce. - **COLLEGE PARK DINER** has been a reliable spot for eggs, waffles and other familiar fare since 1997. - **CORNERSTONE GRILL AND LOFT** replaced the Vous in 1997 and became a good-time magnet for generations of Terps. - **LEDO PIZZA** has changed owners, but the iconic restaurant’s pizzas are still square and flaky-crusted. - **LOONEY’S**, part of a small chain of Maryland pubs, opened in College Park in 2011 and is a favorite for sports fans and trivia lovers. - **RJ BENTLEY’S** has a block-long line of Terps waiting to get into the nearly 50-year-old bar and restaurant most Friday afternoons, rain or shine. ### NEW SCHOLARSHIPS HONOR BENTLEY’S FOUNDER *people stand outside R.J. Bentley's* *John Brown ’73 headshot* John Brown ’73 opened RJ Bentley’s (7323 Baltimore Ave.) with two partners in 1978, and never left. He was a second dad to generations of students, collector of license plates and Terp jerseys, and a welcoming host to newcomers and regulars alike. Brown died on Nov. 9, and to honor his impact, daughter Katie Brown and friend Harvey Sanders ’72 established two scholarship funds at UMD, one for first-generation college students and one for student-athletes. See more at [go.umd.edu/brownscholarships](https://giving.umd.edu/campaigns/bespoke/brown?kwodcpreselect=KDC-CP17777). **End of the Road (Work)** — The five-year Baltimore Avenue upgrade is central to Greater College Park, the $2 billion private-public partnership to revitalize the community and make it a top 10 college town. **Issue:** [Winter 2025](https://terp.umd.edu/editions/winter-2025) **Types:** [Features](https://terp.umd.edu/category/features)