580 Ritchie Hwy, Severna Park, MD 21146 | parktavernsp.com

We had the pleasure of speaking with Park Tavern’s Director of Operations Chris Johnston about what makes the restaurant different, and what drives him to success.

What makes Park Tavern unique?

When we came to Severna Park, we wanted to reinvent the neighborhood tavern feel. We wanted our guests to have a place where they can go out and have dinner, but they can make it their own also. And we want them to feel like we’re part of that community versus just being another restaurant on the corner.

We wanted guests to be able to have an opportunity to get to know our staff, and for our staff to get to know them. Our goal is to create a relationship that’s lasting. Kind of like the local tavern where everybody knows everybody and you can feel comfortable being yourself.

How do you involve yourself within the community?

I think the most upcoming thing that we’re doing is participating in the 4th of July Parade. This will be our 5th year participating. It’s something that we always look forward to every year.

We get a tremendous amount of volunteers from family and friends. Even some of our regular guests like to get involved and walk the parade with us. It’s a way for us to get to show a little support back to the community, and have a little bit of fun at the same time.

We like to do giveaways and stuff like that along the parade route, and then we invite everybody back to the restaurant after the parade is finished. Everybody can come and bring the kids and the whole family and enjoy some drinks and good food.

We’ve also done local events with the Chamber, the local fire department, different contributions to several silent auctions, and we’ve done several events with St John’s. One of the owners, his children go to St John’s and we’ve always been big supporters of them. Regardless of the affiliation, we would support them. We actually did a crab feast with them last year around this time.

Again, there’s more to us than being the restaurant on the corner, and we want guests to feel like they’re a part of the restaurant. One of the ways we do that is if there’s an organization or a community member that’s in need, we encourage them to bring in friends and family to come into the restaurant and we do a giveback night. We donate a portion of the proceeds from any guests that are there for the organization to give back to their cause.

What’s next for Park Tavern?

We’re always trying to think of what’s the next best thing. Whether it’s new beverages or a seasonal cocktail list or adding new menu items. We’ve also changed out some of our brunch philosophies.

As you know, we’ve got Restaurant Week coming up and that’s something we’ve never been a part of at this particular location. We’re very much looking forward to that. It’s about trying to find ways that we can stay relevant in the eyes of the community, and make sure that we are a presence that they can depend on.

We want them to feel confident in us, and to know that we’re here for them. We appreciate everything that they do for us. We’ll be here as the neighborhood tavern where they can meet with friends or come and make new friends.

About Restaurant Week

Star Spangled Restaurant Week is an event hosted by the Greater Severna Park and Arnold Chamber of Commerce. The 2019 event will be held from July 7th through 13th with over 15 restaurants participating. Be sure to follow us on Facebook for the latest news and updates!