Ledo Restaurant, the iconic Maryland pizza shop that launched a regional chain with signature flaky, rectangular pies enjoyed by University of Maryland students, hit musicians, and professional sports stars, is days away from closing after 65 years of business in Adelphi and College Park.
Alexa Marcos, the daughter of owner Tommy Marcos Jr. and granddaughter of co-founder Tommy Marcos, confirmed to Eater the restaurant at 4509 Knox Road will shut down Sunday, November 22. Alexa Marcos, 25, works part-time as a manager in the shop. She deferred commenting on the reason for the closure to her father, who could not be reached by phone Thursday evening. She said he has been in poor health, and business conditions during the novel coronavirus have not helped.
The owners listed the business for sale in January 2020 and had a deal in place to sell it in March, but that fell through, Alexa Marcos says. Tommy Marcos Jr. told student newspaper the Diamondback that he was looking to retire, and selling the business would be “bittersweet.” Recently, calls have been coming in at a steady clip, she says.
“We’ve been pretty busy today,” Marcos said early Thursday evening. “The more people that find out [we’re closing], the busier we are.”
Tommy Marcos Sr. and Robert L. Beall founded the original Ledo Restaurant in Adelphi in 1955. Their sons launched a franchise program in 1989, but a split between Marcos Jr. and James Beall left the Marcos clan with the original shop and the Bealls with a more corporate operation that has grown to 30 locations spanning as far south as Tampa, Florida.
“It’s definitely shaped who I am as a person, my work ethic, just watching my dad and my grandfather,” Alexa Marcos says.
In its heyday, Ledo’s saw visits from musicians such as Frank Sinatra, Bruce Springsteen, and the Rolling Stones, and Hall of Fame sports figures including NFL rivals Johnny Unitas and Joe Namath and New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra.
The Oprah Winfrey Show once highlighted Ledo on an episode about America’s best pizza. The shop in Adelphi moved into a location in College Park in 2009, leaving behind a location full of stained-glass lamps and photographs of famous visitors.
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November 20, 2020 at 09:26PM
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The Original Ledo Restaurant, a Maryland Pizza Institution for 65 Years, Is Closing for Good - Eater DC
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