When it comes to dining out in Prince George’s County, Maryland, there’s no shortage of fast food joints offering fried chicken, flimsy burgers and anything greasy. And, in some parts of the county, there’s no sign of any kind of dining establishment where you can sit down with your whole family around a table.
While forcing better restaurants to open up isn’t an option, a new bill proposed in the county hopes to try to make it worth their while to do so. At the same time, another bill is looking to put more restrictions on the grease traps found all over the place, but especially inside the Beltway.
Both bills were introduced this week, with the Prince George’s County Council returning back to session after a long summer break.
Prince George’s County Council Vice Chair Krystal Oriadha is backing a measure that would provide incentives for more sit-down restaurants to open up in neighborhoods otherwise marked by value meals and carry out bags.
“We understand there’s an oversaturation of what’s not healthy — fast food restaurants on every corner — especially when we look inside of the Beltway,” Oriadha said. “And we don’t see a lot of sit-down restaurant options and things that have healthier menus. And so, we’re really trying to think strategically about, how do we shift that?”
The oversaturation of unhealthy eateries rings especially true in Oriadha’s District 7.
Her proposal emphasizes more tax incentives and less red tape.
“About the permitting process, fast tracking it,” she explained. “If you bring your restaurant into an area, like inside of the Beltway, creating plans that (Department of Permitting, Inspections, and Enforcement) have that if you use this plan and this model, for example, a design that’s already been approved, it fast tracks your process.”
“And then we’re also looking at the state level to give us the ability to have tax incentives to strip malls that rent to restaurants specifically inside of the Beltway,” she added.
While there’s a demand for certain chain restaurants to open up inside the Beltway — the Cheesecake Factory is often mentioned, including by Oriadha — she’s also hopeful smaller, locally-owned restaurants would see this as a push to open up an establishment.
On the flip side of that attempt is a new bill from Council member Tom Dernoga, whose proposal would put new restrictions on where a new fast food restaurant with a drive-thru is allowed to open. It would stop them entirely in residential areas, and make it harder to open in other areas, too.
“We can’t just talk about what we don’t want, if we don’t create pathways for what we do want,” Oriadha said.
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