TAMPA, Fla. — If you've ever vacationed in Ocean City, Md., or painted the town in Baltimore's charming Fells Point neighborhood, you know the Greene Turtle.
A Maryland icon since 1976, the Turtle is a fun, cozy sports bar and restaurant with a very crabby, very Old-Bay-on-everything menu.
WATCH: Iconic Maryland bar the Greene Turtle opens first Florida location in South Tampa
What the Turtle has not been is, well, located anywhere in Florida.
Until now.
Charles Locke, a restaurateur who graduated from USF, just opened Florida's first Greene Turtle in South Tampa's fast-growing Westshore Marina District (5224 Bridge St, Tampa).
"I've been amazed these past couple of weeks how many people are from Baltimore and Maryland," says Locke. "They're coming in and telling me, Oh my god, I grew up going to the Turtle, in Ocean City, in Fells Point."
Locke plans to open more Greene Turtles across Tampa Bay and Florida.
This first one — open 7 days a week for lunch, dinner, and late night — is already a hit in just a couple of weeks.
Must-orders on the menu include lump crab cakes, the Turtle's trademark crab dip, dry-rubbed wings, and a whole lot more.
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