Bowie Restaurant Project: (7) Glory Days Grill

Glory Days is now closed.

For an explanation of the Bowie Restaurant Project, look here.

For a collection of all the Bowie Restaurant Project entries, look here.

Glory Days Grill, 15505 Annapolis Rd
Most Recent Foursquare Check-in: 3/26/2011
Total Foursquare Check-ins: 2
Pre-Foursquare Visits: No
Rating: 1 1/2 out of 5 stars

Glory Days is located in the rather sad "Marketplace" shopping center, across the street from the Free State Mall. While the Free State Mall has had some success in remaking itself, The Marketplace hasn't turned the corner yet. A 2008 article talks about a potential demolition of the shopping center, but that never happened. With all the fits and starts towards redeveloping the place over the past decade, it's no wonder that Glory Days is one of only two restaurants in the center.

From their web site, I learn that Glory Days is a regional chain with twenty-two locations across Virginia (mostly), Maryland and West Virginia. I guess it's intended to be sports-themed, but honestly it feels like an off-brand Applebee's. I can't give specific criticisms of the food, because a few months later, I can't quite remember any of the dishes.

Looking at their menu, they offer new "shrimp zingers", along with "smothered chicken", burgers and so on. Yeah, it's that sort of place.

We went there a couple of times after house-hunting because it's somewhat conveniently located and they have high chairs. We stopped going there because the service was inconsistent, and none of the meals were inspiring.

Ordinarily, I would favor a local chain over a national one, but there's not enough local feel to favor this place over TGI Friday's, Applebee's or Chili's -- where at least you get the consistency of a national brand.

In the end, I'm going to go with 1 1/2 stars, mostly because it's so unambitious and unexciting that you may find yourself rooting for a demolition -- at least that would give the area a chance to start over.