BALTIMORE (February 8, 2012) – Potbelly Sandwich Shop, a national chain of fast-casual restaurants, has selected The Shops at Maryland Executive Park as the site for its inaugural location in the Baltimore County marketplace. The Chicago-based company signed a lease for 2,100 square feet of in-line space within Maryland Executive Park, a project developed and owned by St. John Properties, Inc. Gino’s Burgers and Chicken, the modern-day version of the iconic Gino’s restaurant chain, opened its first Baltimore metropolitan restaurant within this park last summer.

Potbelly Sandwich Shop, which operates restaurants in eleven states across the country, plans to be operational by this summer within Maryland Executive Park, positioned near the intersection of Joppa Road and LaSalle Road.

Originally founded in a small antique store on Lincoln Avenue in Chicago, Potbelly is known for its made-to-order hot toasted sandwiches such as turkey breast with swiss cheese; meatball with marinara sauce and provolone cheese; and A Wreck, which combines salami, roast beef, turkey, ham and swiss cheese. Potbelly also has fresh salads, soups and chili, as well as dessert items including real ice cream shakes and fresh-baked Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies.

“With its appeal of freshly-prepared, made-to-order sandwiches, Potbelly Sandwich Shop represents the perfect lunch and dinner-time complement to Gino’s Burgers and Chicken,” stated Bill Holzman, Assistant Vice President of Retail Leasing for St. John Properties. “The Shops at Maryland Executive Park now contains two destination, fast-casual restaurant chains that generate significant traffic from their base of loyal customers. Since its opening last summer, Gino’s has been embraced by the regional marketplace with sales dramatically exceeding many expectations. The addition of Potbelly will further position this business community as the location of choice for high-quality and value-oriented meals among businesspeople and area residents.”

Also contained on a pad site within Maryland Executive Park, which contains seven buildings offering nearly 200,000 square feet of office and retail space, is an Applebee’s restaurant.

St. John Properties believes that the company’s re-development activities performed at Maryland Executive Park, which transformed a portion of the park’s office space into 14,000 square feet of ground floor retail, played a significant role in the project’s selection by these two restaurants. “Our goal was to supplement the existing office product with a retail component that would provide additional restaurant, soft goods and business amenities to area employees as well as the surrounding community,” explained Jerry Wit, Senior Vice President – Marketing for St. John Properties. “The first question a potential tenant asks is ‘where can I eat lunch?’ With this latest restaurant addition, we have three great answers to that inquiry.”

More than 140,000 consumers and 60,000 households reside within a three-mile radius of The Shops at Maryland Executive Park with an average household income exceeding $71,000.

St. John Properties, Inc., founded in 1971 as MIE Properties, owns and has developed more than 15 million square feet of R&D/flex, office, retail and warehouse space in Maryland, Colorado, Louisiana, Virginia and Wisconsin. For more information about the company, visit sjp.mu9b0uf9-liquidwebsites.com.

For more information, contact:
Al Cunniff, Director of Marketing, St. John Properties, Inc.
410-369-1277