BALTIMORE (February 6, 2012) – Zesto Pizza & Grill, a Philadelphia-based restaurant chain, has selected the Crossroads Village Center as the site of its inaugural location in the Baltimore metropolitan region. The company signed a lease with St. John Properties, Inc. for 4,900 square feet of space within the retail component of Baltimore Crossroads @95, a 1,000-acre mixed-use business community on MD Route 43 near Interstate 95 in White Marsh, MD. The restaurant anticipates opening in the second quarter of this year.

Zesto Pizza & Grill will serve lunch and dinner seven days a week, offering an assortment of traditional Italian-style entrees such as lasagna, baked ziti, strombolis, calzones, veal and eggplant parmesan, as well as fettuccine and spaghetti dishes. The menu will also feature signature gourmet pizzas, sandwich wraps, club sandwiches, chicken-based dishes, paninis and an assortment of seafood items such as Maryland jumbo crab cakes. In addition, the restaurant will offer off-site catering services as well as take-out and delivery options for its complete menu. Zesto Pizza & Grill will seat approximately 120 patrons.

Crossroads Village Center is a 35,000 square foot Main Street-style retail project designed to support the commercial office and residential components of Baltimore Crossroads @95, as well as the surrounding White Marsh and Middle River communities. The project features roadside visibility from Crossroads Boulevard, with more than 16,000 vehicles passing the site on a daily basis. The Village Center features in-line space options as well as pad site locations that can support fast-casual food, financial institution and convenience-oriented retailers.

Existing retail tenants within Crossroads Village Center include Subway restaurant, Creative Nails & Spa and The Fitness Rave, an 8,000 square foot group fitness studio. Located less than one mile away is The Arbors at Baltimore Crossroads, a new luxury apartment community featuring 365 residential units that delivered its first phase of residences last fall. More than 40,000 consumers reside within a three-mile radius of Baltimore Crossroads @95.

“Zesto Pizza & Grill has proven to be a tremendous restaurant operator with a strong and loyal customer following in the Philadelphia marketplace,” stated Bill Holzman, Assistant Vice President of Retail Leasing for St. John Properties, Inc. “We have attracted a restaurant concept that will appeal to large demographic segments including businesspeople during lunchtime, families looking for a high-quality dinner and an assortment of different audiences during the weekend. We expect the local marketplace to quickly embrace the casual atmosphere and value proposition offered by the restaurant, transforming Zesto Pizza & Grill into a destination-retailer that will increase consumer activity within the business community.”

Upon completion, Baltimore Crossroads @95 will support more than five million square feet of commercial office, flex/research and development, warehouse and industrial space, as well as two hotels and 450,000 square feet of retail space. The community is positioned off the new MD Route 43 extension that connects Eastern Boulevard with Interstate 95 and is approximately ten miles from downtown Baltimore City.

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