Abbey Burger Bistro Sets Havre de Grace Restaurant Opening Date

HAVRE DE GRACE, MD — Abbey Burger Bistro is planning to open in July in Havre de Grace. It will mark the first location for the business in Harford County.

“I feel like a lot of people are waiting for us," co-owner Jason Zink said, speaking before the Harford County Liquor Control Board Wednesday in Bel Air. "We wish we were already open."

Capacity will be about 120 to 150.

"We have different types of meat, from ostrich to kangaroo to bison to boar,” Zink said, noting Abbey Burger Bistro has won awards for having the best burgers in the state from numerous agencies.

MSN, USA Today, Baltimore Sun and Baltimore Magazine are among those that have rated the establishment as having the best burgers and milkshakes in recent years.

“Everything’s just fresh," Zink said.

In Harford County, a restaurant must serve 10 meals a week to operate with a liquor license.

Staffing has been a challenge for Abbey Burger Bistro as well as "every one of my clients," according to attorney Stephan Fogleman, who was representing the business owners as they applied for a license to sell beer and wine at their new eatery.

Opening on July 21 will give the owners time to "hire, train and be ready to go," Fogleman said.

The board gave permission for the restaurant to operate starting July 14 with a liquor license — a week earlier than its opening date — so staff can work with alcohol during training.

Zink will own 33 percent of the restaurant, while 34 percent will be owned by Marigot Miller and 33 percent will be owned by her husband, Russell Miller. Zink said he relocated to Harford County.

Three Abbey Burger Bistro restaurants are in operation, all in Baltimore City. The first Abbey Burger Bistro was in Federal Hill, with others coming online in the years that followed in Fells Point and Mt. Washington.

The owners started a restaurant in Ocean City before the pandemic, but they found it was "more trouble than it was worth" due to the seasonality, Fogleman said. It closed in February.

The Havre de Grace location has been in the works for a couple of years.

In March 2019, Havre de Grace Patch reported Abbey Burger Bistro was planning to take over the space where Rodgers House Tavern used to be on North Washington Street.

"We signed the lease almost two years ago," Marigot Miller said Wednesday. "I was amazed with the crowds of people that turn out to First Fridays. It's really something special.”

The liquor license was approved contingent on two outstanding items, according to Judith Powell, special projects coordinator for the Harford County Liquor Control Board.

She said the lease amendment was needed to be signed and dated by the landlord, and additional proof of total capital investment was required to show $130,000 had been spent on the restaurant. The licensees had to amend their personal financial statements to reflect each applicant put $60,000 toward the capital investment, which Fogleman said they planned to do before leaving the liquor board's headquarters on Main Street Wednesday.

Abbey Burger Bistro will be at 226 N. Washington St. in Havre de Grace.