Ratsie’s Pizza on Route 1

Amid an inundation of new pizza places appearing in College Park, the city is getting ready to lose one of its oldest — Ratsie’s Pizza.

The Route 1 staple will close this September, owner Mike Falamoun said.

On Oct. 16, Blaze Pizza brought the total number of pizza restaurants in College Park up to 13, but Falamoun said the closure of Ratsie’s, an eatery that has been around for about 30 years, is not a direct result of increased competition.

“I’m so tired, that’s why,” Falamoun said. “I need a break.”

Falamoun, 54, said he is getting ready to retire after serving 15 years as the restaurant’s owner.

Nando’s Peri-Peri, a Portuguese chain restaurant, will take over the building that houses Ratsie’s, Yogiberry and David’s Shoe Repair, Falamoun said. The restaurant is like “an upgrade from Chipotle,” he said.

Nathan Peters, 25, of Hyattsville, said he’ll be sad to see Ratsie’s go. It long has been his first choice for pizza in College Park, he said.

“I’ve been going here for years,” said Peters, a transporter for Holy Cross Hospital. “The food is good; it’s cooked well.”

Some students, such as sophomore Joey Kader, are not shocked by Ratsie’s closing. However, it will be strange to see the staple restaurant leave the university community, Kader said.

“I’m not surprised, but it’s weird because that’s something everyone thinks about when they think about College Park,” said Kader, a finance and supply chain management major.

Ross Davis, a sophomore fire protection engineering major, said he’s glad to see something new come to the College Park restaurant scene.

“I’m happy that Nando’s is replacing it. It’s a good restaurant,” Davis said. “It’ll definitely be a different and more relaxed atmosphere.”

Jennifer Pridemore, a junior marketing and information systems major, said she’s heard bad reviews from classmates about Ratsie’s and never wanted to try it herself. Instead, she said she’s happy to see a new option taking its place.

“In a communications class my sophomore year, someone gave a presentation on surviving UMD, and one thing was avoiding Ratsie’s,” she said. “I’ve heard you should only go when you’re drunk.”

Sophomore communication and psychology major Jason Siegel recognized the loss of Ratsie’s as more than just a pizza restaurant, but rather the loss of a classic eatery in College Park.

“I’m a little bit sad about it closing cause it’s a staple of College Park,” Siegel said. “A classic College Park night is going there late at night and meeting up with friends after you’ve split apart for the night.”