Business View - May 2015 87
FRANCHISE
An Inalienable Right
to Dream
The Greene Turtle continues heritage, cultivates brand strength
Authenticity and success is preeminently justified by
one of the fundamental principles of our society: the
inalienable right to dream. Dream and live the Ameri-
can dream. For Bob Barry, CEO of The Greene Turtle,
and Tom Finn, VP of Franchising, that is now all about
“continuing the heritage and legacy of a great story”
by “cultivating the brand strength throughout the com-
munity,” franchising strategy and “expansion in the dy-
namic markets.”
The story begins in the idyllic Bahamas, Barry said,
where two gentlemen came across a little bar in an
area called Green Turtle Cay with a few seats and tin
mugs for fruit drinks. The atmosphere was unique, so
they decided to bring something similar back home
to Ocean City, Md. It started out serving canned beer
and shelled peanuts and, a few years later, two young
employees who’d recently graduated from Salisbury
State University, Steve Pappas and Tommy Dickinson,
bought the business and diversified its signature by
bringing in a sports component.
“They actually both played sports in Salisbury, and this
is how sports came in,” Barry said. “They used to hang
some of their equipment up – helmets, soccer jerseys,
various things – and then installed a TV so they could
watch sporting events. This is how it started.”
Another college friend, Bill Packo, joined the busi-
ness and opened a location and food was added to
the menu in the form of cold sandwiches, soups and
some hot items. The restaurant began to outgrow its
