Thursdays are a big deal at the Greene Turtle in Towson — or they used to be.

On “Thirsty Thursdays,” the York Road sports bar, which opened in 2022, drew lines around the block for the longstanding unofficial college night. The events were documented on TikTok, where videos showed sidewalks crowded with young people.

But a few weeks after an Aug. 14 visit from Baltimore County Police, who cited the business for serving an underage cadet and disturbing the neighborhood, the Turtle’s operators agreed to put a stop to its “Thirsty Thursday” promotions and DJ nights with $5 drink specials.

In turn, they watched their revenue drop.

And drop.

Now, they’re preparing to close. Greene Turtle CEO Geo Concepcion said at a Monday hearing before the Baltimore County Board of Liquor License Commissioners that he plans to shut down the location, which cost $4 million to open, by the end of the year. The news makes the York Road establishment “the most expensive and shortest-lived project in the Greene Turtle’s 50-year history,” Concepcion said.

The Greene Turtle’s vice president of franchise development, Thomas Finn, admitted that problems surrounding the York Road establishment continued after the Aug. 14 visit by Baltimore County Police.

A police report from that night describes an estimated 800 customers lined up outside the bar and into the street. The “unruly” crowd ignored police warnings to get out of the road. Meanwhile, a fight broke out inside the bar before spilling outside into the street. Police requested backup for aviation, K-9, traffic, and Parkville and Cockeysville precinct units. The crowds eventually dispersed.

Following one Thirsty Thursday, a dirt biker hit a police officer. On Aug. 28, eight people were arrested in the area.

On Sept. 4, Finn said, County Police increased their presence in the area and began issuing citations for open containers and other offenses. And the Greene Turtle saw its revenue cut in half. By the end of September, sales were just a quarter of their usual number.

Owners estimated that lost revenue from their Thursday events would cost the business around $600,000 per year. “We can’t continue,” Concepcion said. “We’ll continue to do a good job everywhere else we operate.”

Founded in Ocean City in 1976, the Greene Turtle is considered a Maryland institution, with more than 30 branches in the state and beyond. Yet Concepcion noted that the upcoming closure of the Towson location is likely to be met with cheers in some circles. During the hearing, Aaron Brave, owner of the nearby bar The Reservoir, accused the Greene Turtle’s operators of “ruining Towson” by drawing visitors from out of town with its promotions.

While Thirsty Thursdays have long brought students from nearby Towson University out to local bars, that’s changed. “These aren’t people that are part of the society of Towson,” Brave said. “Parents ... are afraid of their children leaving the house.”

David F. Mister, attorney for the Greene Turtle, labeled Towson’s partiers out-of-town “miscreants.” But he said the Greene Turtle shouldn’t be held responsible for behavior that happens outside its front doors. “My clients can’t be responsible for public streets,” he said.

Mister requested that the board not issue a fine or suspend the establishment’s liquor license, given the financial hardships the business is currently facing and its decision to close this year, breaking its long-term lease with its landlord. “We’re effectively suspending ourselves,” he said.

It was the Greene Turtle’s second time this year going before Baltimore County’s liquor board for violations, a fact noted by chairwoman Susan Green as she addressed the business’s operators.

“We have a balancing act,” Green said, in that the liquor board must consider both the needs of individual businesses as well as the larger community.

In a stern reprimand, Green accused them of taking on a property that was too large for them to manage properly. “You elevated your business needs to the expense and cost to the community,” she said. “You created an absolute disaster in Towson.”

For its Aug. 14 infractions, the business will need to pay a $1,000 fine. The board also is suspending its license for Thursdays through October.