Route One Apparel, the purveyor of Maryland-themed products from T-shirts to crab mallets to beer koozies, is branching out into online alcohol sales.
The retailer announced last week that it has launched Thirsty Turtle, a new website selling locally made craft beers and liquors — with local wines and other products coming soon.
The site's name may ring a bell for University of Maryland alumni of a certain age. It's named after the Thirsty Turtle, a now-shuttered Route One bar that was popular among college students from 2007-2010.
The online store is in the process of building up its inventory, said Route One Apparel owner Ali von Paris. So far, the site carries products from seven local brands: Rockville's Twin Valley Distillers; Shmidt Spirits from Beltsville; McClintock Distilling and Tenth Ward Distilling Co., both based in Frederick; B.C. Brewery of Hunt Valley, Maryland; Blackwater Distilling Inc. of Stevenson, Maryland; and Tobacco Barn Distillery of Hollywood, Maryland.
Von Paris said she's in talks with 60 more brands that could potentially be added to the Thirsty Turtle's site in the weeks to come. Collaborations on alcohol-themed merchandise could be next.
"As Route One Apparel has grown over the past 10 years, we have expanded our focus to support and promote as many other local businesses as possible, and we are thrilled to now partner with Maryland’s rich community of breweries and distilleries," she said in a statement. "We see our Thirsty Turtle site as a win for everyone involved, as customers can now have their favorite local spirits delivered directly to their homes, and our partners have a new outlet to sell and distribute their products online."
Route One Apparel's new line of business was made possible in part by some of the state's newly relaxed alcohol laws, passed during the pandemic. In an email, von Paris said that she was inspired to launch the concept as "laws in Maryland became much more welcoming around fulfilling alcohol orders online."
The Thirsty Turtle site launched quietly over the spring with just one vendor and has been adding to its offerings since then, she said. To ensure customers are of legal drinking age, the website verifies purchaser addresses and only ships via methods that require age verification and signature upon delivery.
Von Paris, a University of Maryland alum who started the Route One Apparel business out of her college dorm room after losing her job at the Thirsty Turtle when it was shut down, said getting into alcohol sales represents "a full-circle moment for us."
"The reason Route One Apparel came to be is because I lost my job at a local bar (unfortunately it was forced to close)," she wrote. "As we grew, we started with sales events, many of which took place at local bars and restaurants. Route One does a lot of custom jobs with distilleries, wineries, and breweries so we thought this would be a great natural alignment to bring it all back to the very beginning!"
Route One Apparel is the fastest-growing company in Greater Baltimore with a 219.73% average growth rate over the past three years and $7.07 million in revenue last year, according to Baltimore Business Journal research.
