Black Lion Cafe To Serve Ethiopian Coffee In College Park

COLLEGE PARK, MD — A cafe plans to open its doors in the Union near the University of Maryland yet this year.

Black Lion Cafe will claim a spot at 4350 Knox Road, occupying a 2,973-square-foot space near businesses such as Pho Tom, Duck Donuts, Insomnia Cookies, Chopt and Shake Shack.

The café will be on the ground floor of Union on Knox and will have seating for more than 100 people, including a quiet-study area in the mezzanine.

Black Lion describes itself as a family-owned Ethiopian coffee shop with roots stretching back five generations to coffee growers in Harar, Ethiopia. The company says its family grew up around a coffee plantation there and learned coffee growing, harvesting, roasting and brewing firsthand.

In addition to coffee, Black Lion also will offer tea and freshly made food including locally sourced ingredients for sandwiches, paninis and pastries.

The addition of Black Lion comes as the University of Maryland revitalizes the Union on Knox.

“It was really important for us to do two things with Union on Knox: have the retail be a mix of national, regional and local, with some sit-down restaurant options,” said Ken Ulman, UMD’s chief strategy officer for economic development and president of the Terrapin Development Co. “The other big goal of ours was, when possible, to offer locations in partnership with the city to local retailers who were being displaced by redevelopment.”