Gino Marchetti greets patrons at Gino's

TOWSON, Md. - Former Baltimore Colts football player and co-founder of Gino's Burgers and Chicken, Gino Marchetti, joined patrons today at the restaurant to sign autographs and talk to fans.

Gino Marchetti together with Alan Ameche founded the popular restaurant chain Gino's in the 1950s, which was subsequently acquired by the Marriott Corporation in 192.

It was recently re-branded under a new name, Gino's Burgers and Chicken and opened its inaugural Baltimore-area location at the corner of Joppa Road and LaSalle Road.

The new Gino's menu reflects meals that Baltimoreans enjoyed in the late 1950s, including hamburgers, The Gino Giant, a variety of chicken sandwiches, salads, french fries and ice cream shakes.

The first Gino's restaurant opened in 1959 at 4009 North Point Road in Dundalk. The last Gino's, an independently-owned restaurant located in Pasadena, closed in 1991.