Entrepreneurship : Development News

Like a lot of entrepreneurs, Crystal and Denis Ryan got the idea for their latest business came from a personal need.

"I had my first child 10 months ago, and as with many booming families in the neighborhood, my spare room just became my son's room," Crystal recalls. "But when family came to town for a visit, there was not a cozy place in the neighborhood to put them up."

So the Ryans have opened fully furnished guesthouse rentals at 1109 and 1111 S. Hanover Street. The Federal Hill residents dubbed the properties A Home In The Hill in honor of their neighborhood. The one-bedroom and two-bedroom rowhomes are fully furnished and equipped with cable and high-speed Internet access, a washer and dryer, private parking and more.

"They are perfect for traveling professionals and visiting relatives of locals looking for a cheaper alternative to the average hotel stay and for a 'home away from home' atmosphere," Crystal says.

The Ryans make a point if supporting the local economy. Before guests arrive, Crystal sets up each guesthouse with a basket of "wonderfully and naturally fragrant" soaps, shampoo, conditioner and lotion from Sobotanical and freshly ground coffee from Spoons Coffee Cafe and Coffee Roastery. Both shops are located less than a block away

"So far, a majority of my reservations have come from the Federal Hill Kids mothers network that I belong to," Crystal says. "It really is a great place for visiting families to be able stay, especially for those families with a newborn baby and one less spare room.  The guesthouses allow for them to have their own cozy space in the neighborhood rather than to have to stay in a chain hotel downtown. They have their own kitchen, laundry, living room and are just steps away from family."

Crystal has also had couples rent the guesthouses on a monthly basis while waiting for a new home to be built and doctors from various other states that are doing a monthly rotation at one of the area hospitals.

"I chose Federal Hill because I love the neighborhood," says Crystal, who has lived in Baltimore for the past decade with her Australian husband. "The local residents and shopowners have become our family, and they have all been extremely supportive of our venture and have been very helpful in promoting the business.  This neighborhood has everything you could possibly want, local markets, more than 30 restaurants and bars, quaint shops. The list goes on and on."

Writer: Lucy Ament
Source: Crystal Ryan, A Home In The Hill

After waiting nearly a decade for a new source to feed their love of comic books and graphic novels, Baltimoreans are getting not one but two new options for their fix. We told you last week about the Sept. 2 opening of Alliance Comics in Federal Hill; now we'll fill you in on Graphic Novelty, which is slated to open a week later at 1712 Thames St. in Fells Point.

Co-owners Benjamin Greene and Heiko Spieker call their new labor of love Baltimore's "one-stop geek shop." The shop will offer "anything geeky," Spieker notes, including toys, card games and board games." While shoppers will find mostly new issue comic books and graphic novels at the store, Greene and Spieker will be selling portions of their personal collections and will also allow patrons to sell their own collections on a consignment basis.

Spieker said he and Greene, who owns the Waterfront Hotel and Miss Irene's in Fells Point, had tossed the idea of a comic store around for years. They decided to pounce when the 1712 location was vacated this summer by Fells Point Frame and Design (which moved to a larger location down the street).

"We both have a firm grasp on the realms of geekdom, but there are little subdivisions within our expertise," Spieker notes. "He knows more about Star Trek, while I know more about Star Wars, Angel, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. But overall I'd say we're about equal."

Spieker says he and Greene designed the shop "to look like comic book in its own way," with yellow and red walls, custom-built black shelving units with plexiglass to allow maximum visibility, and a wrap-around glass counter will display special items. The duo have also set up a gaming room in the back of the store with wireless Internet for patrons to play games.

Interest in the story has already been high, Spieker says.

"We've been keeping the door open as we've been setting up here, and people pop in every day to say their glad we're here." In fact, impromptu visits from parents with their children have persuaded Spieker and Greene to carry kids' book, which wasn't in their original plan.

Spieker chalks up the opening of two comic book stores in Baltimore just one week apart to a case of "great minds thinking alike." He's anticipating the month of October, which will bring with it both the Fells Point Festival and Baltimore Comic-Con � and, hopefully, a lot of foot traffic.

Writer: Lucy Ament
Source: Heiko Spieker, Graphic Novelty