Downtown : Development News

Another fast food chain is headed to Baltimore � but don't expect fries with your sandwich.

Freshii, a franchise that sells made-to-order salads, wraps, soups and yogurt, will open a store at the Inner Harbor the first quarter of next year. Another Maryland store will open Dec. 1 at National Harbor in Prince George's County.

In total, franchise company Goel Management wants to open 20 Freshii stores in Maryland in the next three to four years, CEO Sumeet Goel says. So far, Goel has signed a letter of intent to open stores in Annapolis, Columbia and College Park. He plans to open two stores in Columbia and one in Ellicott City.

Started five years ago in Toronto, Freshii has been likened to Starbucks for its ambitious growth plans and Whole Foods for its eco-friendly practices. The company expects to have 52 locations open by the end of the year and 300 by 2015. Freshii relies on biodegradable materials. Customers can even bring in their own bowls.

The restaurant touts its healthful menu and offers three types of meals: high protein, low fat, and "balanced," with essential fats and slow-burning carbs. Meals cost, on average, $8 to $9.

Stores range from 200-square-foot kiosks to 2,000 square feet. The downtown Baltimore store will be about 1,500 square feet.
Each store costs between $50,000 and $200,000 to open.

Goel chose the Inner Harbor because the store will attract nearby office workers and tourists.

A Maryland native who lives in Pasadena, Goel also owns all of the Baja Fresh franchises in Baltimore. He says he believes the Baltimore market has attracted a more health conscious crowd.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Sumeet Goel, Freshii

A low calorie dessert franchise plans to sweeten the Baltimore region. 

Tasti D-Lite franchise owner Benjamin Pascal plans to open at least four stores in Maryland by spring. The first of these will open by the end of October at the Park Plaza shopping center in Severna Park. The center's anchor tenants include Dress Barn, Bill Bateman's Bistro and Jo-Ann Fabric & Craft.

The 2,100-square-foot store at 580 E. Ritchie Highway will double as the local headquarters for the headquarters for the Franklin, Tenn., chain. Pascal will use the space to train franchisees and house marketing and administrative staff.

Pascal is eyeing Towson, Baltimore City and Annapolis for the remaining stores. He has yet to secure the locations but says he is looking at standalone locations and strip malls, rather than enclosed mall spaces. Most stores average between 800 and 1,000 square feet. Each store requires about a $250,000 investment in franchise fees and real estate.

Pascal has awarded Tasti D-Lite franchises in Bel Air, Chevy Chase and Washington, D.C.

Eventually, Pascal would like to open at least 25 stores in Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Delaware over the next decade, with about 15 of these in Maryland.

Started in New York in 1987, Tasti D-Lite today has 50 stores in the U.S., South Korea and Mexico.

Tasti D-Lite sells frozen desserts composed entirely of skim milk. Though doesn't have enough milk fat to be called ice cream, but the consistency is similar to soft serve ice cream, Pascal says. Each four-ounce serving of the stuff contains  between 70 and 100 calories and about 5 grams of sugar.

The stores' 115 flavors include banana fudge, carrot cake, green tea, pomegranate and pumpkin cheesecake. The shops also sell smoothies and shakes.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Benjamin Pascal, Tasti D-Lite

Downtown Baltimore's newest restaurant, Kona Grill, is spending $3 million to open for business at 1 E. Pratt St.

The Baltimore location, to open Oct. 4, is only the second downtown venue for Kona Grill, which operates 24 restaurants in 15 states.

The other downtown restaurant is located in Stamford, Conn. Typically, the chain selects suburban malls rather than city spots, Kona CEO Marc Buehler says.

But the company likes the Inner Harbor's mix of office workers, tourists and conventioneers who will all hopefully take a bite out of the restaurant, Buehler says.

"We really think it's going to be a great site for us," Buehler says.

The nearly 7,000-square-foot restaurant will seat 189 inside an another 74 on its Pratt Street patio. The store will employ 120.

Last year, the Scottsdale, Ariz., company opened four restaurants in Richmond, Va.; Woodbridge, N.J.; Eden Prairie, Minn.; and Tampa, Fla. And it plans to open two or three restaurants next year, Buehler says. It continues to eye the East Coast � from Washington, D.C., to Philadelphia. Buehler couldn't be more specific, as a publicly traded company.

The restaurant serves sushi, grilled meats and seafood, pizzas and salads. Buehler describes the concept as "polished casual," ranking with the Cheesecake Factory or P.F. Chang's.

It gets business from 21-to 35-year-olds for its happy hour and late night bar business, while its lunch and dinner crowds range from 24 to 54 years of age.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Marc Buehler, Kona Grill

What does the state of Louisiana have in common with Italy? Both are sort of shaped like boots. That's why Phil Hartman decided to name his Italian-Cajun restaurant Two Boots.

Started 23 years ago in New York, Two Boots will open a store at the University of Baltimore campus in Bolton Hill by early December. It recently opened its 10th restaurant at downtown's Power Plant Live. Two Boots serves up its pizza and po' boys in Bridgeport, Conn., Los Angeles and seven New York City stores.

Dishes include jambalaya, blackened catfish po'boy and baked ziti. Pizzas pay homage to pop culture, thanks to Hartman's other career as a filmmaker and screenwriter. One pizza with marinated chicken and plum tomatoes is named Mr. Pink, after a character played by Steve Buscemi in "Reservoir Dogs."

Hartman expanded his business to Baltimore because of what he describes as a "lifelong crush" on the city where he lived and wrote for one year in 1982.

The 2,300-square-foot restaurant at University of Baltimore will be located in the Fitzgerald building, developed by the Bozzuto Group. The $77 million Fitzgerald houses a Barnes & Noble, which opened in June, and 275 apartments.

Hartman says he likes the Bolton Hill area because the location should attract students from University of Baltimore and the Maryland Institute College of Art. It's also in the middle of an arts community, with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra nearby. And traditionally, Too Boots has attracted a lot of artists by featuring local artwork on the walls.

The restaurant owner also likes the downtown Baltimore location because it attracts the business community.

Hartman declined to say how much he is spending to open the new restaurants.

Source: Phil Hartman, Two Boots
Writer: Julekha Dash

Charles Street's restaurant offerings will soon include fish tacos and one-and-a-half-pound burritos. Ken Diaz will open Gordito's Caf� at 336 N. Charles Street, replacing Milton's Grill, by October. A former restaurant consultant who has worked for Edo Sushi, Mari Luna Mexican Grill and Lebanese Taverna, Diaz is spending $250,000 of his own money to start the 85-seat eatery.

Gordito's offerings will include traditional Mexican dishes, including a gordita, a corn cake stuffed with meat, and a torta, a sandwich with thinly sliced steak or chicken. Flour and corn tortillas will be homemade.

Smaller items will cost between $6 and $10 while the king-size burrito that can feed two will cost $14.  Lunch and dinner entrees will average around $15.

Authentic Mexican drinks will be on the menu as well at the 2,500-square-foot restaurant. Those include Mexican Bloody Marys, a Mexican black and tan (beer and brand) and, of course, margaritas.

Using the tagline cocina, cultura, historia for his new concept, Diaz wants to give diners a taste of Mexican culture and history and not just its flavorful spices. Gordito's will feature Mexican bingo and Mariachi bands every week and display photos of Aztec warriors and cinema stars.

Though some restaurants are struggling now in a down economy, Diaz isn't worried. With no other Mexican restaurants in the downtown area, he has little competition and hopes that if you offer good food and service at a reasonable price, the people will come.

In fact, if things go well, Diaz hopes to open five to seven additional locations in Greater Baltimore within a few years.
 
Diaz chose the Downtown area because he admired the neighborhood's eclectic mix of people and historic architecture. His own building includes an entire wall with exposed brick.

"I fell in love with the space," he says.

To read more about downtown, go here.


Source: Ken Diaz, Gordito's
Writer: Julekha Dash

An artist-run gallery has moved into new space on the city's west side. Current Space opened its doors to the public at 421 N. Howard Street this month after nearly six years at 30 S. Calvert Street.

The new spot is conveniently located near the Light Rail, and restaurants in Mount Vernon, Current Co-director Monique Crabb says. "Downtown closed down at night. It's nice to be in an area where there's an audience around us."

It's also close to the Enoch Pratt Library and the artist warehouse the H&H building, the site of many art shows and music events.

"We're really excited about the location," Crabb says.

Current artists pay just utilities and property taxes �  about $6,000 a year � and is getting the space free of rent from the city. Downtown Partnership of Baltimore Inc. and the Baltimore Development Corporation helped the artists find the new space. The move highlights how the city is encouraging artists to move into areas with vacant buildings with the hopes that it will jumpstart development.

Eventually, the artists will have to move if a developer takes an interest in the area. "It's a win-win situation except we will be asked to leave," Crabb says.

Right now, the artists expect to stay in the space for at least a year and a half.

The gallery displays the work of photographers, printmakers and videographers whose work is not very commercial. Most of the work is not sellable, because the work includes videos and major installations.

"We don't target the audience looking to buy art work," Crabb says. "We wish we sold more stuff and make more money. It's more about including the artists' community but not so much in a commercial way."

Source: Monique Crabb, Current Space
Writer: Julekha Dash

An ice cream company in Montgomery County is licking its way into the Greater Baltimore market, with plans to open three stores in July.

Gifford's Ice Cream & Candy Co. also has it sights set on a fourth store at the Maryland House in Harford County's Aberdeen next year.
The Silver Spring company hopes to eventually become the dominant retail ice cream shop in Greater Baltimore.

The new stores in downtown Baltimore will open at the Charles Plaza food court at 222 N. Charles St. and apartment complex Horizon House at 1101 N. Calvert St. The third will open at Towson Town Center, 825 Dulaney Valley Rd. Each store will employ between eight and 10 workers.

"Baltimore no longer has a home grown ice cream brand," says Luke Cooper, managing director of Deal Metrics LLC, the venture capital firm that operates Gifford's.  "We want to become that brand."

Cooper describes the Towson Town Center store as its flagship location. The company plans to carry its full line of flavors at the 600-square-foot shop.  Cooper expects that the store will get steady foot traffic year-round and thus less prone to the seasonal dips that are typical for ice cream shops.
"Hopefully we won't have the dry months in the winter," Cooper says.

Cooper says the Charles Plaza food court was appealing because it attracts a wide cross-section of Baltimoreans � from doctors to lawyers to city workers and janitors.
"There's a great confluence of eclectic backgrounds and people eating there," Cooper says.

Gifford's invests between $300 to $500 per square foot on each store, Cooper says. So for a 600 square foot store, the company will spend between $180,000 to $300,000 for a 600-square-foot store. The Baltimore City stores will be smaller, at around 230 to 400 square feet.

While some other Baltimore ice cream companies have shrunk their retail presence in recent years, Gifford's executives think they can stay ahead by keeping their shops small � and expenses low � and getting the best prices from their suppliers.

In February, Gifford's opened an outlet at the Inn at Colonnade hotel in Charles Village. The company has four Washington, D.C.,-area locations.

Starting next year, the company could open stores in additional Maryland travel plazas, operated by concessionaire HMS Host Corp.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Luke Cooper, Gifford's

Dick's Last Resort, � known for its irreverent waitresses, semi-tropical setting and wacky d�cor � will open its eighth restaurant in Baltimore's Inner Harbor June 28.

About one-third of the 9,000-square-foot restaurant will be used for outdoor seating on a dock to be built on the Inner Harbor pier, says Ralph McCracken, president and chief operating officer of Nashville, Tenn.,-based DLR Restaurants LLC.

Open from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m., the Inner Harbor restaurant will serve lunch and dinner, with live, classic rock music every night.

Servers have to "audition" for the position, to make sure they are wisecracking and sassy enough to work for Dick's, McCracken says. They also have to know how to make a paper hat to give diners while they eat.

While at most restaurant,s the average table holds three to four persons, Dick's attracts parties between six and eight. Groups are the restaurant's prime market, including bachelorette parties, families on vacation, convention attendees and sports fans. The Inner Harbor location was ideal for the restaurant chain since it attracts tourists and is convenient to the convention center and baseball stadium, McCracken says.

Located next to Potbelly Sandwich Shop and Hard Rock Caf� at the Cordish Co.'s Power Plant development, the restaurant will employ 130.

The Baltimore restaurant will be outfitted with motorcycles hanging from the ceiling and a mural painted by a local artist of the namesake mascot "Dick" in a boat fishing with a keg of beer.

Dick's Last Resort's other restaurants are located in Chicago, Boston, Las Vegas, San Antonio, San Diego, Dallas and Myrtle Beach, S.C.
A 9th restaurant will open this year in Gatlinburg, Tenn.

McCracken declined to say how much the company is investing in the new restaurant.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Ralph McCracken

Leaders at the Maryland Women's Heritage Center are scouting locations in Baltimore and Annapolis for a permanent home for its exhibits that highlight the Free State's leading ladies. The site pays homage to accomplished Maryland women in a Hall of Fame display. Featured women include biotech pioneer Claire Fraser-Liggett, Harriet Tubman, environmentalist and "Silent Spring" author Rachel Carson and jazz great Billie Holiday.

Center leaders expect to open a 25,000-square-foot center within two years, and need to raise $5 million to open a permanent building, Executive Director Jill Moss Greenberg says.  

The center opens its temporary home June 19 at 39 W. Lexington St. Located in the former Baltimore Gas & Electric Building, the initial space was donated by David Hillman, CEO of Southern Management Corporation. Greenberg says the board is looking at half a dozen sites in downtown Baltimore and is zeroing in on Baltimore and Annapolis with the hope that the locales can attract conference attendees and students on school trips.

The permanent location will host more interactive exhibits, a library, women's history archive, arts and crafts display, meeting space and gift shop with books and gifts made by Maryland women.

Center officials will launch a capital campaign this year."I know it's terrible timing because of the economy but we're at the point where we need to do so," she says.

The center has an operating budget of about $100,000 and gets its funding from the state, corporations, foundations and individuals. Entrance is free.


The Maryland Women's Heritage Center is an offshoot of the Maryland Women's History Project, collaboration between the Maryland Commission for Women and the Maryland State Department of Education.


Source: Jill Moss Greenberg, Maryland Women's Heritage Center
Writer: Julekha Dash

A Chicago retail brokerage firm is expanding, opening a new office in downown Baltimore. The Sierra U.S. office will serve clients in the Mid-Atlantic, from Northern Virginia to Deleware, including Greater Baltimore and Washington, D.C., from its 2,000-square-foot office at 616 Water Street.

"There are pockets of Baltimore that are underserved," says Mark Mueller, a retail broker formerly with KLNB Retail pegged to head up Sierra's Baltimore office. Those pockets include Harbor East, South Baltimore, Howard County and Northern Baltimore County. The company's clients include Brazilian steakhouse Fogo de Chao, Advance Auto Parts, Bar Louie and CVS.

"There are so many tenants looking to come to Washington and Baltimore," he continues. "Sierra has a lot of tenants that want to expand."

While the office currently employs a staff of three, there are plans to hire as many as eight brokers. "We're looking for experienced brokers, wherever they are," Mueller says.

Things are picking up in the retail world as business owners start to take advantage of good rent deals. Retail rents, on average, are 25 percent cheaper than they were in 2007, according to Mueller.
 
Tenants that can serve a particular niche are looking to fill existing spaces. Restaurants that are expanding are mid-range, rather than high-end, are the ones looking to grow nowadays, Mueller says. "You won't see new shopping centers built from the ground up as financing is still difficult.". 

In addition to the Chicago office, Sierra also has an office in Boca Raton, Fla. The company may open another office in Northern Virginia down the road, Mueller says.


Source: Mark Mueller, Sierra U.S.
Writer: Julekha Dash

Baltimore might be 958 miles from Miami, but that hasn't stopped a small business owner from bringing some South Beach flair to downtown. South Beach Sandwicherie opened last month in the 222 E. Saratoga Street apartment complex .

Co-owner Adam Gardner says he took the concept from a friend who owns a sandwich shop in Miami, where Gardner lived for six years.

In the sun-soaked, palm-tree lined city, sandwich shops offer a salad on a sandwich, a tasty trend Gardner has duplicated at his Baltimore store. South Beach Sandwicherie offers a host of salad toppings for every sandwich: lettuce, cucumbers, green peppers, olives, onions and cornichons, just to name a few.

Sandwiches are topped with a French vinaigrette dressing whose ingredients Gardner holds close to the vest. "I learned [the recipe] from a French guy but I added my own twist to it," he says.  "It's all about the secret sauce and the bread."

South Beach Sandwicherie offers a choice of croissant, baguette or wheat bread. Sandwiches cost between $6.50 and $8.95, for a prosciutto and mozzarella � the store's specialty. The shop also sells smoothies.

Gardner likes the location because he can count on steady daytime traffic from workers at Mercy Medical Center, the courthouses, government and office buildings. South Beach Sandwicherie has also carved a niche as a late-night munchie spot for the club crowd and late-night workers. Open until 2 a.m. Thursdays, and 4 a.m. Friday and Saturday, the store gets business from folks going to Sonar and the bars at Power Plant Live, as well as hospital workers on the late shift.

Gardner and his two partners Keith Showstack and Lydell Owens invested $50,000  to open the 800 square foot store. "It's taken off a lot better than I expected," Gardner says.

The shop features paintings on the wall depicting Miami's Art Deco buildings that fill South Beach. Baltimore graffiti artist Billy Mode painted the artworks.

We've got more about what's happening in Downtown.

Source: Adam Gardner, South Beach Sandwicherie
Writer: Julekha Dash

With the popularity of the iPad and Kindle, can hard copy books thrive? Andrew Stonebarger thinks so. After running the Book Escape in Federal Hill, Stonebarger this month opened a second location for the new and used bookstore at 10 N. Calvert Street.

The 2,000-square-foot store is the former site of urban apparel store Downtown Locker Room, which moved to the Gallery mall.

Stonebarger selected the downtown site because he saw that the area did not have a bookstore. With the courthouses and office buildings nearby, the business owner expects the store to attract good daytime foot traffic � something that is lacking in Federal Hill.

"It's not like Barnes and Noble, but it makes for a nice little bookstore," Stonebarger says.
"It's a little risky to open another bookstore in this day and age of Kindles and e-readers but I'm pretty sure there will always be a place for books," he says.

Younger folks who can't live without their cell phones and tech gadgets are among his primary customers, Stonebarger says.
"It's almost a novelty but they love it," he says.  "You can't sign an e-book."

Classic books, like "Catch 22" and "Brave New World" are among the best sellers at the Book Escape, Stonebarger says. The store also sells rare and antique books.

The business owner declined to say how much he spent to open the downtown store. He says his Federal Hill store is breaking even.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Andrew Stonebarger, the Book Escape

A group of leading architects and university officials have formed a nonprofit design collaborative and are looking at 10 N. Charles Street as a possible home. The space would hold classes, lectures, design exhibits and host events.

D:Center 15-member board includes staff at the Maryland Institute College of Art, Morgan State University and the University of Maryland College Park.

"What's missing [in Baltimore]  is a center or place to figure out what is going on in the area of design," says Klaus Philipsen, a Baltimore architect and D:Center's president.

The members are talking to 10 N. Charles Street's landlord, Peter Angelos' Artemis Properties Inc., about taking 40,000 square feet of space in the building once the Johns Hopkins Carey School of Business leaves in the fall for the Legg Mason Tower in Harbor East. Runing the physical location would cost between $300,000 to $1.5 million to operate, Philipsen says.

D:Center, whose board includes architecture firms Cho Benn Holback + Associates and Brown Craig Turner, already has an ongoing program called "design conversations" in which speakers present design-related ideas. The concept is not unlike Ignite Baltimore, Philipsen says.

Having a physical home could enable the group to house a center on Baltimore design and architecture that would attract tourists, Philipsen says. The participating universities could also host inter-collegiate architecture courses.

The downtown spot is centrally located and could attract students and tourists, Philipsen says.

"It seems like a wonderful place," Philipsen says. "We don't want to be in a neighborhood that is not central."


Source: Klaus Philipsen, D: Center
Writer: Julekha Dash

Mahan Rykiel Associates (MRA), a Baltimore based landscape architectural, urban design and planning firm, is the 2009 recipient of a Merit Award from the Maryland and Potomac Chapters of the American Society of Landscape Architects for the renovation of Baltimore's Charles Center Plaza. 

"It is always rewarding as a landscape architect to take a space which has been neglected for years and transform it into a vibrant, space that revitalizes the surrounding businesses and neighborhood and this project has really done just that," says Scott Rykiel, FASLA, LEED AP, the principal in charge of the project.

Charles Center Plaza was the keystone of Baltimore's Inner Harbor revitalization effort of the 1960's. Recent decades however, brought significant deterioration. Baltimore City and the Downtown Partnership launched a national design competition to identify new solutions that could respond to the current needs of this important urban space.

As part of the winning team, Mahan Rykiel Associates' goal was to create a successful destination space that would recapture the vitality and energy of the original Charles Center vision, but would also introduce new elements to accommodate the changing downtown experience. The designers incorporated well-known characteristics of successful public spaces, characteristics that did not exist in the original plaza, which include: a walkable environment with engaging retail and programmed spaces; flexibility of spaces to support a variety of events, day and night; high quality detailing, including accessible green space; create places to which people are naturally drawn, individually or in groups; with convenient access to parking, restrooms; security.

The $7.5 million plaza renovation took six years to complete, moving from design to construction and has become the catalyst for other development and capital improvements in the area.

Source: Scott Rykiel, MRA
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Two new businesses opened their doors Monday on Water Street in Downtown Baltimore. The aptly named Water Street Tavern and the Crepe Seller, located at 102 and 104 Water Street are the latest ventures from a local family that has owned several eateries in the Baltimore-Washington area.

"We've been in the restaurant business, combined with our family for over 50 years. It's a Mom and Pop and Son," says Vince Arosemena, owner.

While some may wonder why the Arosemenas opted to start a not one but two businesses given the current state of the economy, according to Arosemena "this is a great time to open something new."

"There's less competition, obviously and its more advantageous to get a good lease. The tavern business is what my family has always done and the with the Crepe Seller, we were looking for a new concept," he continues.

His parents found what they were looking for during a trip to a convention in Florida. While attending the event, the couple saw a food vendor with a huge line. "[My fahter] told my stepmother to 'go get me whatever they have, it must be good.' So, they fell in love with it and over the 3 days they were there, that's all they ate, three meals a day," says Arosemena.

The Crepe Seller, located on the bottom level at 104 Water Street is take-out only and offers a wide variety of savory and sweet crepes, including So Cal Chicken Crepe, with marinated chicken breast, roasted peppers, Gruyere cheese, pesto sauce, lettuce and tomato; a veggie crepe with artichoke hearts and hearts of palm, sauteed portobello mushrooms, roasted red peppers, alfalfa sprouts, baby leaf spinach, tomatos and smoked Gouda. There's a Chicken Cordon Bleu crepe as well as more standard wraps such as a Fajita Steak and Raspberry Chicken.

Dessert crepes take a more traditional tack filled with a variety of ingredients, including fresh fruit, Nutella, cinnamon, sugar. The Crepe Seller is open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., however the kitchen remains open, serving diners at the Water Street Tavern.

The Tavern features a beautiful wooden bar and dining tables and offers a menu that includes crepes, panini and New York deli-style sandwiches.

Arosemana says the Tavern will have a third floor dining room that will open in a few weeks. That area will be available for private parties.

The family chose Water Street for their new businesses because they remember when the tiny little area was a central draw for people who came to Downtown.

"I'm from Bowie and I remember back into even the mid-90s this little area on Water Street was one of the premier places in the city to come. Itwas extremely well-known. My older sister would bring me to Water Street. And though it was little it was the place to be. Over the years, with Power Plant Live and other things that opened up in the city, things slowed down. We're sincerely trying to bring it back," he says.

Arosemana hopes to resurrect the Water Street block party next summer with neighbor Vellegio's Italian Restaurant.

"We're going to bring back that block party atmosphere," he says.

Source: Vince Arosemana, owner
Writer: Walaika Haskins