Entrepreneurship : Development News

Larry Schwartz is hoping Arbutus will become the next Catonsville.

With restaurants like the Catonsville Gourmet, the Baltimore County town has earned a modest reputation as a dining destination for suburbanites. Schwartz is hoping his new 35-seat restaurant at 1332 Sulphur Spring Rd. in Arbutus will lead the way to a similar dining revolution in that town.

With most of his career spent in the catering industry, Schwartz was eager to use his cooking experience to finally open his own restaurant. Larry's 1332 serves lunch and dinner and provides catering.

The restaurant serves homemade soups, salads, sandwiches, yellowfin tuna, crab cakes, and crab hash. His soup selections include a corn-and-crab chowder and a watermelon soup with mint and feta cheese.

Schwartz has renovated the interior of the former corporate lunchbox business to include a lapis lazuli tile floor, bench seating in the bay windows, and black-framed mirrors. 

The location will hopefully draw folks working at nearby Saint Agnes Hospital and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Schwartz says.


Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Larry Schwartz, Larry's 1332

Three local businessman, including a physician, plan to open six create-your-own stir-fry restaurants, the first of which will open in the Can Company this fall.

The partners will invest $350,000 to $550,000 to open each BangBang Mongolian Grill location, says Dr. Shawn Dhillon, who practices internal medicine at Union Memorial Hospital. That makes for a total investment of $2.1 million to $3.3 million for the new businesses.

BangBang Mongolian Grill will replace the former Austin Grill, which closed nearly a year ago at The Can Company. The 4,000-square-foot restaurant will seat 140. Lunch will cost $10 and dinner around $15.

The second Mongolian grill will open at 15752 Annapolis Rd. in the fall. Dhillon expects the remaining four spots to open by the end of next summer. Dhillon and his partners, John Stautzenbach and Bob Bernotas, are scouting locations in Baltimore and Harford Counties, including Hunt Valley, Timonium, and Bel Air. The partners are eyeing strip malls anchored by a grocery store and open-air malls.

Dhillon says his professional focus on managing cardiovascular disease drew him to what he believes is a healthy dining option. Diners at BangBang Mongolian Grill get to choose how much beef, poultry, seafood, vegetables, or noodles are in their dish to suit their dietary needs. Dessert options will include a frozen yogurt bar.

Baltimore's BangBang Mongolian Grill is an affiliate of a restaurant in Iowa.
 

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Dr. Shawn Dillon, BangBang Mongolian Grill

The Corner Stable, a family-owned restaurant in Cockeysville, is opening a second restaurant in the King's Contrivance Village Center in Columbia in October.

Known for its ribs and crab cakes, the 6,000-square-foot restaurant will replace longtime local watering hole Michael's Pub that closed earlier this year.

Co-owner Charles "Chip" Reed says he plans to hire between 65 and 85 full-time workers to staff the new restaurant. Reed says he and his wife Randy Reed have been scouring the Greater Baltimore region for a second location for years. They said they settled on Columbia because they thought a family-owned restaurant and bar could stand out among the area's many chain establishments. And many of the area's restaurants are bustling on the weekends.

There's also ample parking in the shopping center, which includes Harris Teeter, a CVS pharmacy, and a consignment shop, Reed says.

Close to Routes 29 and 32 and Interstate 95, the location will hopefully draw folks who live in Ellicott City, Laurel, Elkridge, and Silver Spring.

Reed says he plans to spruce up the interior with large-screen televisions and a pool table. His nephew Bryan Hiller will manage the restaurant.

The Corner Stable in Cockeysville opened in 1971. The Reeds have owned it for 10 years.


Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Charles "Chip" Reed, Corner Stable

A Baltimore area entrepreneur hopes to find sweet success by turning a childhood treat into a business.

Nikki Lewis will sell a variety of rice krispies treats at Mallow Munchies caf�. She'll spend about $50,000 to open the Rosedale dessert shop inside a strip mall at 8767 Philadelphia Rd.

She's giving the dessert an upgrade with ingredients like Belgian dark chocolate. The Trail Munch features dried cranberries and toasted pumpkin seeds while the Toffee Nut Munch is made with salted cashews and toffee. The desserts were named best sweet snack by Baltimore magazine last year.

Since cupcakes have been all the rage in recent years, fancy rice krispies treats should offer a good alternative for sweet tooths, Lewis says. The entrepreneur has made some inroads with restaurants, caf�s, and grocery stores. Whole Foods Market in the mid-Atlantic has agreed to sell the sweets. So far, the Whole Foods in Baltimore's Harbor East sells them, with others to follow.

Zeke's Coffee, Grilled Cheese & Co., Eddie's Market of Charles Village, and Milk and Honey Market Baltimore sell the confections as well. You can also find the treats at Baltimore area farmers' markets.

Lewis is raising some of the money to fund the caf� on Kickstarter.com, a website that allows individuals to raise money for creative projects.


Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Nikki Lewis

After two years at the helm of downtown restaurant Maisy's, Matt Helme has decided to give the place a face lift.

In the fall, he plans to add better lighting and will redo the downstairs lounge with new custom-made tables.

Helme recently hired Cyrus Keefer, whose French-inspired cuisine will be featured in a new menu soon. Keefer has worked at Rehoboth Beach restaurants Espuma, Nage, and Eden. He also recently won the People's Choice award at the B&O American Brasserie's Crab Bash for his blue crab and white corn ravioli.

Maisy's menu currently includes house-smoked wings, bison tartar, brick-oven pizza, and seafood paella.


Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Matt Helme, Maisy's

Two new restaurants spearheaded by the folks behind Bagby Pizza Co. will open next to the Harbor East eatery.

Ten Ten, billed as a contemporary American bistro, will open late August in the former Dutch Connection flower shop space. Fleet Street Kitchen, which will feature artisanal and local foods, will open in the winter, says Bagby Restaurant Group Director of Marketing Carmel Gambacorta.

The Wine Market's Christopher Becker and Mark Davis, formerly of the Baltimore Country Club, will be overseeing the kitchen of both restaurants along with Bagby Pizza Co.

Ten Ten -- named for the address on Fleet Street -- is kind of an extension of the pizza eatery, Gambacorta says. You can order from the pizza restaurant in Ten Ten. In February, Bmore reported that Bagby Pizza Co.'s owners will expand into the former flower shop that was next door.

Ten Ten will feature an "eclectic" design, with a lot of wood and exposed brick, Gambacorta says.


Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Carmel Gambacorta, Bagby Restaurant Group

The owner of an Italian restaurant in Halethorpe has doubled the number of seats and added a seafood eatery next door.

Gianni's Italian Bistro, at 3720 Washington Blvd., now has a sister restaurant called the Angry Mallet. Patrons can order linguine in the seafood restaurant and fried oysters in the Italian restaurant.

The restaurants seat 180 combined, says Owner Greg Orendorff, former owner of Luigi Petti in Little Italy.

Orendorff spent about $300,000 on the expansion. The Angry Mallet serves steamed and friend crabs, shrimp, scallops, oysters, lobster and grilled fish.

Now five years old, Gianni's serves homemade pasta, chicken and veal specialties, and pizza.

Orendorff took over a former Sprint store and Mexican restaurant after his landlord approached him about expanding.


Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Greg Orendorff, Gianni's, the Angry Mallet

A restaurant with a waterfront view and seasonal menu will open by September at the Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park. Designed by Patrick Sutton, the 75-seat Vu at Living Classrooms will feature a menu crafted by Corks' Jerry Pellegrino and cost more than $900,000 to build.

Foundation staff are calling the Vu a "seed-to-plate" restaurant, because it will serve produce grown at Living Classrooms Foundation's after-school gardening program, says Richard Slingluff, the nonprofit's facilities manager. That program is known as Baltimore Urban Gardening With Students, or BUGS.

"We're excited to work with our students to get as much student-grown produce to be served at a high-end restaurant one block away," Slingluff says.

The first-floor restaurant will feature floor-to-ceiling windows facing the Domino Sugar factory and Fort McHenry, Living Classrooms CEO James Piper Bond says.

The restaurant will hopefully bring in revenue to support the maritime park, Bond says.

On Mondays, restaurant employees will provide hospitality and culinary training to Living Classrooms' students. The nonprofit oversees after-school and job training programs for at-risk youth.

"It's a beautiful space on the water," Pellegrino says. "How can you beat that?"


Writer: Julekha Dash
Sources: James Piper Bond, Richard Slingluff, Living Classrooms; Jerry Pellegrino, Corks

The former owner of Fells Point megabar Bohager's is getting on the food truck bandwagon.

Damian Bohager and commercial real estate broker Clark Bowman launched the 30-foot-long Silver Platter food trailer earlier this month, serving up lobster rolls, firecracker shrimp, seared scallops with creamed corn and prosciutto and braised sweet onion brisket. Food items cost between $8 and $14.

The trailer is parked in a lot at the intersection of Central and Eastern Avenues in East Baltimore. Eventually, the pair will launch three more in the city, which will cost about $200,000, Bohager says.

Silver Platter joins the long list of Baltimore food trucks that includes Miss Shirley's, Kooper's Chowhound Burger, Iced Gems, Juana Burrito and Curbside Caf�. Earlier this month, the city created food truck zones and temporarily lifted some restrictions on the vehicles' operations.

Bohager hopes to get "thousands" of foodies and vendors to come to his July 8 food truck rally to show support for the businesses.

Cited by Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot for not paying nearly $600,000 in taxes in 2010, Bohager says he is negotiating with the state to pay off what is remaining of his debts. He also says he never had any intention of opening another bar, contrary to some media reports that ran earlier this year.

Bohager says he prefers operating a food truck, which he can operate with just two employees, rather than the nearly 200 he had to manage at Bohager's.

The trailer is equipped with a full restaurant kitchen, ice machine, four-burner stove and oven, griddle, refrigerator freezer and sandwich unit. It also holds a credit/debit machine.

Silver Platter's Executive Chef Christopher Cherry has worked for the former Polo Grill, Tabrizi's and the Crab Shanty Restaurant.

The food options keep growing for residents of the Hamilton/Lauraville neighborhood.

Clementine Owner Winston Blick is opening grocery store and caf� Green Onion at 5500 Harford Rd. in July. Rich Marsiglia, owner of Hamilton Vacuum & Janitorial Supply, and Baltimore Tattoo Museum's Bill Stevenson are Blick's partners on the new business. Located one block from Clementine, the store is a cross between Atwater's and Milk and Honey Market, Blick says.

Blick says a grocery store will hopefully bring more families to the area and make it a better place to live. He also wants to introduce shoppers to local farms that will supply the produce, meats, and cheeses. Sauces, charcuterie, dressings, and soups from Clementine will be sold at the store.

Green Onion is the latest food venture for the area. Hamilton Bakery opened at the end of April. The area is also home to top-rated restaurants Chameleon Caf�, Hamilton Tavern, and, of course, Clementine.

The store will sell 30 types of cheeses, along with olives, soups and sandwiches, and bulk laundry detergent supplied by local business Healing Fields Whole Body Care LLC. The grocer will focus more on fruits and vegetables rather than dry goods.


Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Winston Blick, Green Onion and Clementine

Before a girl paints the town red, she needs to pick the right shade of red, according to makeup artist Tiffany Jeffers.

Jeffers is opening a Federal Hill store in August where clients can get custom-blended eye shadow, foundation, lipstick, and skin care.

Sylk Cosmetics at 1049 S. Charles St. replaces kids clothing store Ladybugs and Fireflies, which closed in April.

Currently, Jeffers is offering makeup applications and hosting photo shoots in the space but will open the retail store in the summer.

Jeffers, who is doing the makeup for Baltimore Fashion Week, will spend about $100,000 on the store, which includes buying the inventory for the custom-blended makeup and skin care products.

Clients will pay $30 for an initial makeup consultation, and anywhere from $10 to $18 on lipstick and eye shadow and about $30 for foundation. Jeffers can add SPF protection or wrinkle-fighting serum to the blend.

The business owner says she chose Federal Hill because it is a "fun, hip, and eclectic area."


Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Tiffany Jeffers, Sylk Cosmetics

Howard County now has its own Jack Black.

Columbia residents Tim and Cassie France-Kelly have started a new music instruction school that will hopefully inspire kids to form their own rock bands and keep playing their instruments longer.

The Kellys spent $100,000 to open Let There Be Rock School at 9051 Red Branch Rd. in Columbia. Half a dozen music instructors offer
lessons in bass, guitar, keyboards, drums, audio recording, and being a DJ. The weekly lessons include teaching kids how to play with a group.

The couple learned that playing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," wouldn't keep their son Mason, 10, interested in his guitar lessons, Tim France-Kelly says. Rather, the only way Mason would stick with it is if he found other students he could play with and if the music was more along the lines of, say, Green Day.  

So the couple took Mason to a sister Let There Be Rock School in Frederick and found that performing in a band made him eager to practice because he didn't want to disappoint his bandmates, France-Kelly says. A third school is located in Folsom, Pa. The Central Howard County location will hopefully be a draw for parents, France-Kelly says.

"There are talented kids who get bored with music lessons," France-Kelly says. We want to give them a fun place to play music."

With 10 students so far, the owners hope to sign up 60 by summer's end and 150 by the end of the year.


Writer: Julekha Dash
Sources: Tim and Cassie France-Kelly

A Harbor East jewelry store is taking its gold earrings and ruby necklaces to a larger space.

Amaryllis, which moved from Harborpalce and the Gallery two years ago to East Baltimore, is moving into the Kashmir Imports' spot next month. At 1,028 square feet, the space at 830 Aliceanna St. is twice as big as its space on Exeter St., says co-owner Allie Wolf.

The owners of the 26-year-old jewelry store like the Harbor East neighborhood, but thought Aliceanna was a better spot because it's the shopping street, Wolf says. The street is home to Arhaus Furniture, South Moon Under, and Urban Chic.

"Aliceanna has established itself as the shopping street," Wolf says. "I feel like as a boutique we should be on Aliceanna Street. The shopping is better."

The larger store will allow it to expand its jewelry selection and sell purses, scarves and other gifts.

"There are so many other artists we want to carry that we don't have the space for," Wolf said. "We want to be the destination jewelry spot" downtown.

The move will come with a makeover, courtesy of Nouveau Contemporary Goods' Co-owner Steve Appel.


Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Allie Wolf, Amaryllis

The smell of sweet-and-savory scones and fresh-baked bread is now wafting through the northeast Baltimore neighborhood of Hamilton.

Ruben Hernandez opened Hamilton Bakery April 29, adding another venue to the Hamilton/Lauraville area that has become a foodie destination with top-rated restaurants Chameleon Caf�, Hamilton Tavern, and Clementine.

The 1,800-square-foot bakery is tapping into local farmers to supply its fruits and vegetables and even its wheat. Other menu items include muffins, danishes, croissants, quiches, pies, and tarts. It's also got its own version of red velvet cake. It's called a Hamilton velvet cake but since the bakery only uses natural dyes the cake isn't exactly red.

Relying on antique-looking furniture and neutral colors, Hernandez is going for an industrial, homey look with the d�cor at the 10-seat bakery.
Having worked spent his entire life in the hospitality industry -- largely chain hotels in Calfornia -- Hernandez was eager to open a bakery.

The entrepreneur thought the Hamilton/Lauraville neighborhood, where his wife Kristin runs a dance studio, would be a good spot. The area is fast becoming a food mecca, but until now had not contained a bakery, Hernandez says.

Source: Ruben Hernandez, Hamilton Bakery
Writer: Julekha Dash

Kashmir Imports will move this summer from its spot in Baltimore's Harbor East to a larger store at the Shops in Kenilworth to get closer to its affluent clients in Baltimore County and Baltimore City.

At its new home, the shop will be known simply as Kashmir, co-owner Pat McCarty says. The 1,180-square-foot shop in Harbor East sells embroidered jackets, shawls, scarves, and lacquer boxes from Kashmir India.

Once it opens at Kenilworth in August or September, it will have more space to carry gifts in the 1,880-square-foot store. New store items will include lamps made from a banyan tree in Cambodia and a handbag made from a zipper designed by a Colorado architect. 

Many of Kashmir's top customers are moms who live in Roland Park or Towson, McCarty says. The location at Kenilworth will make it easier to reach more of those clients. Terri Harrington of MacKenzie Commercial Real Estate Services LLC brokered the lease deal.

McCarty and her husband Javid Mahajan opened their first retail outlet in 2004 with a shop in Washington, D.C.,'s Union Station.

Mahajan's brother works directly with the families who produced the Kashmiri handicrafts that the stores sell.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Pat McCarty