For Foodies : Development News

Southern Management Corp., known for its portfolio of apartment holdings, is opening a 150-room boutique hotel by early August as the developer hopes to capitalize on the tourism revenue expected from the casino debuting next year at Arundel Mills mall.

The Hotel at Arundel Preserve is part of a $150 million development includes 242 apartments, which opened this month, and Grillfire restaurant. The project is part of the 268-acre Arundel Preserve complex that includes shops, offices, apartments, and restaurants.

The 156-seat Grillfire will open July 28. The sixth restaurant of New York's George Martin Group, the steakhouse will also serve seafood, salads, and chicken dishes.

The hotel will house three other restaurants, including Indian eatery Rangoli, says John Cohan, Southern Management's director of marketing.

The Vienna, Va., developer saw an "untapped market." Though the area around Arundel Mills mall is chock full of hotels, many are chain hotels targeting business travelers flying through Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, Cohan says. Southern Management is hoping that an independently owned boutique hotel will stand apart for leisure travelers looking to press their luck at the slots machines.

The company also hopes to appeal to the thousands of defense contractors that will move and work in the area due to the federal government's Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC).


Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: John Cohan, Southern Management

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

ShopRite is opening two Maryland stores July 28, following the auction of 11 Maryland SuperFresh shops.

ShopRite in Timonium and D.C. suburb White Oak will each employ around 200, many of whom are former SuperFresh employees, says William Sumas, vice chairman of ShopRite parent Village Super Market Inc.

Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. Inc., the parent company of SuperFresh, filed for bankruptcy protection last year. It auctioned 12 SuperFresh stores, all but one in Maryland, as part of its restructuring plan. That has opened the door for other grocery chains to expand in Greater Baltimore. Fresh & Green's opened in the former SuperFresh downtown and plans to replace the former store in Hampden. Shoppers Food opened this month in Ellicott City.

Located at Fairgrounds Plaza, the Timonium ShopRite store will include a bakery, pharmacy, and full-service floral department. It will also feature an international aisle and prepared foods with hot entrees and side dishes, soups, brick-oven pizza, an olive bar, a salad bar and sushi.

An on-site registered dietitian will be on hand to educate customers on preparing healthful meals and proper nutrition. Customers can also take weekly cooking classes taught by professional chefs.

"It's a great opportunity for date night, a fun family activity, or a get-together with friends," Sumas says.


Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: William Sumas, ShopRite

A restaurant and lounge that serves up Ethiopian beef tips along with a course of international music will open in Mount Vernon the first weekend after Labor Day.

E-Villa is the latest project of Harold Edwards, also the owner of six-year-old Eden's Lounge.

The spot will serve small-plate Ethiopian and Latin Foods, Edwards says. His wife, Helen, is Ethiopian. The two-story, 175-seat venue will feature DJs spinning international music, like at Red Maple.

The building at 917 Cathedral St. hasn't been in use since the 90s when it was known as the Gaslight. Edwards has spent roughly $200,000 to renovate the historic rowhome that features exposed brick, high ceilings, arched doorways, and hardwood floors.

The "E" stands for entertainment, in case you were wondering.


Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Harold Edwards, E-Villa

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

Federal Hill has gotten a fresh jolt of sugar and java.

Afters Caf� opened this month at 1001 S. Charles St., serving up frozen yogurt, espresso, and pastries from Patisserie Poupon. Peter Hahn and his brother Andrew Hahn wanted to open a family-friendly place in the South Baltimore neighborhood.

"Me and my brother wanted to open a place where moms and kids can have some ice cream," Peter Hahn says. "There aren't that many places where you can take your kids."

Though the brothers live in Howard County, they wanted to open the business in the city to capitalize on the FroYo craze. And the market for that is already pretty saturated in Howard County.

Hahn says he tried to incorporate a contemporary design in the 25-seat restaurant to mimic the look and feel of European caf�s.

After spending six months in Italy last year, Hahn vowed to open a caf� like the ones he saw in Europe.


Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Peter Hahn, Afters

The waterside patio at McCormick & Schmick's got a new, contemporary look this month -- its first facelift since the Inner Harbor seafood restaurant opened a decade ago.

It now has 70 tables, or 20 more than it used to, and 275 seats.

Restaurant managers were going for a "resort-style" feel with the patio's sofas and high-top cocktail tables, says Jay Twardowski, the Portland, Ore., chain's regional manager.

It makes good business sense for McCormick & Schmick's to invest in the great outdoors. On a nice summer day the restaurant gets as much as half of its sales from the 4,700-square-foot patio, Twardowski says.

"We felt that we became a little bit dated and we wanted to reinvigorate the patio as the place to be in the city."

Twardowski declined to say how much the restaurant is spending on the renovation. The makeover is part of a national plan to invest in many of its restaurant properties. Meanwhile, M&S Grill at Harborplace last month got new floors and carpets.


Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Jay Twardowski, McCormick & Schmick's

The developer of a fire-ravaged Mount Vernon building is in the final stages of getting city permits to begin construction as soon as next month.

The building at 800 N. Charles contained Donna's, Indigma, MyThai, and several offices. Indigma will open temporarily across the street until its original home is ready. And Donna's Co-Owner Alan Hirsch says he plans to reopen the restaurant with a wine bar and tapas menu.

The Baltimore City Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation has given developer Dominic Wiker the OK to proceed with the design. Final demolition will begin this week and construction will begin later this summer, he says.

Wiker said in a statement that he expects to have a better idea of the number of tenants in the building by the end of July.

The new structure will feature a few contemporary touches, says Steven Shen, chairman of the architectural review committee of the Mount Vernon-Belvedere Association. It will include a skylight and an all-glass entrance. It will also house a patio on the fifth floor.

Last year's five-alarm fire gutted the building and took out the roof.


Writer: Julekha Dash
Sources: Dominic Wiker; Steven Shen, Mount Vernon-Belvedere Association

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

Call it a kitchen stadium. Call it a restaurant within a restaurant.

Matthew Milani has a tough time coming up with a word to describe the expansion he is planning for Rumor Mill Fusion Bar & Restaurant in September.

He's installing an open-air kitchen where diners will feast on a 25-course meal composed of molecular gastronomic concoctions. They might include upscale Jello shooters that can freeze without ice or sous-vide duck with cherries. Guests will pay between $75 and $125 per meal.

Milani is hoping that a concept like Minibar, the six-seat restaurant in Washington, D.C., spearheaded by James Beard-award winner Jose Andres, will work for the small-plate restaurant in historic downtown Ellicott City.

Incorporating molecular gastronomy into the small plate restaurant offers his cooks a chance to "go crazy." And cooking demonstrations are big in the foodie world now.

"Talking to the chef is now part of the meal," Milani says. Diners feel like they get an added value if they get to interact with the chef.

The owner expects to spend less than $3,000 on the 20-seat kitchen stadium if he buys a lot of equipment at auction.

"We believe this is something that can set us apart," Milani says.

Local food blogger Dara Bunjon says Milani's venture is unique to the Baltimore area.

"There might be chefs here in Baltimore creating molecular gastronomy, but not 20-plus courses."

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.

St. John Properties Inc. is on the hunt for retail and office tenants for a $25 million project in Carroll County.

The Baltimore developer completed construction this year on three buildings totaling 100,000 square feet as part of Liberty Exchange.

Its first tenant, Orthopaedic Associates of Central Maryland, will move into the Eldersburg property within the next 45 days, says Jerry Wit, St. John's senior vice president of marketing. The 11-physician practice has signed a lease for 12,240 square feet of space.

St. John Properties' first product in Carroll County, Liberty Exchange will eventually house 9 buildings totaling 225,000 square feet. The company will start construction on more buildings once the three existing ones are half leased, Wit says.

He's not sure when that will be as getting financing these days is tough, bringing many developments to a "screeching halt." Nonetheless, St. John executives are hopeful that they can attract office tenants who want to upgrade their suites to a shiny new business park as a lot of the buildings in the area are older.

"The Eldersburg market is tight. There's not a lot of space," Wit says.

St. John also hopes to sign up food and services, including a dry cleaner, day spa, convenience store and restaurants. Wit says he is talking to one local Carroll County resident who is interested in opening a wine bar. An Italian eatery, sandwich shop, and Chinese restaurant would also be ideal tenants.


Writer: Julekha Dash
Sources: Al Cunniff, Jerry Wit, St. John Properties

Get out the chopsticks. Manchurian Rice Co. will open in the former Harbor News spot this August at 1010 Aliceanna St.

The 75-seat restaurant will serve Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, and Chinese cuisine, including made-to-order stir-fry, fried rice, pad Thai, soup, Kung Pao chicken, and traditional desserts. That is according to an investor in the Harbor East restaurant who wanted to remain anonymous.

Fast-casual Asian concepts are hot nowadays, with the expansion of P.F. Chang's China Bistro's Pei Wei Diner and Chipotle's announcement this year that it is launching an Asian concept called ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen, the first of which will open in Washington, D.C., this summer.

The investor says he and his partners will spend at least $500,000 to open the new restaurant. That's the amount of investment Baltimore City requires of restaurant owners gunning for a new Class B liquor license.

Some of that money will go toward outfitting the second mezzanine that will house the seating in the 1,600-square-foot restaurant.
Most dishes will cost between $6 and $8.

Harbor East is home to numerous restaurants and shops, including Charleston, Cinghiale, Arhaus Furniture, and White House|Black Market, which opened this month.


Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Manchurian Rice Co. investor

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

A 29-year-old barbecue restaurant in Ellicott City is staking its claim in Federal Hill.

The Canopy, whose specialty is made-to-order pit beef, will open at 1134 S. Charles St. in July. Owner Kevin Cooney is hoping the restaurant's takeout pit beef and chicken barbecue sandwiches will appeal to folks craving comfort food after some late-night partying.

"Our restaurant goes perfect with the party atmosphere," Cooney says.

He also hopes to attract people coming into the city for a baseball game or one of the neighborhood's many festivals.

After a few months, he'll expand the business to include 1132 St. Charles St., which will give it the space to hold a few tables and another 600 square feet to a total of 1,600. 

Cooney says he and business partner Fern Kreis expect to spend about $200,000 in the restaurant. Kreis' stepson, Adam Kreis, will operate Federal Hill's Canopy.

Sandwiches cost between $6 and $9, while a slab of ribs costs $18. Customers can decide how they want their pit beef -- rare, medium, or well done. The restaurant doesn't sell alcohol.


Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Kevin Cooney, the Canopy