for foodies : Development News

A new restaurant featuring food from the Chesapeake Bay is scheduled for a June opening at the Embassy Suites Hotel Baltimore Downtown. That means a food-and-drink menu showcasing crab-cake sliders, rockfish risotto, and Old Bay Bloody Marys. No word yet on the chef.

The 4,000-square-foot B’more Bistro and Lounge will seat more than 200 on the hotel’s second floor, according to April Deocariza, of Emanate Public Relations.The New York firm represents Hilton’s Embassy Suites.

The completely remodeled restaurant space replaces Tugs Restaurant and Bar, and will employ at least 20.

The new restaurant is geared primarily toward the hotel guests, but will hopefully be a however, gathering place for area residents and office workers, Deocariza says.

The 37-story, 300-room hotel will become the Embassy Suites Baltimore Downtown in May. Located at 222 St. Paul St., it's now the Tremont Suites Hotel & Grand Historic Venue. 

Part of the Hilton brand, Embassy Suites is known for two-room suites, free cooked-to-order-breakfasts and evening receptions.

The hotel property includes the Tremont Grand Historic Venue, which features 45,000 square feet of meeting space with 19 banquet rooms. The Tremont Grand banquet hall underwent a $27 million renovation in 2006.

The property is owned by Garrison Investment Group and Chartres Lodging, with Kokua Hospitality LLC as the manager.

This is Embassy’s third Maryland property, joining the Embassy Suites Baltimore in Hunt Valley and Embassy Suites Baltimore at BWI Airport.
 
Writer: Amy Landsman
Source: April Deocariza, Emantate Public Relations

Baltimore may be the land of $1 Natty Bohs but a couple  of entrepreneurs are hoping people will pay upwards of $5 for a draft beer.
 
Dr. Matthew Earl and John Stein are spending $1 million to open World of Beer this summer at Locust Point’s McHenry Row residential and retail development. The 3,400-square-foot restaurant will open across from  supermarket Harris Teeter in a corner spot that faces Key Highway. It will seat 75 to 100 and feature additional seating on its patio.
 
Beers will cost $5 to as high as $50 for a Sam Adams Infinium, says Earl, a radiation oncologist at the University of Maryland and a beer lover.
 
World of Beer will feature 60 beers on tap and about 600 bottles of beer – but not your standard Budweisers or Coors. It will also serve wine, but not hard alcohol.
 
Earl says he hopes the pub will appeal to folks looking for a low-key alternative to some of boisterous bars in Federal Hill. And he says he thinks people will pay the higher prices to drink beers they wouldn’t otherwise get to try.
 
“This is unique opportunity to sample beers from around the world,” Earl says.
 
The bar will offer a limited food menu, including soft pretzels and stuffed sausages. The interior will feature high ceilings, a wood bar, large coolers with bottles on display, and a stained concrete floor. 
 
Live music will be played three nights a week and Earl says he is working with sound engineers so the music isn’t too loud.
 
“We’re not looking to be a place where you get trashed. We’re looking to be a place where you can enjoy a couple of beers and listen to some nice music.”
 
World of Beer is a fast-growing franchise based in Tampa, Fla. It recently opened its 37^th location in Denver. Currently, its closest location to Baltimore is in Arlington, Va.
 
So how did a doctor who treats cancer decide to tap into the beer market? Earl says he always wanted to open a restaurant, but decided to go the franchise route because the company gives you a formula to follow along with its expertise.
 
He says the bar will be privately funded.

Writer: Julekha Dash; @Julekha; [email protected]
Source: Matthew Earl, World of Beer

Things are hopping at the Peabody Heights Brewery.

The 50,000-square-foot Charles Village brewery produced its first beer in December, and is building up production, says Stephen Demczuk, one of three co-owners, along with J. Hollis B. Albert III and Patrick Beille.

Peabody is expected to reach its first year projection of 10,000 barrels this year, says Albert, also the brewery’s general manager. The co-owners’ long-range goal is hitting the 35,000-barrel mark. 

Peabody currently employs 6, but may hire additional staff for the warehouse.

“As we ramp up production, of course [hiring] is going to increase,” Demczuk says.  “We have to start slow.”

Peabody is a co-op brewery, which means it brews and distributes beer for local craft brewers. It currently produces three beers: Baltimore-Washington Beer Works’ Raven Beer, Full Tilt Brewing’s Baltimore Pale Ale and Red Center Amber from Public Works Ale. The beers can be found in liquor stores, restaurants and grocery stores in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Washington, D.C., and Virginia. It will soon begin selling in West Virginia, California and New York. It's one of the many breweries and beer-themed restaurants that have been growing in Greater Baltimore. Another one is underway as investors ressurect the former Pabst Brewing Co. building in South Baltimore. 

Peabody Heights Brewery is located in the old Capital Beverage bottle plant at 401 East 30^th St., which moved out about three years ago. In April, the owners started the building overhaul. This includes installing an activated charcoal filter to remove chlorine and any impurities beer lovers don’t want in their brew.

“That’s the start of our beer, so our beer, batch to batch, is going to be consistent,” Albert says.

Currently, there is no Peabody Heights beer, but hopefully will be someday, Albert says.

**Correction. An earlier version of this story said that the brewery is hiring up to 80. It was based on incorrect information that was given to BmoreMedia. 

Writer: Amy Landsman
Sources: Stephen Demczuk, owner, Baltimore Washington Beerworks, co-owner Peabody Heights Brewing; J. Hollis B. Albert III, co-owner and general manager, Peabody Heights Brewing

Locust Point residents will have a spot to fill their craving for fruity drinks like Mangosteen Madness and Celestial Cherry High when Baltimore City’s first Smoothie King opens next month.
 
Franchisee Minseok Yu will open the Smoothie King at 851 East Fort Ave. by April. Yu says he plans to open 10 Smoothie Kings in Greater Baltimore and is currently looking for a location for his second store in Canton or the Inner Harbor.
 
Yu previously owned commercial property in his native country of Korea and will be moving to Baltimore the end of this month. He invested $250,000 in the franchise, which includes rent, training and travel fees. The 1,200-square-foot space was formerly a tanning salon. Yu says he believes Locust Point will be a good location for the first store because the neighborhood is growing but still could still use more retail.
 
Yu noticed how popular Smoothie Kings are in his native country. When he came to visit his brother who lives in Baltimore, he was surprised that there wasn’t a Smoothie King in the city. “A lot of people in the city go to the Smoothie King across from the Towson Mall,” Yu says. Yu says he plans to hire 10 employees for the first location.
 
Smoothie King is a health store that offers fresh-blended smoothies, vitamins and herbs, nutritional supplements and sports nutrition products. There are over 600 Smoothie King locations in the United States, Korea, Singapore and the Caymans. The company is headquartered in New Orleans.
 
Source: Minseok Yu, Smoothie King franchisee
Writer: Jolene Carr

South Baltimore’s gambling parlor will hold a steakhouse, two other full-service restaurants and a Baltimore food “marketplace” that represents Charm City’s local flavors.
 
That’s according to Chad Barnhill, general manager of the $400 million Horseshoe Casino Baltimore that will open at 525 Russell St. in the summer of 2014. CBAC Gaming LLC, a consortium led by Caesar’s Entertainment Corp. and Rock Gaming LLC, is spearheading the development of the 140,000-square-foot casino. 
 
CBAC Gaming will own the steakhouse and will partner with two restaurateurs for the other two eateries, one of who will be a celebrity chef, Barnhill says.
 
“We’re having great discussions with a celebrity chef,” says Barnhill, who declined to name the chef since the deal has not yet been finalized.
 
The Baltimore marketplace will feature six smaller food outlets with a common seating area as part of a 20,000-square-foot food hall showcasing some of the city’s most popular crab cakes, pizza and burgers.
 
“We want to really lease out the spots to Baltimore’s best. We’re working hard to be Baltimore’s casino by the offerings.”
 
The casino will break ground over the next several weeks, once it receives all of the permits, Barnhill says.

The two-story casino near M&T Bank Stadium will feature slot machines and table games and employ 1,700. Of those workers, 500 will work at the table games. The casino is also going for LEED certification. 

In November, Maryland voters approved the controversial measure to include table games at the state's casinos. The Hollywood Casino Perryville began featuring table games this month and Maryland Live casino at Arundel Mills will debut table games April 11. 

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Chad Barnhill, Horseshoe Casino 

The Northeast Market in East Baltimore began it first significant renovation in decades, a $2 million facelift that will take about  six months to complete.

The 36,000-square-foot market near Johns Hopkins Hospital will get new doors, facade, entrance, more seating and better lighting. A candy and flower stall in the front of the market that will hopefully create a more upscale look that is more inviting for visitors, says Casper Genco, executive director of the Baltimore Public Markets Corp. Genco says he'll relocate five tenants in order to make room for additional seating and new tenants.

The nonprofit oversees Baltimore’s public markets while the city owns the property. The Baltimore Public Markets Corp. is putting $750,000 toward the renovation. Another $300,000 is coming from Johns Hopkins University and Health System. It's also getting grant money from the Historic East Baltimore Community Action Coalition Inc.
 
Modernizing the facility will hopefully appeal to Johns Hopkins Hospital staff and visitors. Genco says he will also look for opportunities to expand the market’s healthful food offerings and hopes that new menu boards will help visitors locate vendors who sell healthier fare.
 
The Avenue Market on Pennsylvania Avenue reopened in the fall with about $500,000 worth of renovations and seven new stalls. The Baltimore Public Markets Corp. also oversees Cross Street Market in Federal Hill and Broadway Market in Fells Point. 

“Each of these public markets is a focal point of the community,” Genco says.

Check out BmoreMedia's 2011 feature on Northeast Market and the companion audio piece. 

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Casper Genco, Baltimore Public Markets Corp. 

Life is hectic but sweet for an Anne Arundel county couple opening Kilwins ice cream and dessert shop franchises in Fells Point and Anne Arundel County’s Crofton.

Dave and Karen Gilmore will open the 1,500-square-foot Fells Point shop in May at 1625 Thames St. Located at the former site of children’s clothing boutique the Corduroy Button, the 20-person shop will sell fresh chocolates, chocolate-dipped apples, fudge and ice cream. The Corduroy Button, an upscale children’s clothing store, has moved a few doors down to 1636 Thomas Street.

Karen Gilmore says the Fells Point store, which will be next to aMuse toys, should appeal to both families and tourists.

Just under 1,300 square feet, the Crofton location will employ between as many as 20 when it opens in April.

“The point of going to a Kilwins store is really to experience with all your five senses, with the sights of products being made in the store,” Gilmore says.

Michigan-based Kilwins has been expanding in recent years, and now has more than 80 stores. Its one Maryland store is in Annapolis, though some locals may be familiar with the shop from their vacations in Florida or Rehoboth Beach, Del.

“We weren’t worried about people not knowing the brand, and the quality of the product,” Gilmore says. “I’d say about three-quarters of the people we’ve talked with either already know about it, or are really excited about the fact that there will be one in their neighborhood.”

Opening a Kilwins' franchise costs $40,000 for the initial franchise fee. Equipment, promotions, real estate and other expenses can run nearly $500,000.
 
Writer: Amy Landsman
Source: Karen Gilmore, co-owner Kilwins in Fells Point and Waugh Chapel

Come June, restaurant owner Dennis Sharoky won’t have to travel far to enjoy his own pizza.

Sharoky is spending $750,000 to open his fifth Coal Fire Pizza at Hunt Valley Towne Centre, not far from his northern Baltimore County home in Sparks. Sharoky says the 3,500-square-foot location will be completely renovated, and will feature a coal-burning oven made in Washington state and shipped to Hunt Valley. The restaurant will seat 80 and employ 30.

“I live in that area. Everyone I know asks ‘Why do I have Coal Fire’s everywhere else and not where I live?’” Sharoky says.

Sharoky owns Coal Fire restaurants in Ellicott City, Gaithersburg, Frederick, and Gambrills. Coal Fire is taking over the spot previously occupied by Carmine’s NY Pizzeria, which has closed. Anchored by Wegmans, Hunt Valley Towne Centre's tenants include Calvert Wine & Spirits, DSW Shoe Warehouse, Dick's Sporting Goods and Plow & Hearth. 

Coal fire has a 900-degree oven that chars the pizza.

“It’s a lot of work to get it charred," Sharoky says. "It takes a lot of training to work a coal oven. There’s a lot of hot spots in the oven, you have to rotate it. You have to pay attention to it,” says Sharoky, who trains his pizza chefs in house.

In addition to the pizzas, Coal Fire also uses the coal ovens to bake chicken wings.

Coal Fire features fresh mozzarella, made in-house daily, and a choice of three homemade sauces, a traditional Italian plum tomato sauce, a signature sauce sweetened with a little honey and with just a touch of heat, and a spicy sauce.

Writer: Amy Landsman
Source: Dennis Sharoky, principal owner of Coal Fire Pizza

Harris Teeter is opening its Ellicott City store April 3, according to a company spokeswoman, even as the North Carolina grocer considers a sale to two private equity firms.

It does not yet have an opening date for its Canton Crossing shop to open in a shopping center along with Target, Michael's, Five Below and local Greek restaurant Samos. The company says in a statement that it will "continue its strategic, new store growth plan." 

The grocery store will anchor a $22 million open-air shopping center called Town Square at Turf Valley. The site will also feature three or four restaurants and 10 to 15 shops totaling 100,000 square feet, says Tom Fitzpatrick, president of Owings Mills developer Greenberg Gibbons Commercial Corp.

The 48,000-square-foot Ellicott City Harris Teeter will be the grocer's eighth Maryland store. It opened a store in Baltimore City late last year, anchoring Locust Point’s McHenry Row. The Turf Valley store will employ 115, Jones says.

Located at the Turf Valley Resort and Conference Center, the new shopping center will have many of the same features as Greenberg’s Hunt Valley Towne Centre and Annapolis Towne Centre at Parole, including an outdoor gathering space with fireplace and water fountains. It will feature all-brick landscaping and exterior.

Fitzpatrick says he hopes the 100,000-square-foot center will draw from Clarksville, Glenelg and other affluent communities in western Howard County.

Restaurants will be of the upscale casual variety, rather than fine dining, Fitzpatrick says. He declined to name the restaurants and shops slated to open until a formal announcement is made later this year.

The Turf Valley site will also include a separate office complex, 160,000 square feet of office space, 150 townhomes and 192 condominiums built by the Keelty Co. of Stevenson. 

Writer: Julekha Dash
Sources: Tom Fitzpatrick, Greenberg Gibbons; Danna Jones, Harris Teeter

No pots, pans or cooking gadgets? No problem.
 
The Clark Associates Companies will be opening a Restaurant Store location at 121 Kane St. in East Baltimore by mid-March. The location is near Patterson Park and Johns Hopkins Bayview.
 
The 57,200-square-foot retail store and warehouse will carry everything from napkins, utensil, fryers, stockpots restaurant supplies and equipment for individuals, restaurants, schools and the food service industry. Items will cost anywhere from 10 cents to $10,000.
 
The Restaurant Store will be a cash and carry shop, meaning customers will be able to find most of their items in store and pay with check, cash or credit, Bechtold says. The warehouse will have 60,000 items in stock and those that aren’t will take about two days to ship.

Clark Associate’s parent company Calumet Enterprises bought the building for $2 million from F&M Development LLC last year, according to state property records.
 
The Baltimore Restaurant Store will be Clark Associates’ seventh location, with six others in Pennsylvania and Delaware. The Baltimore store will hire 15 employees. Maryland seemed like a natural place to expand as the Lancaster, Pa., company grows in the mid-Atlantic, Marketing Manager Melissa Bechtold says. The other locations mainly do business with local, family owned restaurants, but also have corporate customers like Sheetz, Starbucks and Sonic, Controller Brad Fortna says. If all goes well in Baltimore, the company may open a location near Washington, D.C., next.
 
 
Writer: Jolene Carr
Source: Melissa Bechtold, marketing manager at Clark Associates; Brad Fortna, controller at Clark Associates
 

One sells center-cut prime ribeye for $47.
 
The other sells panang red curry with crushed peanuts for $14.50.
 
But both downtown restaurants Morton’s the Steakhouse and Ban Thai have renovated their Charles Street properties as more competition eats into Baltimore diners’ wallets. They’re the latest Baltimore eateries to redo their space within the past year, along with the 13^th Floor, Greektown’s Ikaros, J. Paul’s and others. 
 
Morton’s has jetted its men’s cigar-club look with dark woods in favor of a black-and-silver Art Deco-style interior. The first facelift the restaurant at 300 S. Charles St. has gotten in 15 years, it includes several crystal chandeliers, new flat-screen TVs, plush chairs and a new bar area.
 
The Baltimore Morton’s is the chain’s second location in the mid-Altantic to revamp its space, says Stephen Carcamo, general manager for the Baltimore restaurants. The first was Washington, D.C.
 
“It’s a fresh new look for the Morton’s image,” Carcamo says. He declined to say how much the company spent on the facelift. Privately held Landry’s Inc. recently purchased the steakhouse chain.
 
Ban Thai meanwhile has installed new floors, tables and chairs last month, Owner Xiong Zhi Wang says. The restaurant has applied for a new liquor license that would allow it to stay open on Sundays.
 
“For 20 years it stayed the same,” Wang says. “I’m still young. I can do something else to make it grow.”

Writer: Julekha Dash
Sources: Stephen Carcamo, Morton's; Xiong Zhi Wang, Ban Thai

All photographs courtesy of Morton's The Steakhouse

After 36 years in Baltimore Greektown’s neighborhood, Samos Restaurant is expanding to Canton with a fast-casual restaurant opening by October at the Shops at Canton Crossing.

Customers at the new store will order and pay at the counter and the 20-person staff will deliver soups, salads, tzatziki, hummus, and pita wraps to the tables at the 1,650-square-foot restaurant.

“We’ll have most of our favorites from the original locations, the ones that can be prepared quickly,” Samos Owner Michael Georgalas says.

He expects the developer will have the shell of the building ready to go in late spring, with interior renovations expected to take about four or five months after that. Georgalas is still planning the space and working on layout and doesn’t know yet how much he’ll spend on the new restaurant.

If the Canton location is successful, Georgalas says the family may expand further. He says there are no specific areas under consideration, but he points out that Samos has a customer base that extends from Washington, D.C., to Philadelphia.

Canton Crossing developers earlier this month unveiled the names of more than a dozen shops and restaurants that will open in the long-awaited development anchored by Harris Teeter and Target. Ulta, Old Navy, Michael’s and Five Below are among the new tenants in the East Baltimore shopping center. Samos is one of the few locally owned businesses that are part of the mix.

“This gives us an edge on being able to meet the needs of local customers, better than the national chains. We’ve been in the area so long,” says Georgalas. “There’s a lot of promise in the area, there’s a lot of people moving to the area. We wanted to serve that area.”

In 1977, Michael Georgalas’ father, Nicholas, opened the original Samos on the 600 Block of Oldham Street. Michael Georgalas currently manages the original Samos, and is the owner of the new location.

After so many years of only one Samos, what made the Georgalas family decide to expand now? Georgalas says a lot of it had to do with Neil Tucker, a principal with developer Chesapeake Real Estate Group LLC.

“He’s been a customer of ours for many years. We’ve considered several locations. Some of them were a little too big for what we wanted to do. This one seemed like a perfect size and great location.”


 
Writer: Amy Landsman
Source: Michael Georgalas, Owner, Samos at Canton Crossing
 
 

It’s called a "kitbar." What’s that? It’s a mash-up of kitchen and bar’ and it’s a new concept in dining and entertainment.

Stone’s Cove Kitbar will open in May at the Boulevard College Center at 10995 Owings Mills Blvd., a retail, office and student housing complex in Owings Mills. 

Founder Bob John “B.J.” Stone says he expects to hire between 40 and 50 to staff the 4,200-square-foot restaurant, which will seat 72. Founder Bob John “B.J.” Stone says he expects to hire between 40 and 50 to staff the new store.

And that’s just the first of up to three more Stone’s Cove locations planned for Maryland between now and 2014. The founder says another Stone’s Cove will open in Maryland this fall, with one or two more in Maryland, Virginia and/or Washington, D.C., in 2014. He declined to say where in Maryland he is looking.

Stone says he chose Owings Mills for Stone Cove’s second location because he’s familiar with the Owings Mills area and because of the College Center’s proximity to Stevenson University. 

“I think Stevenson is a really up and coming university. We’re very excited to be close to Stevenson.”

The first Stone’s Cove opened two years ago in Herndon, Va. Stone says the idea is to combine the best things about a house party and put them in a restaurant.

“Normally when you go to somebody’s house, the party’s always in the kitchen. So we put a kitchen in the middle of a building, and we put a bar around it. So it’s a kitchen-bar. A kitbar,” he explains.

Some of the menu items include ‘appetapas,’ which are a cross between appetizers and entrees. The idea is to order a couple of different items, so diners can experience a variety of flavors in one visit. Some of the menu items include lobster salad in black sesame cones, honey-jalapeno chicken wraps, and roasted flatbreads with a variety of toppings.

 “I like the hospitality industry,” says Stone. “We have a lot of fun.”

The Boulevard College Center is a 55-acres mixed use complex.
 
 
Writer: Amy Landsman
Source: B.J. Stone, Founder, Stone’s Cove Kitbar

First Watch, a restaurant chain that serves all-day breakfast, is eating into the Maryland market.

The Bradenton, Fla., chain is opening this spring across from the Fairgrounds in Timonium, the start of a big expansion in Maryland. First Watch Chief Marketing Officer Chris Tomasso says that between 15 and 20 additional First Watch restaurants are planned for Gaithersburg, Annapolis and other undisclosed locations around the state.

The 3,520-square-foot restaurant is opening at the Timonium Square Shopping Center, anchored by Giant. It will employ 25. This will be Maryland’s third First Watch. There’s one in Pikesville, and another in Rockville.

Tomasso says Timonium was selected because it is a “dynamic community.” The Timonium site will feature an open kitchen concept and lots of natural light.

Florida-based First Watch has more than 100 restaurants in 15 states. It has franchised restaurants in Florida, Oklahoma, West Virginia and Wisconsin and licensed restaurants in Arizona.

First Watch specializes in made-to-order omelets, pancakes, sandwiches, salads and crepes.

It’s not open for dinner, instead serving its entire menu seven days a week from 7 a.m. until 2:30 p.m.
 
 
Writer: Amy Landsman
Source: Chris Tomasso, chief marketing officer, First Watch

Fast-growing Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches is opening its latest shop in an office and retail building at 537 Ritchie Highway in Severna Park and has plans to open others throughout Greater Baltimore.

The Severna Park location, currently under construction, will be the 11^th Maryland location for the sub and sandwich shop when it opens in the spring. Others are located in Annapolis, Baltimore, College Park, Columbia, Frederick, Bethesda, Rockville, Silver Spring, and Hagerstown. Jimmy John's spokeswoman Katherine Perry says the company has plans to grow in Greater Baltimore but wouldn't release locations or the names of franchisees.

Headquartered in Champaign, Ill., Jimmy John’s features fresh bread baked in-house every day. Meats and vegetables are also sliced fresh in-house. On its website, Jimmy John’s boasts its products contain “no fake stuff, no additives, no fillers.”

Jimmy John’s currently has over 1,200 stores that are both franchise operations and company owned. It is expected to open 250 stores in 2013, according to FranchiseDirect.com. The average store is 1,200 square feet.

Starting a Jimmy John’s franchise requires an initial investment of between $306,000 to $488,000.
 
Source: Katherine Perry, spokeswoman, Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches; FranchiseDirect.com
Writer: Amy Landsman