Anne Arundel County : Development News

A new Italian restaurant and wine bar opened last month at the $150 million Arundel Preserve complex near Arundel Mills mall.

The 165-seat Vivo Trattoria Wine Bar serves homemade pasta, artisanal pizza made in a wood-fired oven and 100 to 150 bottles of wine, says General Manager Matthew Santeramo. The restaurant, designed as a Tuscan-style trattoria and enoteca, seats about 60 on the patio and serves 25 wines by the glass. This month, Vivo started offering lunch Monday through Friday. 

Vivo is located inside the Hotel at Arundel Preserve, just on the opposite side of the hotel as the two-year-old Grillfire Arundel restaurant. George Martin owns both restaurants.

“The owner felt there wasn’t enough Italian in the area. There wasn’t much to choose from,” Santeramo says.

Vivo will be slightly smaller than Grillfire and sport the look of cozy, rustic farmhouse. The restaurant will employ 40 to 50.

Arundel Preserve is an office, residential and retail complex a stone’s throw from Arundel Mills. Maryland Live Casino, which features table games and slots, debuted at the mall last year. 

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Matthew Santeramo, Grillfire Arundel

The owners of the Mutiny Pirate Bar & Island Grille are setting sail for Howard County and have their sights set on franchising the concept nationwide.
 
The owners are scouting Howard County for a 3,000- to 4,000- square-foot spot, with seating for up to 150 customers, outdoor dining and good visibility. Brothers Rob Wecker and Steve Wecker spent about $200,000 to open the original bar and restaurant in Glen Burnie two years ago. 
 
Steve Wecker says the Howard County location should open within a year. That's also when they expect to have more details ready on their franchise plans, including how much it will cost. Howard County is where the others operate another restaurant, the popular Iron Bridge Wine Co. 

The Glen Burnie restaurant features 145 types of rum and Caribbean-influenced food. The signature dish is the Shipwreck Burger: a half-pound burger with a grilled cheese and bacon sandwich bun, spiced rum barbecue sauce, tempura onion rings, a fried egg, lettuce and tomato.
 
 “What we tried to do was create something that had a hook, that had a unique marketing program,” Wecker says. “We’re always looking for ways to make the package better, but it is at its core a classic bar and restaurant food with a Caribbean flair.”
 
As for franchising, Wecker says the pirate concept is a great hook that can easily be replicated in cities across the nation.
Wecker says the owners will get financing from banks and private investors. 
 
Writer: Amy Landsman
Source: Steve Wecker, co-owner Mutiny Pirate Bar & Island Grille
 
 
 

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

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

A 140-apartment assisted and independent living facility broke ground last month in Severna Park and the developer of the 140,000-square-foot building plans to open it October of next year.
 
Brightview Senior Living at 473 Jumpers Hold Rd. is a $16 million project developed by the Shelter Group, which owns and operates Brightview housing. The company operates nine additional facilities in Maryland.
 
The apartments will be evenly divided between assisted living and independent living housing, and will include 26 units devoted to memory care, says Shelter Senior Development Director Andrew Teeters.
 
Teeters says there's an incredible need for senior communities in Severna Park as there are no new senior living communities in the area. With an aging population, the company plans to target people over 75 who have raised families in the community and want to live locally.
 
Some of the features of the facility include a fitness center, a cafe and pub with regular happy hours, a computer center and library with activity rooms. Additional staff such as nurses will be on site to support residents.
 
Brightview provides market-rate senior housing, and rates in their facilities average approximately $2,500 per month.
 
Source: Andrew Teeters, senior development director for The Shelter Group
Writer: Alexandra Wilding, [email protected]
 

The owners of an Anne Arundel County Mexican restaurant are offering area diners a second helping of their burritos, tacos, fajitas and tamales.

The Landaverde family is opening Rinconcito Mexicano at the Odenton Shopping Center by early October, Gloria Landaverde says. 

The business owners are opening the 130-seat eatery because they see a demand for their Mexican fare at their five-year-old Mia Casita, Landaverde says. “Sometimes we get very busy and there’s not enough room.” Patrons wait as long as 30 minutes during busy nights at the Crofton restaurant, she says.

Located on Annapolis Road, Odenton Shopping Center is home to a Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Three Brothers Restaurant and Fashion Bug.

The county recently granted Rinconcito Mexicano a liquor license. It is not affiliated with any other Rinconcito Mexicano restaurants in other cities, Landaverde says.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Gloria Landaverde 

Construction on the massive Marketplace at Fells Point project will close sidewalks and parking spaces of the westside of the 600 block of South Broadway Street for the next year as the developer works to preserve building facades in the neighborhood. 
 
The renovation of building facades or exteriors is part of the development plan to preserve the streetscape that has been there for 100 years, says Drew Dolben, senior vice president for Massachusetts developer the Dolben Co. Inc..
 
The developer is also constructing an entirely new building as part of the $40 million Marketplace at Fells Point project that broke ground in May. The project will eventually include 159 apartment units and more than 27,000 square-feet of retail space. Dolben acquired the rights to build the housing and retail portion of the project from Dave Holmes earlier this year. 
 
Dolben expects for tenants and residents to begin moving into the development within the next 15 months with the entire project completed in 20 months.
 
The smaller building on the eastside of Broadway will open first and the building on the westside will follow shortly after, Dolben says.
 
Meanwhile, in  Anne Arundel County, the Dolben Co. plans to complete its Village at Odenton Station before the end of September. 

The company has signed a lease with a dry cleaner and in currently in negotiations with a restaurant at the location. The company plans to have a mix of retail similar to a traditional main street including a coffee shop, a nail salon, a hair stylist, a spa  and a total of three restaurants.
 
Source: Drew Dolben, senior vice president for the Dolben Co. Inc. 
Writer: Alexandra Wilding, [email protected]

Downtown Annapolis will soon have a new sweet spot.
 
JoJo's Cupcake & Cream expects to open May 25 on Main Street in Annapolis. The shop, which serves gourmet cupcakes and ice cream will be the company's fourth location in less than a year, owner Chris Wright says.
 
Wright invested more than $100,000 to get the 1,950-square-foot Annapolis location up and running.

After opening a shop last June in Easton, the company expanded to locations in Queenstown and St. Michaels. With its new location in Annapolis, the company will employ a total of 40 to 50 people including three bakers across its four locations. 
 
In the long term, Wright is interested in expanding closer to Baltimore and possibly franchising the venture. 
 
The Annapolis location has a party room that can be closed off for private events. Wright hopes to use the space for everything from showers to corporate team events.
 
Wright started the business with his wife in Easton where the couple lives with their young daughters. Wright's wife, a lawyer by training, creates the cupcake recipes and loves baking.
 
"I was trying to find something that would be really family friendly and fun for the girls, a place where they could grow up and learn a good work ethic," Wright says. "A lot has been done with them in mind."
 
The shop features 12 to 16 different cupcakes each day in their shops, the business has 68 different cupcakes that they rotate regularly. Some cupcake flavors include white chocolate raspberry, mint chocolate chip, butterscotch, banana pudding, and caramel apple.
 
The shop's ice cream comes from a local dairy, Kilby Cream, in Rising Sun.
 

 
Source: Chris Wright, owner
Writer: Alexandra Wilding, [email protected]
 

As the shopping complex readies for the opening of Maryland Live! Casino in June, new additions to Arundel Mills include Coach Men’s Factory and Kay Jewelers Outlet.
 
Coach Men’s Factory, which specializes in men's leather products, recently opened near the existing Coach Factory Store.
 
Kay Jewelers Outlet will open in a space near The Children's Place Outlet.
 
A newly remodeled Bath & Body Works store will open April 30, and Lane Bryant will relocate, says Gene Condon, general manager of Arundel Mills.

Maryland Live! Casino, slated to open early June, will feature slot machines and table games. Prominent restaurants inside the casino include The Cheesecake Factory, Phillips Seafood, and The Prime Rib.

In anticipation of the casino's opening, the mall will continue to focus on attracting name-brand retailers such as Coach and Kay Jewelers, Condon says. 

In addition, the mall has been working to improve the road network surrounding the mall and improving parking for the expected influx of guests, Condon says. 

 
Source: Gene Condon, general manager of Arundel Mills.
 Writer: Alexandra Wilding, [email protected]
 

Soon you’ll be able to pick up a spicy tuna roll and chardonnay before you fly on AirTran Airways or Southwest Airlines.

A sushi restaurant by the name of Gachi will open late spring at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, airport spokesman Jonathan Dean confirmed. It will be located in the food court in Concourse A, according to the county liquor board.

Adding new shops and restaurants is a priority for the airport as airport traffic picks up, Dean says. BWI had a record year last year with 22,391,785 passengers.

“The airport is working to add a number of concessions,” Dean says. He couldn’t specify the type of concessions.

BWI wants to beef up offerings in Concourse A/B since AirTran shifted its operation there following its merger with Southwest Airlines, Dean says.

Gachi received a special airport concessionaire license, which allows it to sell any kind of alcoholic beverage.

Inez M. Setiabudi and Daniel Kurniawan, listed as the holders of the liquor license, could not be reached for comment. 

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Jonathan Dean, BWI; Anne Arundel County liquor board 

Seafood restaurant chain Bonefish Grill is eyeing Anne Arundel County for two new locations.

The Anne Arundel County liquor board this month granted a liquor license to open at Annapolis Towne Centre at Parole, an outdoor mall anchored by Whole Foods, Target and Restoration Hardware.
 
The 199-seat restaurant will have outdoor dining for 28 and replaces the shuttered Real Seafood Co., says liquor board administrator Judy J. Hagner. The restaurant received a deluxe liquor license, which requires that the owner invest at least $800,000 to open the property.
 
The restaurant chain also applied for a liquor license at the Village of Waugh Chapel in Gambrills, but the attorney asked to postpone the meeting in order to secure all the necessary paperwork, Hagner says. The next hearing will be held June 12.
 
A PR rep for Bonefish Grill says the company isn’t ready to release any information about the new locations. Greenberg Gibbons Commercial Corp., the developer for both sites, could not be reached for comment.
 
Bonefish Grill is one of the restaurant concepts of Tampa, Fla.-based OSI Restaurant Partners LLC. That’s the same company that is behind Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Roy’s, Outback Steakhouse and Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar.
 
Maryland currently houses six Bonefish Grill locations in Glen Burnie, Bel Air, Owings Mills, Frederick, Brandywine and Gaithersburg. 

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Judy Hagner and Edward Aronson, Anne Arundel County liquor board 

Pharmacy chain Walgreens is moving into Maryland in a big way. Within the next 12 months, the chain plans to open a dozen stores in Baltimore City and Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Frederick, Montgomery, Prince Georges and Washington counties. First on the list of openings is a new Walgreens that opens in Pikesville, in Baltimore County, April 7.
 
Maryland currently has 60 Walgreens, but store officials say the state is considered one with the least penetration. The number of stores in Maryland is growing as the pace of Walgreens’ expansion across the country has slowed, according to Andrew Militello, Walgreens district manager, who declined to release financial information for the chain or for individual stores.
 
Sites for the upcoming stores are Baltimore City near Johns Hopkins University campus, Cockeysville, Federal Hill, Hyattsville, Laurel, Perry Hall, Odenton, Rockville and two in Hagerstown. Existing Walgreens are located throughout the state, in Baltimore City and County, Carroll County, Howard County and the Maryland suburbs around Washington, D.C.
 
The Pikesville Walgreens is located at 1510 Reisterstown Rd., at the intersection of Reisterstown and Old Court roads, in northwest Baltimore County. This is the second Walgreens in Pikesville, the first being in Quarry Lake, a community in the Smith-Greenspring area of northwest Baltimore County.
 
While the “soft” opening is April 7, the grand opening will be held April 19, with free giveaways and children’s events.
 
The Pikesville Walgreens brought 23 new jobs to the area, and more employees may be hired in the future, Militello says.
 
The store is 15,000 square feet in size, slightly larger than a typical Walgreens. Formerly the home of an office supply store, the building’s interior was renovated and the exterior façade redone in keeping with Walgreens’ brand. Because of its size, the Pikesville Walgreens will carry items that other stores don’t have the space for.
 
The Pikesville Walgreens was five years in the making as the company scouted for a location and did market surveys of potential customers. Militello says the survey showed the location to be ideal for a number of reasons. The store has a large parking lot and is near the Baltimore Beltway (I-695), and the area has a sizeable senior population. Two multi-unit Harry and Jeanette Weinberg buildings for senior citizens are close by the store.
 
“This is a tremendous site for us,” says Militello. “It’s a prime spot in Pikesville and easy access from surrounding neighborhoods.”
 
Source: Andrew Militello, Walgreens’ district manager
Writer: Barbara Pash

The owners of Coal Fire Pizza will open a fourth restaurant at the Village at Waugh Chapel shopping center in May.

Principal Owner Dennis Sharoky was drawn to the new development because of other planned businesses, such as Wegmans, Target and Dick’s Sporting Goods that will hopefully make it a popular destination in the county. The Baltimore County native has invested close to $600,000 in the new 110-seat pizzeria.

The Village at Waugh Chapel is a 71-acre project that combines retail, office, and senior-living units. Existing businesses include LA Fitness, Caribou Coffee, Marshalls and Robert Andrew Day Spa. More businesses within the development are set to open throughout 2012.

Coal Fire Pizza specializes in coal-oven pizzas made with a choice of three sauces and topped with sliced mozzarella that's made daily.

"I just tried a pizza out of a coal oven and I fell in love with it and I thought no one does this around here. I think I can do this," Sharoky says.

The coal fire burns more intensely, creating a bake that leaves the pizza slightly charred. Customer response has been favorable and has allowed the business to expand, says Sharoky.

"It's a unique pizza to this area," says Sharoky adding that people from New York come to have pizza at Coal Fire that tastes similar to what they ate growing up.

Sharoky opened the first Coal Fire Pizza two and a half years ago and has steadily expanded the business that he describes as "upscale casual." Each restaurant has outdoor seating and a bar, but is also family friendly.

Coal Fire Pizza's executive chef, Steve Santos, was looking to move from West Virginia to the Baltimore area and joined the team as the menu was being developed.

While Sharoky says the company is not aggressively expanding, they do hope to open locations in Baltimore City eventually. While Sharoky didn't give any specific locations, he says he's been approached to lease space in Canton.

Coal Fire Pizza's additional locations are in Ellicott City, Gaithersburg, and Frederick.

Writer: Alexandra Wilding
Source: Dennis Sharoky, principal owner of Coal Fire Pizza

Phillips Seafood is opening an express location at the $500 million Maryland Live Casino near Arundel Mills next year.

Phillips’ Director of Marketing Michelle Torres compares it to the Phillips Seafood Express it operates in the Maryland House Welcome Center in Aberdeen. She says the company has yet to determine the exact square footage and menu of the new spot, but expects it will serve salads, wraps, crab cakes and possibly dim sum.

Opening in the summer, the casino spot will be located in a food court and offer counter service. It will be the local restaurant and seafood company’s second Cordish Co. location. It opened its new Inner Harbor restaurant at Cordish’s Power Plant this month, after 31 years at Harborplace.

It will be Phillips' sixth express location. The others are located at Boston's Logan International Airport, Atlantic City and FedEx Field. The average express location is between 600 and 1,000 square feet and employs five to 10.

Asked whether Phillips will open other spots in Cordish locations, Torres says she is “very hopeful.”

“We see [Cordish] as a long-term partner.”

The casino is slated to include a restaurant operate by Bobby Flay, a Cheesecake Factory and Ruth’s Chris Steak House.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Michelle Torres, Phillips

Annapolis residents who have an appetite for red velvet pancakes, fried-green tomatoes, and sweet potato fries will soon get their fill of the comfort food.

Miss Shirley’s will open its third location at Park Place, a residential, office, and dining complex in the downtown state capital whose tenants include a Westin hotel and Fado Irish Pub.

Owner Eddie Dopkin says he spent $2 million to open the 155-seat restaurant. Much of that money was spent gutting four spaces that once held shops, including a former Starbucks and a jewelry store.

But Dopkin says he thinks the dough will pay off: Many of his Roland Park restaurant customers make the trek from their homes in Anne Arundel County. The other Miss Shirley’s is located in downtown Baltimore.

The menu at Park Place will be the same as the others, but with a more contemporary design. It will also be the first Miss Shirley’s to house a standalone bar, where diners can order mimosas to go with their brunch or a glass of wine at lunch.

Meanwhile, Dopkin says he expects to begin construction on the expansion of the Roland Park Miss Shirley’s Feb. 1. Adding 50 seats, more restrooms, and a larger waiting area will take about two months. The restaurant is taking over the School of Rock Baltimore space.

Dopkin has also applied for a liquor license to serve beer and wine for S’ghetti Eddie’s, his Roland Park pizza and wings joint.


Writer:Julekha Dash
Source: Eddie Dopkin