Reuse / Rebuild : Development News

The $120 million redevelopment of the former Gunther and National breweries in Brewers Hill is nearing completion.

The Gunther, a 165-unit apartment building at 1211 South Conkling St., opened its first units to tenants last month and the final units will be ready for leasing by March. The apartment building is the last step in the multi-year redevelopment of the two historic breweries located east of Canton.

The Gunther consists of studios, one- and two-bedrooms. Rents range from $1,390 to $2,766, says David Knipp, of Obrecht Commercial Real Estate, the project’s developer.
 
The Gunther has a restaurant space and a couple of prospective tenants have expressed interest, Knipp says. None have signed so far although he hopes to be able to make an announcement by spring.
 
Knipp says the Gunther is actually composed of four adjacent buildings, some connected to each other, that were built over time, from the mid-19^th to the mid-20^th centuries. The buildings take up almost an entire city block.
 
The Gunther Brewery and the National Brewery, home of Natty Boh, make up the total 30-acre, two million-square foot project. The project required state and local historic commission approval and received state historic tax credits. It features an office, residential and complex on Toone, Dean and O’Donnell streets, whose buildings have names like Natty Boh, Grain, Malt, Lager and Ale. It also includes the Shops at Brewers Hill, on Boston Street.
 
The renovation of the four buildings into the 250,000 square foot, five-story Gunther began in 2011.  “It was a long process that required demolition of floors and interior walls,” Knipp says. One of the four buildings was turned into a parking garage.
 
Knipp says a five-acre lot still remains in the development complex but no decision has been made what to do with it.
 
“It’s been a wild ride these last seven, eight years,” he says. “We want to catch our breath.”
 
Source: David Knipp, Obrecht Commercial Real Estate
Writer: Barbara Pash, [email protected]
 
 

The Lord Baltimore Hotel is hoping to appeal to lovers of fine art and fine French cuisine with its new restaurant that opened Dec. 3.

The owners of the downtown Baltimore hotel have renovated the hotel's former Versailles Room into the 100-seat French Kitchen. 

Miami-based Rubell Hotels purchased the Lord Baltimore at 20 W. Baltimore St. for $10 million in March and dropped the Radisson flag. It is currently renovating the entire 440-room hotel and expects to wrap up the work in April. The hotel will remain open during the multimillion-dollar renovation. 

Menu items at the French Kitchen include french onion soup, cured salmon, steak frites and beef tartar. 

The owners had wanted to name it Matisse Kitchen & Tavern, but a conflict came up with the name, Co-owner Mera Rubell says. The original name celebrated the Cone Collection at the Baltimore Museum of Art. Wealthy Baltimore socialites Claribel and Etta Cone assembled a massive art collection during the Gilded Age, including 500 works by Henri Matisse. In 1949, the collection was bequeathed to the BMA.

“We really want to celebrate the local,” Rubell says.  “Our design was very much inspired by Matisse, his sense of color, his sense of food. He is a major, important figure because of his extraordinary paintings.”

Constructed in 1928, the Lord Baltimore was once one of the city’s grand hotels, and the scene of countless weddings and other social events.

The Lord Baltimore has a grand ballroom, meeting space, two terraces, and penthouse accommodations.

Writer: Amy Landsman
Source: Mera Rubell, co-owner, The Lord Baltimore

Empire Homes of Maryland has bought six rowhouses in the Station North Arts and Entertainment District that it will renovate and turn into affordable, one-bedroom apartments for the disabled.

The $3.3 million project in the 1600, 1700 and 1800 blocks of North Calvert Street will result in 18 apartments when its completed this summer. Construction will begin in January.

The Baltimore City Housing Authority owned the vacant rowhouses that are spread throughout the project site. Empire Homes, a non-profit developer and property manager of affordable housing headquartered on North Charles Street, bought the rowhouses at a cost of about $10,000 each, according to president and CEO T.F. Burden.
 
“Because they are public housing properties, they can only be used for that purpose," Buden says. "They can’t be rehabbed and sold for market rate or turned into single-family housing.”
 
The rowhouses are located near Amtrak’s Pennsylvania Station and Baltimore School of Design, a public high school.
 
Each of the six rowhouses will contain three units. Rent will cost about $650 per month, with the tenant paying a maximum of 30 percent of his or her income. The city and Innovative Housing Institute, a downtown nonprofit, will choose tenants from the city’s housing choice voucher wait list.
 
Empire Homes obtained funding from several sources for the project, including $1.8 million from the state, $700,000 from the city, $300,000 from the Federal Home Loan Bank and $300,000 from bank financing.
 
Last July, Empire Homes opened another affordable rental project in Station North. The Lillian Jones Apartments, at 1303 Greenmount Ave., were constructed on a vacant lot. The four-story, 74-unit building has one- , two- and three-bedroom apartments. Empire Homes and city real estate developer the French Development Company partnered on the $16.1 million project.
 
Source: T.F. Burden, Empire Homes of Maryland
Writer: Barbara Pash at [email protected]
 

Terra Nova Ventures LLC last month received approval from the Baltimore City planning office for the $17 million redevelopment of a Hampden mill into apartments, offices, restaurant and retail space.
 
The Baltimore developer expects to request building permits in early 2014 and begin construction on Whitehall Cotton Mill in the spring. Construction on the historic building will wrap up a year later, in spring of 2015.
 
David Tufaro, Terra Nova principal, says the building at 3300 Clipper Mill Road, about 100,000 square feet in size, will be divided into thirds for the different uses – one-third for apartments, one-third for offices and one-third for restaurant/retail. The plan calls for 27 rental apartments although he says it is premature to predict rents.
 
Though Tufaro is now calling the project Whitehall Cotton Mill, the name may change upon completion.
 
The building is located along the Jones Falls, where other former mills and factory buildings have been redeveloped in recent years. Among them is Mill No. 1, Terra Nova’s most recent project, the 1847 cotton mill that opened last month. Like 3300 Clipper Mill Road, Mill No. 1 contains apartments, offices and restaurant space.
 
Tufaro says the 3300 Clipper Mill Road building is adjacent to Mill No. 1. Distribution firm Komar Company owns the circa 1900 building and currently uses it as its headquarters. 
 
“It’s in the middle of the city and close to everything,” Tufaro says of the location. “And the buildings are different from other areas.” 
 
The Clipper Mill Road building and property was assessed at more than $616,000 in 2008. The building is located in the Hampden Historic District, and Terra Nova’s plan requires both federal and state historic approval.
 
Source: David Tufaro, Terra Nova Ventures LLC
Writer: Barbara Pash
 

Movies have returned to Pikesville for the first time in 27 years with the Nov. 1 opening of the Pikes Cinema Bar and Grille.

Ira Miller, the owner and operator of the Rotunda Cinemas in Hampden, operates the new Pikesville theater in the historic Art Deco building that also houses the Pikes Diner & Crab House. The cinema consists of two, stadium-style theaters that seat about 75. The theater will show a mix of first-run films, art films and independent movies. 

Pikes Diner Owner Wil Reich has spent about $200,000 to renovate the building at 921 Reisterstown Road. The project also received $50,000 from the Baltimore County Department of Planning.

Miller came up with the idea of turning the front of the diner into a movie theater, Reich says.

"I’d like to take credit but I can’t. Miller approached me with the idea."

Reich subdivided the approximately 7,000-square-foot, circa 1930s building. Reich is turning the front portion, about 3,000 square feet, into the theater space.The rear portion remains a restaurant but with a new menu that serves a combination of seafood, burgers and Mexican cuisine.

The Baltimore County Council approved a zoning change in April that will allow movies to return to the location. The building originally opened as a movie theater in 1934.  It has gone through several changes since closing as a theater in 1986.
 
After an extensive renovation, it reopened as an Italian grocery store. It then became a kosher restaurant before Pikes Diner opened in the rear portion of the building. Pikes Diner last year changed its name to Pikes Diner & Crab House. The restaurant has a separate entrance; the marque from the original movie theater remains atop the front of the building.
  
Reich says that because the last movie ends around 11 p.m., the future Cinema Bar and Grill will stay open later than the current Pikes Diner to accommodate patrons. Reich also owns Jilly’s Bar & Grill, located across the street from the Pikes Diner, and it too will adjust its hours, he says.

Source: Wil Reich, Cinema Bar and Grill
Writer: Barbara Pash
 
 

After months of anticipation from Mount Vernon residents, Dooby’s Coffee opened Saturday in the building that once housed popular coffee shop Donna's.

Owner Phil Han says the coffee house features his four favorite things.  If “we can excel in coffee, in-house pastries, sandwiches, and craft beers, then we’re perfectly happy."

The cafe serves 12 draft beers and assortment of wines. Dooby's is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Reviewers on Yelp praise the cafe's avocado toast and butter-brown chocolate chip cookies. 

A pop-up version of the coffeehouse had been operating over the last few months in the Hatch, Han's incubator that is located around the corner from Dooby's. Home accessories retailer zestt is moving into the pop-up space. Founded by Jessica Diehl and Benita Goldblattt, zestt sells contemporary textiles, art and accessories. 

Extensive renovation at 800 North Charles St. took place following a five-alarm fire in 2010. The fire forced local favorite restaurants Indigma, Donna’s and My Thai to close. Indigma has since opened across the street at 801 N. Charles St. and My Thai opened next to Heavy Seas Alehouse in the Tack Factory in Little Italy. Donna's is not reopening in the building. It has locations in the Village of Cross Keys and Charles Village. Its Columbia location closed in May.

The 2,500-square-foot location will have seating for 75 inside and an additional 22 seats outside once it gets its permit for outdoor seating. It will feature clean lines and natural colors.

Han says it took more than a year to settle on the perfect name for the coffeehouse. “Dooby” is Han’s childhood nickname and comes from a Korean word. 

Han says many Korean-Americans like himself are in the food service business, but he says a Korean-American owned coffeehouse was an unfilled niche. So, as a gift to the Korean-American community, he decided to jump in.

He first searched for a space in Howard County, home to many Korean-owned businesses. When he couldn’t find what he was looking for, he turned to the city’s Mount Vernon neighborhood.

“It was like a no-brainer spot for me. This is such an awesome place, with colleges, young professionals. The amount of art and creativity that surrounds us is just amazing.”

Han says he believes the neighborhood is looking forward to having a new coffee house in the now-renovated block. Many area residents have taken pictures and asked him when he is opening.
 
Source: Phil Han, owner, Dooby’s Coffee
Writer: Amy Landsman [email protected] 
 
 

MOM’s Organic Market says it will open a store at The Rotunda, ending months of speculation surrounding which grocer will anchor the $100 million redevelopment of the retail, office and residential project in Hampden.

The Rockville-based company will open a 15,000-square-foot shop, its eighth in Maryland and third in Greater Baltimore. It has stores in Timonium and Columbia. The Rotunda store will be MOM's first in Baltimore City. 

“I really like where [the Rotunda] is located,” MOM’s founder Scott Nash says. “It’s close to I-83. The parking is good. We’re pretty excited about it.”

MOM’s will replace Giant grocery store, which moved less than two blocks away last year to the Greenspring Tower Shopping Center. It’s unclear, however, when MOM's will open. The first new retail shops at the Rotunda will open in 18 to 20 months, but Chris Bell, senior vice president of developer Hekemian & Co. Inc., says he is not sure whether MOM’s or what other retailers will be among them.

Nash says the store will employ between 50 and 60 and feature a “naked lunch” section similar to its Timonium store. This section will feature largely vegetarian fare, including salads, a black bean burger, a beet burger and other food items.

“We think it’s a great addition to the project,” Bell says. “Their customer is the customer we’re going for. These are health conscious, young professionals starting to populate Hampden. We think it will drive a lot of traffic to The Rotunda.”

Construction began this month on the much-anticipated Rotunda redevelopment that was stalled for years due to the recession. City officials and the developer will hold a formal groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday, Sept. 18.

The redeveloped Rotunda will include a total of 83,000 square feet of new retail, a 379-unit apartment building and 1,100 parking spaces. Bell says the retail makeup will likely consist of five restaurants, a gym, coffee shop, pet store and salons. The site is also home to the Rotunda Cinemas.

Shops at The Rotunda will face a central plaza that will hold farmers’ markets, music festivals and other gatherings, Bell says.

Bozzuto Construction Co. is the general contractor while the Design Collective is the project's architect.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Sources: Chris Bell, Hekemian & Co. Inc; Scott Nash, MOM's 

A Pikesville real estate broker is branching out, with plans to renovate a rowhome and open a grocery store in the city’s Oliver neighborhood in six months.

Janie Cauthorne, owner of Pikesville’s Real Estate Executives, will spend $100,000 to renovate the approximately 2,000-square-foot building at 1800 N. Bond St. The first floor will house the grocery store and a branch of her real estate firm. The second level contains two apartments.

She’s still working out the details, but Cauthorne hopes the as-yet unnamed store will specialize in organic food and will “promote healthy eating” in the community. She will privately finance the renovations.

She estimates that about five realtors will use the office, and the grocery store will employ five.

The building is currently vacant, but it has a history of retail. Cauthorne says zoning board records show the first floor of the building had been a grocery store since the 1940s. 

Writer: Amy Landsman
Source: Janie Cauthorne, Real Estate Executives 

The Chesapeake Shakespeare Company hosted a groundbreaking ceremony July 9 to celebrate the start of construction on its new downtown Baltimore space, after raising about $4 million for its capital campaign. 

The nonprofit group’s Board of Trustees made the decision to begin construction after reviewing the fundraising project’s financial progress, as well as the duration of construction and the challenges that the project may entail. The theater troupe has received money from a variety of sources, including the state and the Abell Foundation.

In late 2014, the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company plans to open the doors to its new theatre, housed within the Mercantile Trust building at Calvert and Redwood streets, according to spokeswoman Jean Thompson. The theater  company will continue to hold shows at a variety of venues in Howard County. 

The construction plans for the new 250-seat theatre will incorporate existing aspects of the Mercantile Trust building’s architecture.

“Our vision for the theater is a modern Globe, based on the design of Shakespeare's Globe theatre, with an intimacy putting the audience as close to the actors as possible,” Thompson says.

The new home is two blocks from the Inner Harbor and has been the home of several nightclubs. Baltimore architectural firm Cho Benn Holback + Associates Inc. has designed the 14,000-square-foot, circa 1885 building. See pictures of the Mercantile building here in our recent slideshow. 

Writer: Daryl Hale
Source: Jean Thompson, Chesapeake Shakespeare

Fells Point Station, a 47-unit apartment building located partially in a former police station, will open in November. The Henson Development Co. is the builder of the $13 million project, located at the corner of Bank and Broadway and managed by Mission First Housing Development Corp. in Washington, D.C., Henson's development partner.

Henson is offering one- and two-bedroom units, 3,000 square feet of retail space and 31 parking spaces in the 53,000-square-foot building. Because of the financing arrangements, 34 of the 47 units are designated for tax credit assistance for those earning between 30 to 60 percent of the area median income. This number for AMI fluctuates yearly.  The remaining units will be rented at market rate, of around $950 to $1,350, Henson Co. Vice President Dana Henson says.  

The apartment complex at 1621 Bank St. consists of the original 16,000-square-foot city police station and a new, 37,000-square-foot building that was constructed on an adjacent surface parking lot. The three- and four-story buildings are separate but a glass and aluminum exterior entry connects the two.  
 
Henson bought both the long-vacant police station and parking lot from the city in 2009 for $584,300, according to state property records. The property is valued today at about $739,000. At the time of purchase, the station was in disrepair and water damaged. The police station was listed on the National Historic Register and that required leaving the façade intact. The interior was gutted and some of the original design elements were used in the new building. The exterior of the new building matches the original station.
 
“We used historical photographs for reference,” says Henson. “The window frames, the brick – externally it looks like the historical building.”

The project is being financed by Capital One, Hudson Housing Capital, National Park Service Historical Tax Service, Maryland housing and community development department tax credits and the city's housing department.
 
Henson says the company did several market studies to determine the need for rental units in the area.
 
“This was a vacant building in Fells Point and there is so much development going on in Fells Point. It’s a bustling economy," she says, pointing to the Marketplace at Fells Point retail and residential complex as an example. "We wanted to give the community a building they could be proud of." 
 
Source: Dana Henson, The Henson Development Co.
Writer: Barbara Pash

The owner of Dooby’s Coffee in Mount Vernon is adding a new neighbor that he hopes will grow small businesses. 

In mid-July, Phil Han is opening the Hatch, an incubator for small businesses and artisans who wish to showcase their work to the Baltimore community. The space will feature exhibits and retail pop-up shops. The Hatch will also offer hands-on support to budding entrepreneurs who need help with accounting, licensing and other aspects of running a business.

“The Hatch is a little bit more about encouraging other entrepreneurs to test out their ideas and products and services so that they then can be convinced to come out here in Baltimore and open up a business here,” Han says.

The 1,200-square-foot space will be located at 4 W Madison St., the site of the temporary location of Dooby’s Coffee. The coffee shop will remain in the same building but move around the corner to a 2,500-square-foot space at 802 N Charles St. when the Hatch opens. Dooby's has received its liquor license for the new space and will serve coffee, pastries, sandwiches and craft beers. The fire-ravaged building was once home to My Thai and Donna's.

For Han, establishing these businesses is about creating a sense of community.

“Given right now as our community and population have been growing, there just aren’t enough local cafes and coffee shops where people are hanging out,” he says.

His goal is to use the Hatch to bring new entrepreneurs to Baltimore, and also new customers to Dooby’s Coffee, which will be expanding its menu to include more restaurant items.

Until these projects are completed, Han says that Dooby’s Coffee will still be offering its full coffee bar, as well as baked goods, pastries, sandwiches and salads.

Writer: Daryl Hale
Source: Phil Han, Dooby's Coffee

The operator of the Broadway Market has tapped Chesapeake Real Estate Group LLC as the lead developer for a $4.2 million renovation and expansion of one of the historic neighborhood’s key attractions.
 
Construction will begin in September on a new, 4,295-square-foot building at the market’s south end in what is now a parking lot. At that time, Chesapeake Real Estate will also begin renovating the 6,500-square-foot building on the north side of the market and lease the mostly empty building. The project will wrap up summer of 2014, says Chesapeake Real Estate Partner Richard Manekin.
 
The company is talking to prospective fast casual restaurant owners and food vendors about leasing space and expects to finalize deals within the next four to five months, Manekin says.
 
The Baltimore Public Markets Corp. is a nonprofit that operates and leases food markets from Baltimore City. But under the new agreement with Chesapeake, the real estate firm will sublease Broadway Market and pay the nonprofit a portion of its revenues. Chesapeake signed a 40-year sublease with a 25-year option for renewal. The Baltimore City Board of Estimates approved the deal earlier this month.
 
The Broadway Market expansion and renovation was originally part of the massive Marketplace at Fells Point development until last year. That’s when Massachusetts firm the Dolben Co. acquired the rights to lead the construction of the new apartments and retail from Dave Holmes of South Broadway Properties LLC. Holmes remains a partner and investor in the Broadway Market makeover, though he is not the lead developer.
 
Holmes says he partnered with Chesapeake because he didn’t want the already delayed project to stall any longer.
 
Casper Genco, executive director of the Baltimore Public Markets, says he thought it made sense to choose a developer that could invest in the market so it can keep pace with Marketplace at Fells. Dolben is readying the first phase of retail and apartments for completion next summer.

“The Baltimore Public Markets doesn’t have the resources to do that,” Genco says of the Broadway Market renovation and expansion. 

Chesapeake Real Estate has leased the Bagby Building, Canton Crossing and other developments.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Sources: Casper Genco, Baltimore Public Markets; Richard Manekin, Chesapeake Real Estate; Dave Holmes, South Broadway Properties LLC 
 

The developer behind Milk & Honey Market and the reopening of the Chesapeake restaurant is plotting an 86-unit apartment complex on Lanvale Street next to his new food establishments, which are weeks away from opening.
 
Ernst Valery says he expects to select an architect by July for the market-rate studios, one- and two-bedroom apartments. Construction on the yet-to-be named building in the Station North Arts and Entertainment District will begin a year from now and wrap up by summer of 2015. Valery says he hasn’t yet determined apartment rates.
 
The apartment building is the latest project in a neighborhood that is attracting more interest among city officials, developers and universities. A developer hired by Amtrak has proposed shops, housing and offices around Penn Station. Johns Hopkins University is moving some of its arts programs to the neighborhood and the Maryland Institute College of Art has purchased two buildings in the area.
 
But the neighborhood could use more housing, Valery says.
 
“Its a step toward making the neighborhood really great and realizing its full potential,” Valery says of his project.
 
Valery says he is now securing financing for the apartments and declined to provide details until the plans are finalized.
 
Station North’s Milk & Honey Market and the new Chesapeake Restaurant will open in two to three weeks, Valery says. It will be the city’s second Milk & Honey. The other one is located in Mount Vernon. Chesapeake, which will focus on regional cuisine, bears the same name as the restaurant that shuttered a quarter century ago. The property has since been vacant.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Ernst Valery

Urban Design Group LLC  is going green for the Riverside Wharf project in South Baltimore. The sustainable architectural firm in Fells Point has designed a green roof for the building, the first project under Baltimore’s Key Highway South Urban Renewal Plan.

Urban Design Group is bringing sustainable measures to two other high-profile projects in Baltimore: the new Merchant Point townhomes in Fells Point and the renovation of the Inner Harbor's World Trade Center, which will be done this year.
 
Urban Design President Michael Burton says he expects the $10 million Riverside Wharf project to be done in 2014. Caves Valley Partners is developing the former industrial site located along Key Highway at Lawrence Street into a 100,000-square-foot, three-story building with parking garage.
 
On the main floor, Walgreens drugstore will occupy 14,000 square feet along with other retailers; the upper two floors have 31,000 square feet of office space; a parking garage accounts for the remaining space.

He says the green roof will enable the building to comply with Baltimore’s green building standards and the state’s storm water management regulations.
 
Passed by the City Council in 2007, green building standards apply to new and existing commercial and multi-family residences over 10,000 square feet.

For the almost 8,000-square-foot green roof, a layer of soil and plants that can withstand weather and wind is laid on top of a drainage system. “The building occupies an entire city block. You’ve got to find a way to deal with storm water management,” says Burton.

Merchant Point involves the conversion of a church into a private school and office space, an existing building into offices and 18 new rowhouses. Located at the intersection of South Ann and Aliceanna streets, the townhomes will be ready this summer and are sold out. Urban Design Group used sustainable construction material and created an urban garden to meet the city’s green building standards.
 
The Maryland Port Authority awarded a contract to Pepco Energy Services to install energy-efficiency measures in several buildings, including the 40-year-old, 30-story World Trade Center.
 
Urban Design Group designed a geothermal system for the building’s mechanical systems. The system pumps water from the Inner Harbor through the building’s mechanical systems. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and federal Environmental Protection Agency had to approve the design.
 
Burton founded Urban Design Group in 2009. In 2011, the company moved into the incubator, Emerging Technology Center at Canton. Last February, the company graduated from the incubator and moved to an office in Fells Point.
 
During its time in the incubator, revenue tripled to over $1 million in 2013 and the staff doubled to nine. Urban Design Group is looking to hire a project manager.
 
Source: Michael Burton, Urban Design Group
Writer: Barbara Pash; [email protected]

Ellicott City Main Street’s refurbished home goods and specialty foods store will soon offer a new tasty takeout option.

Randy & Steve's The New General Store will open its Italian-style deli at the end of April. Owners Randy Neely and Steve Archuleta’s menu will include sandwiches made with cured meats and international cheeses, soups, salads, desserts and teas. They will also carry organic milk, butter and farm fresh eggs from northern Maryland farms.

Neely and Archuleta will hold a Grand Opening April 27 with music, free massages and wine tastings from Pure Wine Cafe. A Vanns Spices’ rep will discuss the company’s products and a chef of Bittersweet Herb Farm will present cooking demos.

The New General Store currently sells soup and pesto mixes, truffle and olive oils, sodas, spices, honey and herbs stored in a 1904 meat cooler.  It also carries gifts and home spa items such as diffusers, lotions, soaps and candles.

Neely and Archuleta formerly owned The Good Life Market, an Ellicott City garden gift shop. They returned from a sabbatical in Portugal once they heard that Yate’s Market, a 127 year-old staple at 8249 Main St., was going out of business last June. Neely and Archuleta opened the New General Store in late September, promising former owner Betty Yates to preserve the vibe of Yate’s Market but incorporate elements of a boutique. Neely and Archuleta renovated the 2,380-square-foot space and are securing a food license and modern equipment.

Neely and Archuleta will use the basement for a garden room and other retail items and carry perennials, annuals and garden statues outside.
 
Writer: Jolene Carr
Source: Steve Archuleta, co-owner of Randy & Steve’s The New General Store