After months of waiting, Richard D'Souza's dream of opening a gluten-free restaurant appears to be on track.
The business owner hopes to open the eatery at 127 W. 27 St. by early November now that Baltimore City has granted him his liquor license.
The 75-seat yet-to-be-named restaurant will serve new American dishes including with lamb chops, tuna burgers, portabella mushroom burgers and lobster mac and cheese. It will be the latest expansion for D'Souza's gluten-free enterprise. He operates a bakery and caf� called
Sweet Sin at 123 W. 27 St.
D'Souza's plan faced opposition from some community members who didn't want another liquor establishment in the neighborhood. The fight cost him $45,000 in legal fees. But the business owner fought back by getting 1,000 signatures from neighborhood residents in support of the establishment.
He also agreed to a compromise on his hours. He agreed to stop serving alcohol at 10:30 p.m. on weekdays and 12:30 a.m. on weekends, though other bars in the area serve liquor until 2 a.m.
In 2005, D'Souza and his wife Renee started a gluten-free wholesale bakery that sold breads and desserts to Whole Foods Market and Wegmans. Four years later, they outgrew their space as they began selling cupcakes, soups and other gluten-free items as customer demand grew.
Now they are expanding once again with the new restaurant, whose entrees will cost between $12 and $16. The restaurant will specialize in local, organic vegetables and offer eight to 10 vegetarian and vegan dishes every day.
D'Souza likes his Remington neighborhood because it's close to Johns Hopkins University in nearby Charles Village. And he guesses that at least some university staff and students are looking for an alternative to the pizza and "fried poppers kind of place."
D'Souza's landlord Paul Goldberg is helping to finance the restaurant by spending $80,000 to renovate the space.
Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Richard D'Souza