Bits & Bites: Downtown Baltimore loses two restaurants, gains a pizzeria
Downtown Baltimore was in the spotlight last week, with an annual report offering a status update on the city’s Central Business District. The downtown core added residents and office workers last year, the report found, though work-from-home policies are still contributing to higher than usual office building vacancies.
Restaurants are another indicator of Downtown Baltimore’s success, and this week was chock-full of news about downtown dining. Two restaurants, Zander’s and HoodFellas Bistro, are on their way out, while a new pizzeria just opened in a hotel-turned-apartment building.
I have more details in today’s column, which also has an update on the return of a popular wine festival at the Inner Harbor.
Zander’s closes after 5 months
The closing announcement for Zander’s was almost as brief as the downtown fine dining spot’s five months in business. A post on social media shared the final lines of Roaring ’20s-era classic “The Great Gatsby” — ”so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past” — and a simple message.
“Zander’s is now closed. It was a short time, but a great time.”
The 1920s-inspired restaurant in the former Alex. Brown and Sons bank building on Baltimore Street opened in December and was recently the source of some controversy. In a report published last week, former Zander’s employees told The Baltimore Banner that paychecks from the restaurant had bounced and wages paid via wire transfer arrived late.
Owner Brendon Hudson was previously accused of paying the employees at Allora, another one of his restaurants, late and sometimes inadequately, though the restaurateur later claimed to have resolved those issues.
Court records show multiple lawsuits have been filed against Hudson related to his businesses. A March consumer debt claim from American Express seeks to recover more than $8,000, and a Baltimore County judge ordered Hudson to pay nearly $19,000 to a flooring company last year. The New York Supreme Court has also ordered Hudson’s Liliahna Hospitality Group to pay more than $80,000 to lenders.
Reached by text Wednesday, Hudson declined to comment. A spokesperson shared a statement attributed to him: “Our team worked hard since December to make this new fine dining option in Downtown Baltimore work, but ultimately had to make the decision to close.”
The statement said Hudson’s other operations will continue. In addition to Allora, he also runs Liliahna Hospitality, a catering company, and a cafe on the Johns Hopkins University campus called Piccola Allora. An Italian restaurant, Velleggia’s, closed last year after an eight-month run in Cross Street Market.
HoodFellas embarks on a ‘a new chapter’
HoodFellas Bistro is going back to its roots.
The restaurant will close April 30 after two years in the Munsey building at 7 N. Calvert St. But the dining concept run by childhood friends Ira Chase and Benjamin Thompson will live on as a food truck and catering business — just like its early days, according to an announcement on Facebook.
“Although we’re sad to leave behind the memories we’ve made at the Munsey, we’re excited about the opportunities that lie ahead,” the post says. “This transition marks a new chapter for us—one that promises even greater things for our cherished customers.”
Chase was not immediately available for comment. He and Thompson targeted jurors and downtown workers at their restaurant, which serves comfort food like wings, egg rolls and brisket burgers. The brick-and-mortar spot also had a liquor license.
Downtown dough
It’s not all doom and gloom for downtown diners.
Kechy Pizza Co., a pizzeria serving stone oven-baked pies and Mediterranean dishes like hummus and bruschetta, opened quietly a few weeks ago at 207 E. Redwood St. The restaurant is planning a grand opening Friday.
Kechy, which means “goat” in Turkish, is a collaboration between two local restaurateurs: Cem Ari, who also owns Zella’s Pizzeria in Hollins Market, and Dogan Salis, formerly a partner in HomeSlyce.
The restaurant joins a Baltimore block that has recently benefited from millions of dollars in investment. Kechy is on the ground floor of the former RL Hotel, which is being converted to a residential community called Redwood Place Apartments. The apartment building will have studios and one-bedroom units priced at $1,300 to $1,900 a month when it opens to residents this summer.
The pizzeria bakes bread and makes fresh pizza dough daily. A best-selling pie so far has been the Bougie Pizza, topped with Croatian figs, walnuts, prosciutto and balsamic vinegar, marketing director Samira Shuruk tells me. The restaurant also has a bar and daily happy hour deals from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The pizzeria joins Prim & Proper, a new fine dining spot on the same block from the restaurateurs behind Papi Cuisine and BLK Swan, as well as Werner’s, a long-standing diner. The Empanada Lady, a Puerto Rican restaurant, recently opened around the corner on South Street.
Developer Brad Byrnes, who owns the Redwood Place Apartments as well as two other buildings on Redwood Street, sees the growing list of dining options as a sign that Downtown Baltimore is headed in the right direction.
“People are always quick to say downtown is challenged,” Byrnes said. “This remains the fastest-growing neighborhood in the city, and now we just need to fill in with more retail and restaurants.”
Wine time
The Wine Village, which made its debut last spring, will return for a second season in Baltimore.
The three-week festival is organized by Pennsylvania-based German American Marketing, the same group that hosts the annual Christmas Village, and will feature wines from around the world in a picnic setting, with bistro lights, lawn chairs, pergolas and a pop-up garden in the Inner Harbor’s West Shore Park.
The free event kicks off with a preview day May 9; the festival will be open every day of the week through Memorial Day, May 27. New additions this year include the “Wein Wagon,” a 360-degree bar serving European wines, as well as a sparkling wine booth and a street corn vendor. Other food offerings include European staples like Belgian fries and raclette sandwiches.