Robin Godwin: A Bakery, Craft Beer Station, Poké Restaurant, and Taco Grill Coming to Cross Street Market

Today, Cross Street Market developer Caves Valley Partners (CVP) and leasing team CANAdev announced four new vendors for the under-construction and currently-closed Federal Hill market. Phase One of the redeveloped, 31,800 sq. ft. Cross Street Market is expected to open in March.

The four new vendors are Annoula’s Kitchen, a bakery from Anna Leventis, owner of SoBo Market and SoBo Café; Cans Filling Station, a craft beer concept from Will Glass of Taps Fill Station which has locations at Mt. Vernon Marketplace and The Bourse in Philadelphia; Ono Poké, a poké and Hawaiian-style restaurant that has a location Downtown; and Taco Love Grill, a family-run taqueria based in White Marsh.

Annoula’s Kitchen will be a scratch bakery, featuring retail breads and pastries. It will also offer a modern Mediterranean menu of artisan sandwiches and seasonal soups and salads. Expanding on Leventis’ handcrafted foods, Annoula’s will additionally have gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan items.

Cans Filling Station will feature a wide selection of craft beers, including many beers typically not available locally. Cans Filling Station will also offer one-liter reusable aluminum cans.

Ono Poké is “committed to quality, from specializing in the freshest sashimi-grade fish to making the smallest environmental impact possible (e.g. they provide their diners with only compostable, biodegradable and recyclable materials.)” It got its start in 2017 serving “authentic surfer sashimi and ono grindz” in its Downtown location.

Taco Love Grill is a “passion project” from husband-and-wife team Gelmin and Jimena Portillo, who have traveled extensively to explore Mexican cuisine and culture. The authentic taqueria features fresh ingredients, meats cooked to order, and house-made tortillas.

Cross Street Market has now announced 12 businesses and “detailed and ongoing negotiations” with other businesses and area entrepreneurs are expected to yield an additional six leases, according to CANAdev. This would leave four available spaces for potential vendors. Additional vendor commitments, along with a firm re-opening day for the first phase of Cross Street Market, will be announced this winter.

CVP Partner Arsh Mirmiran has told SouthBMore.com that a new seafood concept to replace Nick’s Inner Harbor Seafood’s approximately 5,000 sq. ft. space should sign a letter of intent any day now. Nick’s closed in January and hopes to relocate within Federal Hill.

Additional vendors of Phase One will include longtime tenants Steve’s Lunch, Fenwick Meats, and The Sweet Shoppe, which will be adding Taharka Brothers Ice Cream to its offerings; and new tenants including Annapolis’ Ceremony Coffee; Burger Bar from the team at Southside Diner; Vietnamese pho restaurant from Hanover Phubs; Korean concept Rice Crook; Cockeysville barbecue restaurant Smoke, which hosted a pop-up at Cross Street Market earlier this year; a Haitian cuisine farmer’s market and event business Sobeachy

Cross Street Market will also have additional bars dedicated to craft cocktails and wine. Certain food vendors will also be allowed to sell alcohol.

Cross Street Market will be book-ended on Light St. and S. Charles St. with larger restaurant concepts: the seafood concept will be on S. Charles St. side, and a 2,000 sq. ft. space for Ceremony Coffee and a 2,000 sq. ft. restaurant space will be on the Light St. side. Mirmiran said they have been holding out for a specific style of food for the currently-vacant space. The rest of the stalls in the market will be smaller.

The new interior design of Cross Street Market features a lot of new windows bringing in natural light, a polished concrete floor, black ceilings, a middle aisle, and six common seating areas.

The Light St. entrance to Cross Street Market now has a retro design with new windows, a new glass door, a neon sign, and a painted sign.

The block-long market on E. Cross St. runs from Light St. to S. Charles St. The S. Charles St. facade, signage, and entrance will be identical to the design on Light St. Construction on the S. Charles St. entrance ramped up in recent weeks after the closing of Nick’s.

New framed windows have been installed and the cinderblock sides have being sandblasted to give them a gray look on both E. Cross St. sides of the market. When completed, the facade on E. Cross St. will feature painted signage for tenants, accent colors, awnings, lighting, and neon wayfinding signs. An outdoor seating area, planters, and a new sidewalk around the perimeter is also planned.

CVP expects to have all of the exterior improvements completed around mid-March.

Read SouthBMore.com’s articles detailing the different aspects of the Cross Street Market redevelopment here.