Census 2019: Places to Eat on the South Baltimore Peninsula

Following the popularity of SouthBMore.com’s ‘Places to Eat on the South Baltimore Peninsula’ census in 2018, SouthBMore.com has decided to make it a yearly study to provide a complete overview of the state of the dining scene on the South Baltimore Peninsula.

SouthBMore.com has compiled an unofficial “census” of all the places to eat on the South Baltimore Peninsula. The census separates these places into categories and also looks at new places that will be coming to the area. Also, as recent restaurant closures have become a common talking point in Baltimore, the census looks at the area’s vacancy rate, too.

For this overview, SouthBMore.com focused on the South Baltimore Peninsula, starting at Conway St. to the north and I-395 to the west as the beginning points of the peninsula.

To qualify as a “place to eat,” a place must offer some kind of prepared food. This can be anything from full meals to a packaged sandwich, a dessert, or a shake. The census does not include places like liquor stores that only offer candy and bags of chips, for example, but does include convenience and grocery stores that offer prepared food. The census does not include any private places to eat which may exist within businesses or campuses.

Totals:

The South Baltimore Peninsula has 171 places to eat, an increase of 19 (12.5%) over last year.

It currently has 14 vacant retail spaces that previously had restaurants or that are built out for restaurants. In SouthBMore.com’s calculation, the South Baltimore Peninsula has a 92.4% occupancy rate for restaurant, food, and dining retail spaces, an increase of .3% over last year. This occupancy rate does not include retail spaces in newly-constructed buildings that are yet to have a retail tenant as they may not eventually be restaurants or places to eat.

South Baltimore has 96 places where individuals can have an alcoholic beverage, 38 places serving daily breakfast, 31 places serving pizza-focused menus, 19 seafood-focused menus, 17 dessert places, 16 coffee shops, eight places with a juice/smoothie bar, seven sushi restaurants, eight Mexican/Tex Mex restaurants, nine BYOB restaurants, three Indian/Nepalese restaurants, three Thai restaurants, three Middle Eastern/Mediterranean restaurants, two places serving Chinese food, and two breweries.

11 new places to eat were added in the past year, 19 places are under construction, and 15 places closed since last year.

South Baltimore has 26 places to eat that are national chains, making up 15.2% of the total places to eat in South Baltimore.

The South Baltimore Peninsula has nine bars that do not serve prepared food.

Here is the breakdown:

Categories

P: Serves pizza (31)
M: Serves Mexican/Tex Mex (8)
S: Serves sushi (7)
Sea: Seafood themed (19)
A: Serves alcoholic beverages (96)
C: Coffee shop (expansive collection of coffee drinks on a daily basis) (16)
B: Serves daily breakfast (38)
D: Dessert place (17)
N: National chain (26)
Ch: Serves Chinese food (2)
ME: Middle Eastern/Mediterranean food (3)
T: Serves Thai food (3)
I: Serves Indian or Nepalese food (3)
J: Juice/Smoothie bar (8)
BYOB: Bring your own beer/wine (9)
Brew: Brewery (2)
New: Opened since last year (11)
UC: Under construction or opening soon (19)

Federal Hill

Federal Hill – HarborView

• DiPasquale’s. A, P, C, B, D
• Tabrizi’s. A

Closed since last year: Tiki Barge

Vacant Spaces – 1:  Tiki Barge (Tiki Barge is a barge that is for sale, so it could leave the HarborView pier it is docked at if sold)

Federal Hill – Key Highway 

• 3 Bean. C, B, D
• Home Maid. A
• Little Havana. A
• Order & Chaos. C, B
• Rusty Scupper. A, Sea

Closed since last year: Encantada at AVAM

Vacant Spaces – 2: Former Sip at Ritz-Carlton Residences, Encantada at AVAM

Federal Hill – Light Street

• 7-Eleven. P, N, B, D
• Al Sham. ME
• Berries by Quicha. D
• Blooming Deli. B, J
• Blue Agave. A, M
• Blue Moon Too. C, B
• Bodhi Corner. UC
• Brendali Italian Ristorante. P, BYOB
• Brewer’s Cask. A
• Byblos. BYOB
• ChaTime. UC, J, N
• Diablo Doughnuts. B, D
• Domino’s Pizza . P, N
• Don’t Know Tavern. A
• Dunkin Donuts. C, B, N, D
• El Pollo Real. M
• Himalayan Bistro. I, BYOB
• Kiku Sushi. A, S, Sea
• Light Street Cafe. B, C
• Lucky Fortune. Ch
• Maria D’s. P, A
• Poké Bowl. New, Sea, S
• Sam’s Bagels. B
• Shoyou Sushi. A, Sea, S
• Sun Hing Chinese Food Carryout. Ch
• Thai Arroy. T, BYOB
• Thai Yum. A, T
• Tinybrickoven. New, P
• Urban Deli. B, J
• Zeeba Lounge. ME

Closed since last year: Subway (replaced by Poké Bowl), Grilled Cheese & Co. (replaced by Tinybrickoven)

Vacant spaces – 1: Regi’s Bistro

Federal Hill – Charles Street

• 101.  A
• &pizza. P, N (&pizza was started in Washington, D.C.)
• Afters. C, B, D
• Banditos. A, M
• BRD. UC
• Brother’s Sushi. A, S, Sea
• Cheese Galore & More. New (storefront location), A
• Delia Foley’s. A
• Insomnia Cookies. N, D
• MaGerk’s. A
• Matsuri. A, S, Sea
• Midnight Confections. D
• Mi & Yu. BYOB
• Mother’s. A, Sea
• Nobles. A
• Ropewalk. A, Sea
• Ruben’s. M
• The Charles. A
• Wayward. A
• Zataara. BYOB, ME
• ZuZu’s. New, D, B

Coming Soon: Wheelhouse will have 5,500 sq. ft. of retail space; BRD has been announced as one of the three tenants.

Bars with no food: Illusions Magic Bar & Lounge

Vacant Spaces – 2: Metropolitan, Fat Larry’s

Federal Hill – Cross Street

• Abbey Burger Bistro. A
• Bookmakers. A
• Crossbar. A
• One-Star Country Club. A
• Pizza Boli’s. P
• Pop Tacos. M
• Pub Dog. P, A
• Ryleigh’s. A, Sea
• SoBo Cafe. A
• Social Pub. P, A
• Spoons Cafe. A, C, B
• Stalking Horse. A (no current food menu, but has a kitchen and has hosted pop-ups)
• Ultimate Pizza. P

Bars with no food: 8×10

Closed since last year: The Local Fry

Vacant Spaces – 2: The Local Fry, Former Boiler Room/Crazy Lil’s

Federal Hill – Cross Street Market 

• Atlas Seafood Concept. UC, Sea, A
• Annoula’s Kitchen. UC, B, A
• Burger Bar. UC, A
• Ceremony Coffee Roasters. UC, C, B
• Gangster Vegan. UC, J, B
• Ono Poké. UC, S, Sea
• Phubs. UC
• Pizza Di Joey. UC, P, A
• Rice Crook. UC
• Royal Farms. UC, B
• Steve’s Lunch. B
• Sobeachy. UC, A
• Taco Love Grille. UC, M, A
• The Sweet Shoppe. D

Butcher with no prepared food: Fenwick’s Choice Meats

Bars with no food: Cans Filling, Old Line Cocktail and Wine Bar

Coming Soon: Cross Street Market will have 22 stalls; one will be a fresh market within a market and four have not been announced, but a letter of intent is signed with a Pit Beef stall. Therefore, Cross Street Market will have additional prepared food concepts.

Closed since last year: Nick’s Inner Harbor Seafood, Pretzel Twist, Smoke BBQ, Nunnally Brothers Choice Meats (but no prepared food)

Federal Hill – Fort Avenue

• Muir’s. A

Federal Hill – Riverside Avenue

• The Outpost American Tavern. A
• Pure Raw Juice. B, J

Federal Hill Totals: 

89 places to eat, an increase of 11 over last year.

There are 11 pizza places, five Mexican/Tex Mex places, nine coffee shops, six sushi places, 20 places serving daily breakfast, 11 dessert places, six national chains, 11 seafood restaurants, two Thai restaurants, two Chinese carry-outs, two Mediterranean/Middle Eastern menus, and six BYOB restaurants. There are 42 places to have an alcoholic beverage (not counting liquor stores). There are three new places to eat, 15 places under construction, and eight places that closed since last year.

Federal Hill currently has eight vacant spaces that previously had restaurants or are built out for restaurants. In SouthBMore.com’s calculation that gives Federal Hill a 91.8% occupancy rate for restaurant, food, and dining retail spaces, which is the same as last year.

National chains make up 7% of places to eat in Federal Hill.

Locust Point

• 7-Eleven. P, N, B
• 1157 Bar + Kitchen. A
• Barracudas. A, P, Sea
• City Limits. A
• Dessert Fantasies. D
• EarthShake. New, J, B
• Get it Inn. A, Sea
• Himalayan House. I
• Hull Street Blues. A, Sea
• In Like Flynn. A. Sea
• LP Steamers. A, Sea
• Merritt Clubs. A, J
• Royal Farms. B, D
• Serenity Wine Bar. UC, A, P
• Snug & Evil. A, P
• The Port. A, Sea

Locust Point – McHenry Row

• Clean Juice. New, N, J, B
• Dunkin Donuts. C, B, D, N
• Diamondback Brewing Company. Brew, P, New (food menu)
• Harris Teeter/Cellars. S, A, D, N, P
• Iron Rooster. A, B
• Jimmy John’s. N
• MindGrub Café/ShareKitchen.
• Samos. A, ME
• South Baltimore Little League Concession Stand​.
• Starbucks. C, B, N
• The Urban Oyster. New, A, Sea
• World of Beer. P, A, N

Coming Soon: The under-construction Courtyard by Marriott at McHenry Row will have a bar.

Locust Point – Anthem House

• Amber. A, B, C
• Burgerim. UC, N
• Jazz + Soju. New, A
• Limoncello. UC, A, P
• Pure Raw Juice. UC, J, B

Vacant spaces – 2: Wine Market/Ludlow Market & Bottle Shop, Hoof Cafe. This is one more vacant space than last year.

Bar with no food: Harry’s of Locust Point

Recently Closed: Our House, Ruby8, Hoof Cafe, Wine Market/Ludlow Market & Bottle Shop

Locust Point Totals: 

33 places to eat, which is equal to the total from last year.

There are eight places serving daily breakfast, eight national chains, three coffee shops, eight pizza places, and one place serving sushi.

There are 19 places to have an alcoholic beverage. There are four new places to eat, four places under construction, and four places that closed since last year.

There are three vacant spaces. In SouthBMore.com’s calculation, Locust Point 94.2% occupancy rate for restaurant, food, and dining retail spaces, a 2.5% drop from last year.

National chains make up 24.2% of places to eat in Locust Point.

Otterbein/Inner Harbor (does not include Harborplace Pavilions)

• Explorers Harbor Court. A, B, Sea
• Formula Espresso Harbor Court. B, C
• Elements Cafe.
• Rita’s Italian Ice. N, D
• UMBC Choice Program. D

414 Light Street – Otterbein/Inner Harbor

• Double Zero. UC, P, A, N
• Plant Food + Wine. UC, A, N
• Utsuke Ramen. New, A
• Unnamed coffee, juice, and breakfast concept. UC, J

Otterbein/Inner Harbor Totals:

9 places to eat, an increase of four over last year.

Coming Soon: A new cafe will be added to the new pavilion at Rash Field and construction will begin this year. One additional retail space is available at 414 Light Street, it has not been announced if that will be a restaurant.

Riverside 

• Baba’s. BYOB
• Barfly’s. A, P
• Bar Liqourice. A (currently closed for renovations)
• Captain Larry’s. A, Sea
• Garden Restaurant. B
• Hilltop. P
• Koba Cafe. C, D, B
• Hersh’s. P, A
• HomeSlyce, P, A
• Jack’s Market & Carryout. B
• Lucky’s.
• Machado’s. P, B, D, M
• Mikie’s. P
• Park Bench. P, A, S
• Shotti’s. A, Sea
• Southside Saloon. A
• Wiley Gunter’s. A
• Unannounced restaurant at former Big Matty’s Diner.

Southside Marketplace – Riverside

• Chipotle. M, N
• Kumari. I, BYOB
• Ledo’s. P, BYOB, N (Ledo’s was started in Maryland but has more than 100 locations in the U.S.)
• McDonald’s. B, N, D
• PokéOno. Sea, New
• Southside Diner. B
• Shopper’s. P, N
• Smoothie King. J
• Starbucks. C, B, N
• Subway. B, N

Riverside Totals:

28 places to eat, an increase of two over last year.

Bars with no food:  VFW, Idle Hour

Vacant spaces – 2: Former Popeye’s at Southside Marketplace, former Rachel

South Baltimore Neighborhood (For this study, this is the area south of Fort Ave. North of Fort Ave. is included in the Federal Hill Business District)

• AJ’s on Hanover. New, A, Sea
• Hair of the Dog. A
• Minnow. A, Sea
• Pizza Palace. P, New
• Ronnie’s. B
• SoBo Market. A
• Schaefers Bar & Grill. A

South Baltimore Neighborhood Totals:

7 places to eat, a decrease of one over last year

Vacant spaces – 3: Baltimore Soup Company, Das Bier Haus, former Shoyou Sushi (relocated)

Bars with no food: Rowan Tree

Recently Closed: Fornicolli’s, Das Bier Haus, Baltimore Soup Company

Potentially coming soon: 1900 Light St. is being redeveloped and will have up to three retail spaces.

Sharp-Leadenhall/Spring Garden

• 7-Eleven. P, N, B, D
• Checkerspot Brewing Company. A, UC, Brew
• Papa John’s. P, N

Sharp-Leadenhall/Spring Garden Totals:

3 places to eat, the same total as last year.

Bars with no food: Mum’s

Coming Soon: Stadium Square is currently under construction and leasing retail spaces, so could have several restaurants in the future.

Port Covington

• Nick’s Fish House. A, Sea
• Rye Street Tavern. A, Sea
• South Point. A, New (Seasonal, not open yet this year)

Port Covington Totals:

3 places to eat, an increase of one over last year.

Port Covington also has the Sagamore Spirit Distillery which offers whiskey tastings.

Coming Soon: A 235-acre redevelopment by The Port Covington Development Team is under construction and will be completed in phases. It is expected to have many places to eat.

via https://www.southbmore.com/2019/06/05/census-2019-places-to-eat-on-the-south-baltimore-peninsula/