South Baltimore Business Roundup

Mr. Smoke Opens in Federal Hill 

Mr. Smoke opened last week in the first-floor retail space at 900 Light St. in Federal Hill. The space was formerly a salon, boutique, and real estate office but has been vacant in recent years.

Mr. Smoke offers “everything for your smoking experience,” according to its website. It sells grinders, hand pipes, water pipes and oil rigs, vaporizers, CBD, rolling papers, detox, dugouts and chills, ash catchers, bubblers, headers, odor eliminators, storage and concealment products, cleaning products, and more.

Mr. Smoke also has locations in Annapolis, College Park, and Elkridge.

Grab And Go Mart Opens in Federal Hill 

Grab and Go Mart has opened at the first-floor retail space 1108 S. Charles St. in Federal Hill. The space was formerly a dry cleaners. Grab and Go Mart sells snacks, sodas, tobacco products, vaping products, and smoking devices. It is next door to the under-construction Wheelhouse apartment and retail building.

Blackwall Hitch Opens on Pratt Street

Eastport, Annapolis-born restaurant Blackwall Hitch opened in recent weeks in a 10,300 sq. ft. retail space on the ground level of 700 E. Pratt St., which was formerly known as the Candler Building and recently underwent a $15-million renovation. This is the fourth location for Blackwall Hitch which also has locations in Rehoboth, Delaware and Alexandria, Virginia.

The menu at the Baltimore location is led by Executive Chef David Montanz. The seafood-focused menu features raw oysters, crab soup, crab cakes, soft shell crabs, ahi tuna, mussels, shrimp, calamari, fish tacos, salmon, rockfish, and daily fresh fish offerings, along with non-seafood items. Blackwall Hitch offers soups, salads, starters, sandwiches, flatbreads, and entrees.

Blackwall Hitch is open daily for lunch and dinner, and offers brunch on the weekends. Live music is played Thursdays and Fridays from 3pm to 7pm.

El Polo Real Now Restaurant Polleria & Pupuseria La Reyna

El Polo Real at 1101 Light St. is now Restaurant Polleria & Pupuseria La Reyna. Just like El Polo Real, Restaurant Polleria & Pupuseria La Reyna offers a Peruvian and Mexican menu including Pollo A La Brasa (Peruvian rotisserie chicken); side orders including yucca, plantains, black beans, and yellow rice; Peruvian entrees; soups; subs; tacos; quesadillas; burritos; pupusas; salads; and desserts.

Restaurant Polleria & Pupuseria La Reyna is open 10am to 9pm Monday to Friday, 10am to 10pm on Saturdays, and 11am to 8pm on Sundays.

Tiki Barge Not Opening This Year 

Seasonal bar Tiki Barge, which is on a barge at the end of the HarborView Marina pier in Federal Hill, will not open this year. This news was confirmed by The Baltimore Sun.

The barge has been listed for sale in recent years. Last year Tiki Barge covered its pool with a deck to allow for more room for customers to stand.

P.F. Chang’s Closing on Pratt Street

P.F. Chang’s is closing its location at 600 E. Pratt St. on July 28th, according to Baltimore Business Journal. The location opened in the Lockwood Place development in 2007. From the article:

Ken Bernstein, the senior vice president of retail leasing at David S. Brown Enterprises Ltd., which manages Lockwood Place, could not be reached for comment Thursday. Brokers with the Segall Group, which is listing the 3,800-square-foot P.F. Chang’s space for lease, could not be reached for comment.

The space will be available in the first quarter of 2020, according to a marketing brochure from the Segall Group.

P.F. Chang’s was sold earlier this year to investment firms TriArtisan Capital Partners LLC and Paulson & Co. Inc. for about $700 million, Bloomberg reported. The chain had been saddled with debt amid heavy competition. P.F. Chang’s also has locations in White Marsh, Towson, Columbia and Annapolis.

Sagamore Spirit Teams Up with Sierra Nevada 

Port Covington’s Sagamore Spirit has teamed up with popular beer company Sierra Nevada on a new beer called the Sierra Nevada Rye Ale. The beer is aged for six months in rye whiskey barrels from Sagamore Spirit. From a press release:

That time in the barrel graces Sierra Nevada’s legendary red ale with distinct notes from Sagamore Spirit’s signature rye whiskey, like clove, nutmeg and hints of walnut and brown sugar. The result is a crisp yet round red ale that delivers an herbal and spicy jolt at 10% ABV.

“We know the magic that happens when our whiskey ages in freshly charred oak, so we couldn’t wait to see what amazingly crafted beer that met our barrels would taste like. It was love at first sip,” said Brian Treacy, President of Sagamore Spirit. “Our team is always looking to bring the taste of Maryland-style rye whiskey to more people, and thanks to this collaboration with Sierra Nevada, we’ve found a whole new way to do that.  We couldn’t wait to taste this beer, aged in our charred oak and then barrel-aged at Sierra Nevada.”

The collaboration produced Sierra Nevada’s first-ever beer in aged rye whiskey barrels. Sagamore Spirit has worked with wineries to create limited edition whiskies and with local Maryland brewers to donate their used barrels. 

Sierra Nevada Rye Ale is available at select off-premise accounts, including Total Wine stores and on-premise accounts throughout Maryland for a limited time only.

Gap and Gap Kids Closing at the Gallery at Harborplace 

Gap and Gap Kids is closing its 11,000 sq. ft. space at the Gallery at Harborplace at 200 E. Pratt St. From Baltimore Business Journal’s article on May 23rd:

Signs on the windows of the third-level stores Thursday announced deep discounts related to the closings. Gap and GapKids are anchors in the 170,000-square-foot Gallery at 200 E. Pratt St.

The departure of the two stores at the Gallery comes after San Francisco-based Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) announced in February it was closing 230 stores in the U.S. by 2021. The company said the closings would happen mostly as leases expire, as it tries to balance its online, outlet and regular sales.

One Gap employee said the Gallery closing was “only a matter of time” because the store was seeing fewer customers in the past couple years.

via https://www.southbmore.com/2019/06/17/south-baltimore-business-roundup-160/