Shopping, restaurants and retail has become very competitive in South Baltimore. The Southside Marketplace is trying to keep up with that shiny new neighbor a couple blocks east and the numerous new options throughout the peninsula. To do so, the Southside Marketplace recently completed a $7 million renovation and it seems to have paid off as they have lured some popular new tenants.
Property Leasing Agent Jack deVilliers of Regency Centers quoted, “We wanted a serious upgrade of tenants and we feel we have accomplished that. We will also continue to bring in great new tenants to fill the vacancies. We are currently reviewing new proposals with prospective tenants and hope to have the shopping center at 100% occupancy very soon.”
The first new tenant is Chipotle, which is a cult favorite of just about everyone I know. Having opened in December, their fancy new 2750-square foot restaurant occupies half of the old Blockbuster site. and will feature an outdoor patio for the warmer months. From my observations, it looks pretty packed every time I pass by… not surprising.
Sharing the old Blockbuster site with Chipotle is a brand new Starbucks that opened their 1750-square foot cafe last Thursday. The location is near many offices including Tide Point and the Foundry and is also surrounded by a neighborhood filled with many busy professionals. They should do very well…plus now people will stop saying, “I wish we had a Starbucks.”
The peninsula gets its first introduction to Nepalese, Indian and Tibetan cuisine as a popular Mt. Vernon restaurant, Kumari, is close to opening a new location at the old Mustangs Pizza. The website for their Mt. Vernon location advertises that the new space will have a lunch buffet, dinner and carry-out. Their Southside restaurant will be more of an express location for Kumari. This should be a great addition to the neighborhood and I look forward to learning more about this ethnic cuisine. I don’t have an exact date for their opening, but very soon would be my guess.
Pet Valu moved to a new location in the Southside Marketplace last year, and occupying their old 2450-square foot space will be Nova Care Rehabilitation. Their website provides this description, “NovaCare Rehabilitation is a leading provider of physical and occupational therapy services. Our team consists of talented employees – both clinical and non-clinical – who have a strong reputation for clinical quality, effective outcomes and positive customer service.” This is a great addition to the neighborhood as we add another important service available to the residents.
With all this good news does come some bad news as the Goodwill Superstore will be closing their doors at the end of this month. A new 8400-square foot Dollar Tree will be taking their place. Dollar Tree is a true dollar store, where all items in the store are just $1, differing from Family Dollar which offers a variety of different prices.
After the renovation and the addition of these new tenants, three sites are still available with spaces of 1200, 3206 and 1701 square feet, and we hope to hear from deVilliers soon about who reaches a deal for those sites.
With the completion of McHenry Row and an upgraded Southside Marketplace, the area continues to get stronger, and deVilliers agrees, “We are in favor of everything that makes South Baltimore a more attractive place – the more the better.” I think most people would agree.
