Key Liquor License Updates for Federal Hill, Locust Point and SoBo
New Bar at the Old Turners?
The liquor license at 12-14 E. Cross St. in Federal Hill has been through quite the ride in the last five years. It was the at longtime home of Turners and spent a brief period of time at the Australian-themed bar Billabong. However, shortly after Billabong opened it was closed in pursuit of moving the license to the large building and lot at the southwest corner of Charles St. and Cross St. to be named Federales.
Federales transfer was approved but a deal was unable to be worked out with the property owner (the latest we’ve heard about the lot is a potential project from Ruppert Homes.) In this time, 12-14 E. Cross St. has sat vacant. The two adjacent rowhomes at 16-18 E. Cross St have since become vacant, creating four consecutive vacant building on one of the most vibrant blocks in the city.
Now there is an application with the Baltimore City Liquor Board to activate the old Turners liquor license and expand it into 16 and 18 E. Cross St. A hearing will be held on or after March 28th. We’ll keep you posted on this development.
Update 3/27: We’ve learned the bar will be called Crossbar Der Biergarten, thanks to a Tweet from Downtown Diane. They will serve homemade pretzels and serve beers in steins from 30 taps. There is a meeting to discuss this new project at Federal Hill Main Street on Wednesday, April 3rd at 730pm. We will release a full article when we have more details.
The unit block of E. Cross St. surrounding the market is certainly going through a transition right now as Social has been sold, Stuggy’s and another new business will be leasing the old M&T Bank, Zelda Zen has moved to Fells Point and the space will be home to a new business, and adjacent 48 E. Cross St. is currently under construction.
Another Restaurant for McHenry Row?
Locust Point could see a shakeup of liquor licenses as an application has been submitted to move the liquor license from long-vacant LP Docks at 1476 Reynolds St. to 1724 Whetstone Way at McHenry Row under the name “Stay Thirsty.” The new property is at the south corner of the west tower of McHenry Row and could potentially have a large area for outdoor seating, which they have applied for. This will also be heard on or after March 28th.
LP Docks has been for sale for several years and, if the transfer is completed, it could be eyed for another Locust Point luxury home, which we have seen several old Locust Point bars transitioned to with the transfer of their license. This would be the fourth liquor license at McHenry Row joining The Cellars, Red Parrot and Greene Turtle.
We’ll let you know when we have more information about this potential new restaurant.
Pabste Castle Brewery on the SBNA Agenda
Nothing has been talked about more in the south end of the peninsula than the Pabst Castle at 1834 S. Charles St. An attempt to move Baja Beach Club’s liquor license there several years ago was met with strong resistance and since then news of a brewery and pub surfaced more than a year ago. Subcommittees of the South Baltimore Neighborhood Association (SBNA) have been formed, meetings with the investors and the neighborhood have taken place, and flyers were handed out by a different neighborhood group (Southside) to alert residents of the potential issues of this project.
It’s been quite the road, but a resolution could likely come this Tuesday, March 12th at the SBNA meeting. It was discussed at the February meeting, the discussion was moved to an exclusive meeting on Tuesday, February 19th, and now the project is also on the March agenda. As long as their is a motion of support for this project, it will go before a vote and the brewery group will then have SBNA’s official stance on the project.
If you would like to be part of the discussion, SBNA will meet this Tuesday at 7pm at the South Baltimore Learning Center. If this project is approved by the Liquor Board, it could open in approximately six months.
About the Author: Kevin Lynch
Founder and Publisher of SouthBmore.com, longtime resident of South Baltimore, and a graduate of Towson University. Diehard Ravens and O's fan, father of three, amateur pizza chef, skateboarder, and "bar food" foodie. Email me at Kevin@InceptMM.com and follow me on Twitter at @SoBoKevin.
