South Baltimore Business Roundup

SoBo Highlighted in Feature on Millennials

A new ABC In Focus article and segment featured the growth of millennials in Baltimore City and the South Baltimore Neighborhood and its 2 East Wells and 1901 South Charles developments were highlighted. From the article:

The other neighborhood, South Baltimore or SOBO which is increasingly forming its own identity from Federal Hill, new residential projects are replacing old industry.

In addition to several infill townhome projects planned for more than a few blocks on streets like Hanover and Fort Avenue, Wells Street has two brand new apartment buildings. The old Raffel building and cardboard box factory will be the luxury Heath Street Lofts and there are much bigger plans closer to the stadiums.

Crossbar Adds Roof

Construction on Federal Hill’s Crossbar der Biergarten at 12-18 E. Cross St. has been underway since June. New exterior walls have been created using reclaimed brick and yesterday construction began on the new roof.

Crossbar has an upcoming BLLC hearing to transfer the liquor license from the former Joey B’s to its property on Cross St.

Photos courtesy of Crossbar

Shake Shack Opens at the Inner Harbor

Crowds lined up for the grand opening of Shake Shack at 400 E. Pratt St. on Monday. Shake Shack serves burgers, hot dogs, fries, milkshakes and more, and has attracted big crowds since opening its first location in New York City.

Second Idle Hour Fundraiser

Fort Avenue’s Idle Hour has been closed since right before the New Year after a structural issue in its building was discovered. The owners are currently getting quotes for the repairs and hosting fundraisers to help cover costs. The first fundraiser was on January 31st at Little Havana and the second will be on February 28th at Ottobar in Remington. From Idle Hour’s Facebook page:

Hello Idle friends and fans, we have had a busy two weeks since we saw you all last. Since the last party we have had two crews of structural engineers inspect the buildings to prepare reports on the conditions and to draw up plans to go forward with the repairs. Once we have the plans, the next step will be to bid the project out to masonry specialists and get some firm prices to complete the project. Unfortunately, it is not going to be cheap! Which is why we have also been diligently working on putting together our next fundraiser- an over the top party at the Ottobar on Saturday the 28th. Save the date on your calendars, you won’t want to miss this one! And since it’s at the Ottobar we will have a ton of room AND PARKING to see all of our friends from all over the city. There will be bands, DJ’s, burlesque performances, drink specials and we will be kicking off our official Indiegogo fundraising campaign. There will be much more info coming in the next few days, but please help us by sharing this post and saving the date. It’s going to be a really, really great night and we hope you will share it with us. We love you all, IDLE

Abbey Burger Bistro Recognized

The Abbey Burger Bistro was named The Best Burger in Maryland by MSN. From the article:

Baltimore’s Abbey Burger Bistro prides itself on the build-your-own method: you can choose from beef, chicken, bison, kangaroo, and a range of other meats and top to your heart’s content to make the burger of your dreams.

Development Updates

Green Door Properties’ plan for 39 townhomes (42 were originally proposed) on the 1800 block of Hanover St. in South Baltimore has hit a snag. The project did not receive the approvals needed from the Baltimore City Board of Municipal Zoning Appeals (BMZA) which will likely delay the project at least a year or lead to a different direction for the property.

1701 Light St., a property seized by the State of Maryland and later sold at auction, will soon be redeveloped by Pruitt Builders. The property received BMZA approval in 2014 to construct a second home on the rear of the property.

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.