Ruby 8 Noodle and Sushi Bar to Fill Empty Restaurant Space at McHenry Row
McHenry Row is gaining a new restaurant as Ruby 8 Noodle and Sushi Bar signed a lease with 28 Walker Development for the 4,200 sq. ft. restaurant space vacated by Umi Sake at 1702 Whetstone Way.
With an expected early-May opening, this will be the second Baltimore City-area location for owners Chil and Joyce Chong, who have operated their Asian-Sushi restaurant at the Horseshoe Casino since summer 2014. Ruby 8 Noodle and Sushi Bar is expected to employ approximately 40 full and part-time employees.
According to General Manager Lisa Chung, the McHenry Row restaurant will be configured as a “more upscale, modern and contemporary version” of the Horseshoe Casino, with a greater emphasis placed on sushi, Asian cocktails, and eighteen taps featuring local and imported beers. In addition, Ruby 8 will be adding a raw bar serving fresh oysters, clams and crab claws. The restaurant will include nearly 130 seats.
“Based on our success at the casino, we have become well-known in the Baltimore area and we wanted to create a new restaurant opportunity for our loyal customers in a different section of the city,” said Chung in a press release. “McHenry Row provides just the type of atmosphere we will looking for, including an energetic evening and weekend environment based on the existing restaurant mix, nearby businesses, and residential areas to become a destination point in Locust Point. We believe our concept will significantly further the McHenry Row brand.”
The menu will feature a variety of Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese entrées to include roast duck soup, Bulgogi, Mongolian beef, and Vietnamese beef pho, as well as seafood selections such as sea bass, lobster and rockfish, and specialty items such as General Tso’s chicken and Szechuan Spicy Pork.
Ruby 8 is the third new restaurant for McHenry Row in the past year as Piaza opened in a space that was formerly part of Greene Turtle, which remains open, and Samos Greek Island Grill, which is opening at the former Yogi Castle. Harris Teeter is also adding a Starbucks inside its store. Prior to Umi Sake, 1702 Whetstone Way was Red Parrot Asian Bistro.
“Restaurants bring interest and excitement to mixed-use development projects, and we continually seek compelling concepts to diversify our roster of tenants,” said Mark Sapperstein of 28 Walker Development in a press release. “The owners of Ruby 8 bring a long and successful history of restaurant operations, dating back to an extended run with a pizza shop on Hopkins Square. This experience brings us extreme confidence with their next endeavor at McHenry Row.”
A third parking garage was recently completed at McHenry Row with plans for an additional phase of development coming in the near future.
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.
