Anthem House’s ‘Amber’ Now Pouring Drinks with Its 48 Taps
Amber launched its full menu this week at at 900 E. Fort Ave., Suite C at Anthem House in Locust Point. Amber previously had a soft opening for a couple weeks as owner Gino Kozera and his staff got a feel for the newly-built 2,000 sq. ft. space.
Amber has 48 taps with 40 of them dedicated to mostly regional craft beer, including four nitrogen taps. The additional eight taps are used for wines and Baltimore’s Wild Kombucha, which is a non-alcoholic beverage. Additional bar offerings include craft cocktails and a wine list.
Amber has a happy hour from 330pm to 630pm. Customers can also purchase an Amber growler and take draft beer to go.
Amber opens at 630am during the week and 7am on the weekends. It serves Annapolis-based Ceremony Coffee Roaster drinks including coffee, espressos, cappuccinos, and nitro cold brew. Amber has quick grab-and-go items including bagels and pastries along with a menu of breakfast sandwiches.
The kitchen at Amber stays open until 9pm on Sunday through Thursday and 10pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Amber’s lunch and dinner menu includes bites including charcuterie, Brussel sprouts, and blackened shrimp; salads with toppings such as blackened chicken, roasted salmon, and blackened shrimp; two soups each day; sandwiches including beer-soaked bratwrust, a Cubano, Philly roast pork, and an Italian; and main dishes including rice bowls, a pork loin porterhouse chop, and short rib. Amber also offers tiramisu from DiPasquale’s and additional dessert specials each day.
Amber seats 75 inside and has outdoor seating for about 30. Amber has two entrances, one on Fort Ave. and one that opens up into the lobby lounge of Anthem House where customers can take their drinks and food purchased at Amber.
The interior of Amber has an industrial feel with two-story ceilings, concrete pillars and floors, exposed brick, and steel beams and railings. Kozera said the space is warmed up with wood accents. It also has a glass garage door that opens the dining room up to Fort Ave. on nice days.
Amber currently offers free parking at the Anthem House garage, and in the future it will be 90 minutes of free parking. There is also a 15-minute parking zone along Fort Ave.
Amber has 16 employees including baristas, servers, bartenders, and kitchen staff.
Kozera was a partner at Pierpoint in Fells Point in the 199os and later worked for Panera Bread from 1999 to 2015. During his tenure at Panera, Kozera helped the company expand to Maryland and later helped to run the Philadelphia market. He decided it was time to get back to a more boutique setting and began looking in Baltimore for a site to open a new restaurant about a couple years ago.
He said he loves Amber’s location because of the community feel in Locust Point.
The nine-story Anthem House opened last year and includes 292 apartments and 449 parking spaces.
Fitness Studio Bar Method will open this weekend at Anthem House. Coming soon to the complex is restaurant Jazz + Soju, and later restaurant Limoncello. There is currently a vacant retail space at Anthem House at the corner of Fort Ave. and Lawrence St. Anthem House has a total of 20,000 sq. ft. of retail space.
Anthem House co-developer War Horse Cities also has an office in the building.
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.
