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• Foreman Wolf restaurant group is preparing to launch a new concept in the former Cafe Hon space on The Avenue

• An all-outdoor restaurant in the backyard of a former parsonage (at 3601 Hickory Avenue, behind the former historic Grace United Methodist Church building on The Avenue).

• A wine bar in a converted Falls Road garage, as long as the owner and the neighbors can get on the same page.

• Asian Taste is relocating to the former Treehouse Cafe and Juice Bar.

• A new bar serving sangria, tapas and dessert is planned for the former 13.5% Wine Bar and Bar Fusion space on The Avenue.

• A hotel above Good Neighbor on Falls Road is opening this summer, Chopra said. Guesthouse at Good Neighbor will feature seven rooms decorated in the same modern Japanese/Scandinavian-inspired design as the coffee shop and homewares store. A full outdoor kitchen is in the works, too, offering a lunch and dinner menu as well as cocktails.

• Steakhouse Medium Rare seems closer to arriving in Hampden’s Rotunda soon

• Warehouse Cinemas, is set to open within a few weeks in the former CineBistro space, according to a Facebook post.

• Urban Oyster has submitted an application for a liquor license.

• Catalog Coffee should launch sometime this summer.

I'm just mad the Lunchbox apparently closed. Yeah it was kind of gross and sometimes the waitress completely forgot about me but you could get a whole breakfast for like five bucks

It sounds like one of them is a movie theater that serves food. Which is good.

Hampden needs more shops/things to do. There are already plenty of restaurants.

Businesses leaving:

•  Ceremony Coffee (in Whitehall Market)

• FireFly Farms (in Whitehall Market)

• The Five and Dime Ale House

Damn, sorry to hear it's gone. I used to go there when I lived in the area but had forgotten it existed.

Whitehall Mill, a perpetual tough time.

Warehouse Cinema took over the old Leitersburg Theater north of Hagerstown and are doing a really nice job with it. Put in a nice beer tap self service area and the chairs are quite nice.

Of course I don't think the Hampden location will have the same interesting diverse film options like Leitersburg does. They always have at least one Christian film I did not even know existed showing there. This weekend I will be watching John Wick 4 in a theater next to Jesus Revolution :)

Those mills are such a pain in the ass to get to by anything but car (and even then...)

Oh no 😭 where is ceremony going?

There's practically zero pedestrian access to it, which really sucks. I live less than five minutes away but would have to walk through several busy intersections and on roads with blind corners and no sidewalks (or crosswalks!), so I've only ever been once in the few years it's been open.

It’s not dense enough back there to support all that commercial space. Building Whitehall Mill was a poor business decision imo

Interesting. Excited to see what kind of restaurants will be there/food. Excited for the tapas and dessert place!

this makes me really sad, firefly and ceremony were some of my favorite spots in the mill

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I stop by on bike rides sometimes, but hours are bizarre.

It seems like a good outfit for events and a catering hub, not much else.

Warehouse is replacing CineBistro there, also a dine-in-theater. They closed up at the start of covid.

I love going to Heritage Kitchen and True Chesapeake but I would go a lot more often if I could easily walk there

There are more problems plaguing Whitehall then just pedestrian access/driving traffic to the mill in general. :x

My point is that even though they serve food I don’t think of them primarily as a restaurant. It’s an actual activity in addition to eating, something that Hampden needs.

Lots of shops are closing down. Seem to be being replaced by restaurants or some weird legal title company or whatever is in Trov

I just discovered them recently, dang it.

Oh well. The only constant is change, as they say.

I'm glad that The Wine Source carries Ceremony, but sometimes they are out of fresher bags, and it takes me a while to go through them, so I don't buy them if they were roasted more than 7-10 days previously.

Curious what these are in your estimation? I just started going, after learning that Ceremony had a location there.

With them and Firefly leaving, I don't think I'll have a reason to make it a destination moving forward.

I read that the lunchbox was closed by the inspector for unsanitary conditions and repeated violations. I think it was in the email OP’s article was in. Maybe they will spiff ‘er up a bit and reopen?

I know it's technically impossible, but there just needs to be sidewalks. I live closer to ceremony than to Common Ground, but I ended up going to common ground because I could walk there.

Cotton Duck Title was in Hampden and on the Avenue for years before they moved into the trohv space. It’s not as a fun as a store, but we locals are happy that the space is filled by another local company. Bonus is that they do put some effort into the window styling! Can’t beat the Trohv decorated windows, but we do have Watermelon Sugar for that as well 😄

It's been one of the best "remote working" spaces in the area, I think. Ample seating, fast internet, (for now has) great coffee, and the nicest bathrooms around.

But yeah, I never find myself thinking to pop over there on a weekend.

Glad to hear about Asian Taste. I've been missing my Yak fix.

Not impossible if you get rid of one car lane 😅

Seems like some sort of elevated walkway would be possible sine the one side is so high.

I’ve lived in Baltimore for more than 10 years and I had to look up what Whitehall Mill even was. I recognize it now from driving past, but it’s something I was only vaguely aware even had anything in there. They need better marketing.

There are a bunch of restaurants, but since Food Market became meh, I don’t know one where I can reliably expect to get a good meal.

They were sort of off avenue. Yeah they were there but they add nothing to the avenue experience. Hey, let’s go look at some windows. How fun.

Did the Thai place close?

True, Bodhi Corner is still there. Probably the best Thai in Baltimore. I guess I never think about it as a sit-down option. I only get take out there.

Oh, wow. Any idea if firefly will relocate?

That too. The city/neighborhood associations in general do a poor job of marketing different neighborhoods and their individual destinations.

It’s very dangerous back there for pedestrians or vehicles. How someone develops back there, and does not put in sidewalks or street lights is beyond me.

Dylan’s Oyster Cellar

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Experience? Hampden isn’t Disney World.

Cotton Duck provides a service for the neighborhood and surrounding community. And they were and continue to be literally on the Avenue; the moved from the 700 block to the 900 block of 36th Street.

You don’t think the avenue exists to provide entertainment through goods and services to locals and tourists? Lol.

I know where they were. A tiny little place past where most people go. They’re now in a big place that used to be fun.

Lived in hampden over a decade. Never used them once. But I’m sure they’re tons of fun. 🙄

People used to like visiting in part because hampden was fun. Now? Meh.

I can also add when it happened I had been living in Hampden for 10 or so years. Definitely wasn’t happy it wasn’t something that added value to the avenue.

Yes, I do think the avenue exists to provide goods and services. Cotton Duck provides a service. Just because you did not use it during your time in the neighborhood does not negate its usefulness for others.

If you don’t think Hampden is fun anymore, cool. We don’t want you visiting anyway.

Best in Hampden, easily. Best in the city, I’m happy to debate on behalf of. Love that place.

Wow. That’s just special. Why don’t you want me visiting? Can’t tolerate someone with a different view from you?

Cotton duck absolutely provides a service. But it takes away from the avenue. I’m sorry you don’t have the neighborhoods best interest in mind and want to keep the neighborhood purity or whatever. People who believe in “purity” tend not to like me (or really any Jews) anyway. Something a bunch of people in hampden can work on.

I’ve found butchers hill a lot more, accepting and warm.

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What the fuck. I post a comment about appreciating a local business and now you claim that? Sir, this is a Wendy’s

Not to wade into a 'best pizza' debate, but Paulie Gees absolutely meets the bar of "reliably good"

I actually didn't claim that about you. I was talking to someone else.

You didn't tell me

>We don’t want you visiting anyway.

did you?

Then that clearly wasn't directed at you.

I left Baltimore about four years ago. Food Market quality has gone downhill? It used to be so reliable and that makes me super sad.

If you're coming from Hampden, you can head down 36th then ash street and then go on that road that looks like a driveway. (mill race). That neighborhood southwest of Roosevelt park is all very nice walking. Not trafficky.

From there, there's a little path, then the footbridge. I have walked mill race road but never actually went up and over the footbridge.

If you look at this over head on Google maps, it will make more sense.

It actually looks like a cool little walk of you're into walking weird places. Don't need to walk on Clipper Mill Road at all.

No way. They’re still bussin’ as the kids would say

In my best Helen Lovejoy voice "Oh won't someone think of the parking?!"

If Heritage Kitchen in Whitehall closes I think I might cry.

Also I’m so excited to hear Asian Taste is opening back up! Easily the best fast Chinese food around when it was open and you cannot convince me otherwise.

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I was excited for Medium Rare, but thought they were going into the theatre space. Then the news the theatre was returning…

And can someone tell me how an all outdoor restaurant works? Do they only open when the chance of rain is below 40%? Do they chain up the furniture every night, or just let the Hampden zombies camp on it all night?

Glad Asian Taste is coming back!

The avenue isn't, and as far as I know has never been, strictly a "restaurants and shops" place. Rather, it's the heart of a neighborhood and as such it has plenty of mundane businesses. Off the top of my head it's got a church, a dentist, multiple barber shops and hair salons, a pediatrician, at least one bank, a coworking space, and a family center. That's part of what makes it vibrant. If places like those and the title company were prevented from being there it would be feel like (and really, be) just another soulless, master-planned entertainment district. I don't think there's too many people who want that.

> People who believe in “purity” tend not to like me

You're the only one I see here arguing for any sort of purity. You're the one suggesting that certain types of businesses shouldn't get to be on the avenue.

Who is talking about preventing certain types of places from being on the avenue?

Did you just get all angry about comments you made up in your head. Because I never said nor implied

>certain types of businesses shouldn't get to be on the avenue.

Just that I was disappointed that a bunch of stores have left and non-stores took their place. That there are now fewer stores. That's it. That's the post.

Imagine if you went to a zoo and they sold all their mammals. It's still a zoo. But you can still be bummed there aren't lions and elephants and stuff. That doesn't mean you hate birds.

Did everyone forget how to read today?

> Urban Oyster has submitted an application for a liquor license.

It's still wild to me that another oyster bar is opening within shouting distance of the best oyster spot in the city.

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Last I checked the wine bar you mentioned did not have the cooperation of the neighbors. Did that change?

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It's not impossible not even close. It's just not anywhere close to a priority for this city, which can't even make the sidewalks it already has ADA compliant. New sidewalks? Forget about it.

They could at least clear the brush, but they don't. There is actually space for a shoulder but it's completely overgrown.

>Imagine if you went to a zoo and they sold all their mammals. It's still a zoo. But you can still be bummed there aren't lions and elephants and stuff.

I've been living here for 20 years. I think people enjoy living here is because it's generally pretty useful. There are two grocery stores, three mechanic shops, a solid hardware store, and a nice nightlife. It's very walkable and the parking's really not terrible when you remember that you are in the middle of a large city.

These are all practical concerns. The nightlife is practical in that it helps people bond which can help build a sense of community which, in turn, maintains the safety and livability of this neighborhood.

It only took a couple years to get annoyed at the 34th street lights thing. Are you trying to go somewhere in Hampden on a Sunday in December after the Ravens pound the shit out of the Steelers? Forget it. My aunt and uncle lived on Keswick and it was bad back in the 80's too. Some years are worse than others.

Maybe the knee-jerk reaction is "Well, don't go there if you don't like it" but I live here. What's the alternative? I go over to the Waverly Giant to buy groceries?

If 36th street was a wall of bars and foofy restaurants, that means I'd have to go elsewhere for practical things. I gave up drinking years ago, so why stay in a neighborhood geared towards entertainment?

To paraphrase the Wu-Tang, Hampden has diversified its bonds. If we had all our eggs in the drinking/dining basket, we'd go bust every time the economy tanks. The population would be far more transient. But because we have a lot to offer to different kinds of people, it's pretty stable, which makes it a place you'd like to hang out in.

I hate this "purity" thing you're talking about because what I'm talking about is SO far from some hipster hangup about "authenticity" or whatever. I just want this place to serve its residents well so that it can stay nice.

Check out The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs. Cities exist primarily to serve their residents and when they fail to do that, they begin to fail in other ways.

i live in SoBo but found this place because of heritage kitchen. i love the twist they have on traditional filipino dishes & enjoyed their vegan month menu. worth a try if you haven’t & they change their menu frequently!

I’ve heard they’re also going to do crabs, which has been a Hampden blindspot for a while.

ASIAN TASTE IS BACK HELL YEAH!!!

We need a fast casual oysters spot

> I think people enjoy living here is because it's generally pretty useful.

Many neighborhoods have grocery and hardware stores. Hampden offered a good mixture of fun and practical. The fun has diminished with the avenue stores closing imo. That’s my point. There was a balance and it’s being lost.

The Local Oyster isn't all that far.

Good luck to them. Restaurants are a hard business at the best of times. And these are not the best of times.

Have they announced an official open date yet?

Thank you! (Garbage ass paywalled article from The Banner....)

Also, re Cinebistro: Really glad they went through all that effort, money, and construction to open a cartoonishly expensive and gaudy looking movie theater that lasted maybe 3.5 years LOL. Good fucking riddance.

I am very sad about firefly, their wines and beers were legit. Loved going there to get some work done with someone while drinking a bottle of good wine.

Five and Dime was absolute garbage the last time I went toward the end of last year. Not surprised to see them go.

That footbridge has been gated and overgrown. My best friend lives at the very last house on Ash/Clipper mill and we just walked that walk last week after going to Birrotecca.

Good to know.

That stretch of Falls road... If you make the mistake of walking it once, you won't walk it again.