Remington September 2019

On-Again, Off-Again The Dizz Closes

September 4, 2019.  The "on-again, off-again" closing of The Dizz appears to be on again.

The Dizz closed today because, according to the Basta post on The Dizz Facebook page, "the numbers do not support keeping open any longer.” The decision to close The Dizz was apparently made abruptly.

An August 30 post on its Facebook page announced “that breakfast service will resume next weekend, Saturday & Sunday, September 7th & 8th. Hope we see you there!” And a post on September 2, proclaimed, “Hey folks! We’re laboring on Labor Day and might be one of the very few places in Remington that’s open. Come by and see us!"  Maybe if they had cut back on plant maintenance and garish holiday lights, they could have made it to the end of the year.

Michael Levine (of course) is the sales agent.  His post on Remington Nextdoor Neighbor states the asking price of $550,000.  A sharp decrease from last year when the asking price was $875,000.  I think that particular sale included the building next door, home to Lynn's Hairdressers.  Tom Basta is selling all his Remington properties (not verified, but the sale signs are up all around the block).

Pop-up at Parts & Labor



September 5, 2019.  Mera Kitchen Collective is hosting the latest "tire shop pop-up" at the now-defunct Parts & Labor restaurant on 2600 N. Howard Street. Sofra Rebelde: Mera Kitchen x Cocina Lunchadoras will be serving their renowned Mexican street fare from 5pm-10pm.  Recently Cocina Lunchadoras owner, Rosalyn Vera, received a death threat for displaying an anti-Trump poster at her 235 S. Broadway restaurant.





National Chocolate Milkshake Day


September 10, 2019.   The Paper Moon Diner will be featuring chocolate milkshakes in honor of this innocuous occasion on September 12.





Sisson Street Park Upkeep

September 21, 2019.  JHU students will once again descend upon our neighborhood to lend support to the community effort to revitalize the old Sanitary Laundry lot at 2600 Sisson Street.  The President's Day of Service has been instrumental in turning the abandoned lot into a community park.  Bill Cunningham and Molly McCallagh are to be credited, also.



BRD Expanding

September 23, 2019.  BRD will land in Federal Hill next month. The R. House staple will open its second location on October 7 inside the Wheelhouse apartment development on Cross Street. The 1,700-square-foot space will have seating for about 40 people and an expanded menu.

BRD, an acronym for "baked, roasted and deep-fried," has had a stall inside the R. House food hall in Remington since 2016. The eatery is known for sandwiches like the Bmore BRD, a fried chicken sandwich with dill pickles, BRD sauce, and Old Bay, as well as chicken wings with flavors like sweet Thai chili and Jamaican jerk.

Source: Amanda Yeager, BBJ, 9/23/19

Remington August 2019

Former Parts & Labor Building Planning Tire Shop Pop-ups

Before P&L, there was J&L.  Author Photo.

August 9, 2019.  The former Parts & Labor space will host one-day pop-ups highlighting local food and drink through September. A part of "Seawall World", along with the R. House and Remington Row, the old Jeff & Lynne's Tire Shop has been vacant since  Spike moved back to Hampden.  Seawall has heard from community members (that means GRIA) who want to see the space in use, so we get

"We heard that people would love to see that space activated and put to use by other great
Baltimore makers and chefs," she said.

In the longer term, Seawall is working to identify a new tenant for the 11,000-square-foot

P&L when it was first open for business.  Author Photo.

space, Marshall said. Local theater company ArtsCentric recently announced it will be moving
into a 3,000-square-foot space next door that used to be occupied by Single Carrot Theatre.

The pop-up series will run at least into September, according to Marshall. More chefs and drink
providers will be announced on social media in the coming weeks.

Admission to Saturday's event is free, and visitors can choose from a menu that includes
brisket, ribs and pork belly burnt ends "al pastor," as well as sides like Mexican street corn, cole
slaw and Texas red rice, as well as bergamot pound cake, peach pie and a banana cream pie
soft-serve sundae for dessert.

Source: Amanda Yeager, Baltimore Business Journal

Agora Plans Evolving

August 23, 2019.  The many coddled Johns Hopkins students will soon have new buildings to overindulge. They will be able to have their coffee in “The Factory” and listen to open-air concerts beneath the “Conversation Cube”.  Conversation Cube?  I thought that was the shuttle bus.

The Renzo Piano Building Workshop rendering

Those are nicknames for parts of the one-of-a-kind institute targeted for completion in 2022. The formal name is Stavros Niarchos Foundation Agora Institute, an interdisciplinary center.  I'm just going to call it "The Factory." The institute was announced in 2017 after the Stavros Niarchos Foundation committed $150 million to launch an effort with Hopkins to build and staff an academic forum dedicated to “strengthening democracy by improving civic engagement and civil discourse worldwide.” One of its goals is to reinvent the ancient Greek agora, (that's a public gathering place, in case you failed Greek).

Proposed Model

Hopkins hired The Renzo Piano Building Workshop, the architect behind high-profile projects such as the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York and the Shard skyscraper in London. Hopkins is moving quickly to build the institute’s permanent home.  JHU has not yet received a construction permit from the city, but that's never stopped them before.  Baltimore gives the University carte blanche most of the time anyway.

The building is to be erected on the parking lot next to the Marine Hospital that Hopkins now calls the Administration Building.  It will be comprised of two main sections largely clad in glass: an area to the north for public meetings, conferences and events, dubbed the “Conversation Cube,” and an academic structure to the south with classrooms, labs and faculty offices, dubbed “The Factory.” The two main sections will be separated by a circulation space.

Ayers Saint Gross, Architects

“The Factory” will have six levels and a café at the base, with tables and chairs on a terrace overlooking a garden, while the “Conversation Cube” will be one flexible space, two stories high, and will appear to float above the ground. Beneath the Cube will be a 25-foot-high area that will remain open to the elements and available for a wide range of gatherings, from convocations to concerts by Peabody Institute students. According to Elizabeth Smyth, advisor to JHU president Ron Daniels, the intent is to create a place that is welcoming and inviting, not imposing.  Sure, a six-story glass building isn't "imposing."

In addition to the Agora Institute, Hopkins is planning to upgrade the old Marine Hospital for use as academic space and faculty offices for Hopkins and build a $100 million student center near Charles Street, most likely in place of the Mattin Center. An architect has not been selected for that project.

Assuming permits can be obtained in time, Hopkins hopes to start construction on the Agora Institute next summer

Sources:  Ed Gunts, Baltimore Business Journal; The Hub (https://hub.jhu.edu)


Greedy Reads

Greedy Reads, Fell's Point

August 23, 2109.  Fell's Point bookstore Greedy Reads is opening a new location across from the R. House in the defunct and overpriced bicycle shop portion of 320 W.  29th Street.  They hope to open “sometime before the holidays,” according to the post on Facebook.

The owner, Julia Fleischaker, is a former director of marketing and publicity at Melville House and publicity director at Penguin Group, believes Remington to be "a vibrant community." (She is a native of Montgomery County, so it may take a while for reality to sink in).

320 W. 29th Street location

While continuing to operate the Fell's Point location, Greedy Reads will have a new roster of programming for the Remington location. The store will stock new releases, a selection of older titles and classics, and gifts and magazines. Bookstore dog Audie will retain her title of director of marketing and split her time between the two stores. Fleischaker welcomes ideas from the community. Everybody play nice.

Source:  Christine Condon, Baltimore Business Journal

Remington July 2019

Single Carrot Out; ArtsCentric Maybe In

July 3, 2019.  Out with the new, in with the newest. A local theater company, ArtsCentric, announced plans to take over the Single Carrot Theatre space at 2600 N. Howard Street this fall. As usual, everything that happens around here depends on financing, so we'll see.

ArtsCentric, a 16-year-old African-American theater group that has operated for years without a permanent home, plans to move into Single Carrot’s old space on October 1, 2019. Cedric D. Lyles is the director of operations and Kevin McAllister is the artistic director.  Both have commented in the Baltimore Business Journal regarding the move.  They believe that key improvements will make the space perfect to stabilize their vision of serving the community and striving to expand opportunities for new programming. They will be joining Young Audiences of Maryland/Arts for Learning, also a part of the Howard Street building.

As stated, this all depends on getting the money for development.  The company has launched a campaign to raise $250,000 to get its new headquarters ready for use. ArtsCentric has signed a five-year lease for just over 3,000 square feet on two levels. Since Single Carrot has taken everything it owns out of the building, the new company will need sound equipment, lighting, signage, and other items to mount stage productions, which is why it launched a fundraising drive.

Motor House

Founded in 2003, ArtsCentric is a nonprofit that produces musicals, plays, and concerts.  Past productions have included “Dreamgirls,” “Smokey Joe’s Café,” “La Cage aux Folles,” “Aida” and “Chicago.”  For the past 3 years, the company has been based at Motor House on W. North Avenue. Besides stage productions, directors dream of creating a cultural arts center that will become a gathering spot for events and conversations that support the arts, tackle community issues and spotlight local artists and musicians.  Good luck with that.

If capital development does reach its goal, the campaign will culminate with a gala on October 20 of this year. One of the first shows ArtsCentric plans to produce in its new home is “The Wiz,” most likely in December. The organization plans on 6 productions per year.  Definitely a "wait and see" project.

Sources: Ed Grunts, Baltimore Fishbowl; photos by Web

Remington's Blue Water Testing Inner Harbor "Swimability"

July 8, 2019. Blue Water Baltimore, a group that monitors and advocates for the city's streams, rivers, and harbor, has expanded into testing them, too. Samples it collects around the harbor each Thursday come right back to the group's 2631 Sisson Street Remington offices, where the scientists learn within 24 hours how much fecal contamination they contain.  Testing is performed on-site and at the Remington office labs. They spent $10,000 on its testing technology, using donations from benefactors including the Jim and Patty Rouse Charitable Foundation.  After sending samples away for testing by a third party, the report cards have shown harbor water quality is improving, but still poor.  No shit.

Sources:  Scott Dance, The Baltimore Sun; Delawareonline.com; photo by me


Taco Tuesday in Remington

July 11, 2019.  Clavel gets picked, again, as one of the top 3 Mexican restaurants in Baltimore.  According to ourcommunitynow.com, the family-run taqueria and mezcaleria (225 W. 23rd) has become famous for their vast selection of Mezcal and hand-pressed tacos. I can attest that the beef tongue taco is delish. Owner Lane Harlan (who also owns WC Harlan's down the street), has established positive reviews since opening in 2015.  I haven't returned since 2015 as it is impossible to find a seat anymore.

Source:  ourcomunitynow.com; photo by me.


Seawall to the Rescue, Again. 

July 22, 2019.  It's been an ongoing guessing game regarding the future of the Parts & Labor building on Howard Street.  Single Carrot abandoned their portion of the property last fall and the restaurant portion has sat empty since Spike decided it was more lucrative to sell tacos in Hampden.  A post from a GRIA member on the Friends of Remington Facebook page indicated that Up In Smoke BBQ would occupy the space, but it was all just a miscommunication.  The Baltimore Business Journal, while covering the relocation of the Single Carrot Theatre, indicated that the restaurant had no potential tenants.  Then along comes Remington's most adored benefactor, Seawall Development.

A notice from Baltimore's liquor board was posted on the door stating that an application has been submitted by Remington BBQ LLC for the transfer of a Class "B" beer, wine and liquor license at the location. The application was filed by David DiPrinzio,  director of operations for Remington food hall, R. House, and its owner, Seawall Development Corp.  The former 5,000-square-foot Parts & Labor site still has the restaurant logo painted in its garish pink and green color scheme.

Notice taped to door, July 2019

Seawall wouldn't provide more information about the potential new concept stating that something is in the works for the site and that details will be released in the coming weeks.

Commissioners for Baltimore City says the application is for the transfer of ownership of the license that includes the continuation of outdoor table service, and a request for live entertainment and off-premise catering. A hearing on the application will be held on or after August 1, 2019, according to the notice.  I haven't seen anything on the Board's website so far, but they have been in recess for most of the summer.

Sources:  Carly Milligan, Baltimore Business Journal; photo by me.

Remington June 2019

Howard Bank Robbery

June 12, 2019.  Usually, I don't include crime or obituaries on my blog because I would be typing night and day.  However, the crew that held-up Howard Bank yesterday are just as notorious as the Beltway Snipers that appeared in our neighborhood in 2002.The FBI Baltimore Violent Crimes Task Force is searching for four bank robbers who they have named “The Mod Squad.” The FBI is so imaginative.

Courtesy of Howard Bank

Howard Bank, a newcomer to the neighborhood, got a taste of City life when a couple of disguised youngsters entered the bank, approached the teller and presented a demand note. Another member of the crew was waiting outside the lobby as a lookout. Once the money was received from the teller, the crew fled in separate vehicles. Their disguises and cars varied with each robbery, so far totaling thirteen in the metropolitan area.

Howard Bank is one of the sponsors of the annual Remfest. Welcome to Remington!

Community Picnic

June 22, 2019.  Once again, the GRIA's annual community picnic appeared at the Sisson Street Park. This year a soap making table was hosted by Mount Royal Soap, Good Doggie Daycare set up a dog agility course, and there was a raffle with awesome prizes including gift cards to R House and Fringe, dog goodie basket from Good Doggie Daycare, Beyond Video totes, and some community freebies, such the never-ending supply of recycling bins.  Dragging those things home is a real challenge.

Remington May 2019

New Mural Developing on Sisson Street

Authors photo, May 9, 2019

Remington's newest mural is going up at MissionFit, the youth-focused gym on Sisson Street.  Justin Nethercut, a world-renowned artist (well, London and Montreal at least) from Station North, has begun filling in the outline and he should be finishing in the coming weeks.  Nether is locally famous for the Freddie Gray mural on Mount & Presbury.


. . . Speaking of Murals

Mural by Marshall Adams.  Facebook image

Mount Royal Soap Company also was granted a mural for their location at 28th and Huntingdon.  Another Remington cat makes a debut.







New Ottobar Owner Announced

May 10, 2019. According to a post on WTMD.org, Tecla Tesnauis will become the new owner of The Ottobar.  She has bartended at the venue since it opened downtown 21 years ago on. She doesn't plan to change the current business plan (except cleaner bathrooms) and hopes to bring in drag shows, literary nights and other events to build on The Ottobar’s storied reputation.

Ever since the sale was announced in November of last year, Tesnau watched potential buyers come and go, each imagining what type of business they would bring in architects to see how they could re-imagine The Ottobar as an exclusive club for rock music or some other genre.

Regular customers were dismayed with the sale and Tesnauis fielded hundreds of questions about the potential owners.  It because apparent that the bar meant so much to the patrons, Tesnau decided to see what it would take to buy The Ottobar herself. And after months of consulting with investors, financial advisors and the club’s current owners,  she is officially the new owner.

Tecla Tesnau Photo by Shane Gardner.

The current owners, Michael Bowen, Craig Boarman and Brian DeRan were looking for a buyer that would keep the current venue, so I'm sure they are happy that Tesnau will be in charge,

The Ottobar’s current schedule of shows will continue as planned, and Tesnau is planning a series of events to celebrate the club’s new ownership this fall.

Sources:  WTMD, Facebook



Second Annual RemFest

May 11, 2019.  On Saturday, RemFest returns for its second year. The celebration of all things Remington (well, surely not all things) includes music chosen by Ottobar, food from local bars and restaurants (The Dizz, Sweet 27, Charmington’s, The Local Oyster, Ekiben, and Neopol), and family fun in the R. House garage.


Remington Challenge Winners

May 22, 2019.  Two local companies are getting a chance to launch retail concepts in Baltimore's Remington neighborhood after winning a small business
competition.

The Cahoots Brothers and Codex Club will soon occupy storefronts at 300 W. 29th Street and 2700 Remington Avenue, Suite 1100, respectively.

Cahoots Brothers

The Cahoots Brothers will showcase the making of its goods, which will feature handmade goods, is a partnership between  Kyle Johnson, founder of Bluestone Goldsmithing; Warner Blak, director of sales and marketing; of Bluestone, Greg Morton (who doesn't work for Bluestone, but will be the general manager for Cahoots Brothers), Alex Bell, a ceramicist/photographer, and Arvay Adams, a clothing maker.

Andrea Chen, Founder

Codex Club started in 2015 and produces custom digital and printed products, such as clothing, home goods, and jewelry. The shop also will allow local artists to sell products.

The winners beat out more than 100 applicants for the opportunity to operate rent-free in the storefronts for up to 2 years.  They also receive a $50,000 allowance to make updates to the spaces. If you have seen the demolition of the old Pizza Bolis, the Cahoots will definitely need all the allowance.

Remington April 2019

Clavel Chef is Nominated for James Beard Award 

April 3, 2019.  Clavel was named a semifinalist in the Outstanding Bar Program category but did not become a finalist, so better luck next year.  They are packed every Sunday for brunch, award or not.

Baltimore has taken home just one James Beard Award: Spike Gjerde, the chef of Woodberry Kitchen, the defunct Parts & Labor,  and Papi's Tacos, won Best Chef: Mid Atlantic in 2015.

Source:  Christina Tkacik, The Baltimore Sun, April 3, 2019


The Dizz is No Longer for Sale

April 17, 2019. Darlene and Thomas L. Basta Jr., the owners of The Dizz have put retirement on hold and carry on with the business.  After an outpouring of support from community members, the Bastas have kept The Dizz.

Lynn Szybist, the owners' assistant, said the bar plans to offer daily specials,  especially in the discount department.   Otherwise, little about the restaurant will change. Manager Elaine Stevens will still be on hand to run the place.  I guess I'm still barred for another decade.