Monday, April 1, 2019

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.

Friday, December 7, 2018

Remington December 2018

Remington Wine Company Closes

December 7, 2018.  Remington Wine Company (329 W. 29th Street) that opened in 2015 in a building owned by Seawall Development, closed for good today.  According to their Facebook page, owners Mitchell Pressman and his wife Debbie Jones cited "financial circumstances both beyond our control and of our own making.”
Image from Facebook
Image from bmoreremingtonian.com
The couple formerly owned Chesapeake Wine Company in Canton, which also closed.

The Remington shop occupied the site of the former Sav-It Liquors, a gritty, no-frills shop known for its neon sign and, after an unnerving robbery, an unwelcoming vestibule with bullet-proof glass.
The space was renovated by Seawall (of course), to include a much-improved exterior and exposed brick walls inside.  The Remington Wine Company offered a more curated, high-end selection of wines, beer and liquors, which brought in loyal Canton customers to the neighborhood, but few of the diehard locals visited, preferring Pabst over Duckpin.

The business grew substantially this year, the owners said, but it was not enough for them to go on without incurring more debt.

Sources: Baltimore Fishbowl, bmoreremingtonian.com, Facebook
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Baltimore Magazine

Beyond Video Opens on Howard Street

December 14, 2018.  A new, nonprofit based video store opens on December 14 in the old Reptile Records building on Howard Street. Through a Kickstarter campaign and a healthy donation by John Waters, the store is a reboot of the Video Americain chain that closed its doors in 2014.
According to an article in Baltimore magazine, the business will not rent movies individually. Instead, customers can pay “$12 a month that gives you three items at a time or $20 where multiple people can have six items at a time.” There will be no rental fees or late fees.

Sources: Baltimore magazine, Inquisitr.com



Neighborhood Caroling






December 22, 2018. Josh Greenfeld and friends went Yuletide caroling around the 'hood, stopping in at the 29th Street Tavern to reprise their repertoire.  They didn't sound too bad.  

Wednesday, November 21, 2018

Remington November 2018

Ottobar for Sale

November 2, 2018.  The Ottobar will have new owners, the club announced in a Facebook post.  A new ownership group will take over in 2019. According to the listing agent for the property, the owners are looking for a buyer who will keep the same venue.  The Ottobar website posted shows booked as far out as March 15, 2019.  It’s not clear what will happen to the club beyond that.


The business is not yet under contract at this time and the current owners will continue to operate and run The Ottobar as normal until a buyer is found who will carry on the tradition.  It's being listed for sale for the asking price of $1.25 million. Properties along the block at 2547, 2551 and 2553 N. Howard Street are listed as part of the sale, but the option to buy 2549–the address of the club–in a separate sale was offered.
The current owners thanked the musicians, fans, staff, and neighbors in Charles Village, Old Goucher, and Remington.

Sources:  Baltimore Fishbowl

Remington Storefront Challenge

November 21, 2018.  The Greater Remington Improvement Association is looking for two entrepreneurs to fill recently vacated storefronts.  In a "shark-tank style" citywide competition, "entrepreneurs and innovators who have a really great idea for a business, whether it's one they've already started or one they want to get off the ground, [it's] an opportunity to take it to the next level," said David Goldman, a representative of the Remington Storefront Challenge.

Circa 2013
The challenge is offering two locations rent-free for up to 24 months. One the is the barely used police "kiosk" on West 28th, with 900 square feet of space, and the other is the local landmark, Pizza Boli's 1,200-square-foot building 29th Street. I pity people who have to clean up that area.  I swear there is toxic waste oozing from their grease container.

Goldman also stated that the ideal business would be "new and creative" and something Remington hasn't seen before.  So that means practically everything, except an auto repair shop.

While rent is paid for, operating costs are not.  The winner will have to pay for services like heat and electricity.

Neighborhood groups like GRIA usually meet with new business owners before they open, but GRIA is taking community input a step further. The ten finalists will pitch to a panel made up of Remington residents and business owners, giving them a direct say in choosing the winners.

The competition is sponsored by the Greater Remington Improvement Association,  Johns Hopkins University (of course), and Seawall Development (our heroes). Other partners involved in the project include Central Baltimore Partnership, Howard Bank and Younts Design.

If you are thinking about competing, sources say to consider how your concept will increase foot traffic and interact with the other businesses in the area.  Entry deadline is February 1, 2019.

Sources: WBAL interview with David Goldman; technical.ly (website); https://www.rscbaltimore.com/

Saturday, September 1, 2018

Remington September 2018

Seawall Buys More Remington

Class C office building at 28th and Sisson
September 1, 2018.  In its ever-expanding dominion over Remington, Seawall has purchased two more commercial buildings in Remington: A 21,615-square-foot office building at 2801 Sisson St. just off of the 28th Street Bridge and the 7,100-square-foot Walpert Building at 2804 Hampden Ave.  The properties were bought July and August of this year and settled for a mere $2.74 million.

Promotional Poster in Walpert Building
The second building at 2804 Hampden Avenue was purchased from Ronald Walpert. The building had been the headquarters for the Allan N. Walpert & Son Inc. Electricians. I'm sad to see the Walperts leaving as they were an integral part of the neighborhood for years.





Mural Walk with Gaia

2018
September 15, 2018.  The ubiquitous muralist, Andrew Pisacane (the artist formerly known as Gaia) led a special mural walk, discussing his inspiration and installation of three of his Remington murals - Appalachian Tabby, Women of Property, and Madonna.  I may have alienated the group when I questioned his choice of Women and the placement of Madonna, but inquiring minds wanted to know.




The Dizz, a Remington landmark, is up for sale

September 26, 2018.  One of Remington's most ironic (I guess I mean iconic) neighborhood bars is for sale.  Isn't every bar really up for sale?  The Dizz, (formerly known as Dizzy Issie's, Mitchells, Stu's Lounge, Tony's Place, Igor's, Buckley's and my own designation, "Basta's Bastion") located at the corner of West 30th Street and Remington Avenue, is on the market for $875,000, according to  local press.

My photo 2017
While the bar and restaurant, with its neon sign, colorful (and uncomfortable) patio furniture, and far too many string lights has been a fixture in the community for decades and was presented with a certificate of recognition from Comptroller Peter Franchot in May 2018, it still got a shut down by the Baltimore City Health Department in July 2018, because of health code violations. The Department records cited improper and insufficient “cold hold,” which means bad refrigeration, as well as improper and insufficient hand
washing (yuk!).

The Dizz updated the kitchen equipment and refinished the floors in August, the cost of which may have prompted the sale.  The sale price does include the building next door, but I'm thinking it may be on the market for quite some time unless the price is reduced.  But who knows?  It's Remington, weird things happen.



JHU Crosses Remington Avenue

September 27, 2018.  JHU is now occupying the top floor of the old Continental Oil Building at 320 W. 29th Street.  Bet no one knew what that ugly gray structure used to be.  The new JHU enterprise, called FastForward U, is a student-focused facility that seeks to encourage innovation, entrepreneurship, and problem-solving for its students. 


Of the 10,000 sq. ft. space, a little more than two-thirds is dedicated to coworking. There are also conference rooms to meet and common areas for gathering and hosting events. Indicating potential interplay with academics, it’s already playing host to a weekly class.

It’s designed to provide space for students across the whole university. Kerrie Carden, JHTV’s Director of Student Ventures, said the space aims to provide resources for students creating a
startup, social enterprise or nonprofit at any level, from the “curious to committed.”

“This is not just a place for founders. It’s meant for anybody who wants to solve problems,” said Carden who started in the role in August.

Whether they are undergraduate or graduate students, “we want to be a place where you can come in and ask any question whatsoever,” Carden said. There’s also room for hardware, with a 2,000 sq. ft. make space. Operated by the Whiting School of Engineering, the space has tools to work with wood and metal, as well as laser cutters and 3D printers. It provides new tools for student clubs that previously worked at a separate building in Homewood. Colocating the two kinds of spaces also provides the potential for students working on hardware and software to interact, Carden said.
Expanding on the initial home at the hub within the Rangos building on the university’s hospital campus in East Baltimore, the space is part of the effort under FastForward U to up resources
for student entrepreneurs. With entrepreneurship already happening among students, Johns Hopkins Tech Ventures set out to centralize offerings and provide an entry point. FastForward U also provides funding for student ventures at various stages and hosts events such as monthly pitch nights.
Johns Hopkins Tech Ventures also operates two other innovation hubs geared toward entrepreneurial efforts by faculty and the wider Hopkins community at 1812 Ashland Ave. in East Baltimore, and in the same building as R. House.

Source:  Staff, The Hub, 9/24/18