OPEN
Qaffee House: Brand new to Highlandtown, this cafe is the first brick-and-mortar location for Qaffee House—which started as a coffee truck in Columbia. Owners Nabeel Razzak, Rehma Khan, and Shehab Hady feature a Middle Eastern-inspired menu of pastries, coffee, and tea. Qaffee’s signatures include an espresso with housemade cardamom syrup, as well as two chai options: Karak, the popular black tea with cardamom and ginger, and Kashmiri, a pink green tea with milk garnished with pistachios. If you’re hungry, try the house “qroffles,” aka waffle-shaped croissants.
COMING SOON
Dahlia Cocinita: A vegan Mexican concept from Oleum’s Alisha Adibe is coming to Canton early next year. After embarking on her own vegan journey, Adibe brought Oleum’s internationally influenced comfort dishes to Fells Point in 2025. Dahlia Cocinita will build on that mission by providing plant-based Mexican and Latin American-inspired fare. Taking over the former home of longtime breakfast spot Simply Marie’s on Elliott Street, Adibe is excited to showcase vegan fish alternatives like watermelon tuna in her ceviche, as well as lions mane mushrooms and hearts of palm in her “fish” tacos. “We’ve also gotten requests for flan and enchiladas verdes,” she adds.
Named after the official flower of Mexico and Adibe’s love of true crime—particularly the Black Dahlia story—Dahlia Cocinita is Adibe’s first project that requires a kitchen overhaul. “It’s a very small space, so we’re going to go big with the design and decor and make it fun,” she says. “But I’m keeping the green [exterior]. I don’t want to erase Simply Marie’s from the neighborhood.”
Pressed: After his previous gig at Peabody Heights came to an end recently, local chef Anthony Lanasa set a lofty goal to open a restaurant of his own in only 30 days. “I was not expecting to get laid off,” he says. “I was sitting there in shock when my wife said, ‘Dude, you should just go for it.” He’s already secured a space—the former Maillard Patisserie on Chestnut Avenue in Hampden—for Pressed, a sandwich shop that will feature wraps, salads, and paninis like the “Crandaddy” (turkey, Swiss, pesto, and cranberry) and the “Portobello Pressed,” using Firefly Farms goat cheese and local portobello mushrooms.
The spot will debut with a lunch program and slowly ease into breakfast and dinner service. Lanasa says the short turnaround timeline overlaps well with the return of the neighborhood’s annual holiday festivities. “We’re thinking about doing donuts out front for Halloween night, or something during the 34th Street lights,” he says. “We want to do a lot of fun things to join the neighborhood.”
Ubon: Montree “Jack” Wongchalee is having a great year. The force behind Bodhi Corner, The Dara, and Charm Thai Corner—which took over the space that was previously Nana in Towson earlier this year—is preparing to unveil Ubon in the former home of Nacho Mama’s on O’Donnell Square in Canton later this year. Centering on Thailand’s Isan region—heavily influenced by nearby Laos and Cambodia—the menu will offer chargrilled and roasted meats seasoned with pla ra (fermented fish sauce), as well as khao niao, pull-apart sticky rice often associated with the popular mango sticky rice dessert.
Nalley Fresh at Cross Street Market: Adding to the new faces at Cross Street Market in Federal Hill (Royal Deli and a revived version of Don’t Know Tavern recently moved in) is this longtime local salad chain. Slated to cut the ribbon this month, the latest location will feature Nalley’s customizable salads, bowls, and wraps, while also adding a new fleet “chow-licious” options, including hollowed-out subs.
EPICUREAN EVENTS
Through November: Steak N’ Bone Second Anniversary Specials
This Korean barbecue spot is thanking customers for their support throughout the past two years with daily discounts Tuesday through Saturday. Throughout November, stop by for buy-one, get-one Soju and wine deals on Tuesdays; 15 percent off for veterans, first responders, students, and hospital workers on Wednesdays; BOGO shots and cocktails on Thursdays; and a $35 all-you-can-eat lunch special from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
10/24: The Jang
Mark your calendars to attend The Jang, a free, open-air, Korean-inspired market at the Ynot Lot in Station North. While checking out traditional dance performances and live Korean folklore painting, grab eats and drinks from vendors like Steak N’ Bone, Toki Underground, Porto Pizza, and Good to Great.
SHUT
Guinness Open Gate Brewery: Among the most shared local headlines last week was the news that this 62-acre brewing behemoth in Halethorpe, one of only two Guinness facilities on American soil, would be shuttering by month’s end. After opening in 2018—and subsequently leveling the playing field for Maryland beer production overall—the grounds became a go-to gathering place for locals and tourists alike, offering rotating pours, behind-the-scenes tours, an in-house restaurant, and robust event programming. In 2023, Guinness halted production of Baltimore Blonde on site (moving it to upstate New York), signaling business model changes. Now, news of the closure comes in the wake of a $1 billion savings plan rolled out by parent company Diageo this past August.
As of now, there’s no word on what could potentially take over the property—formerly home to Seagram’s—once the gates officially close on Nov. 1. As Baltimore’s Guinness era quickly comes to an end, visitors can raise one last pint during regular hours or at special weekend events that are still on throughout October. As far as the staff is concerned, 174 workers are reported to be impacted by the closure. Diageo has stated that it’s establishing a $250,000 community fund aimed at “supporting local organizations and initiatives focused on strengthening economic opportunity and the local hospitality industry.”