OPEN
Carpet Cafe by Good Neighbor: Last weekend, hundreds flocked to Station North for the opening of Carpet Company’s new brick-and-mortar complex in the former bank space at the corner on North Avenue and St. Paul. As early as 3 a.m., skaters, sneakerheads, and streetwear stans formed lines around the block (and waited hours) to get a first look at the new home of Baltimore’s coolest fashion brand, which has gained national notoriety.
Aside from retail—and, eventually, events and art galleries—the 10,000-square-foot Carpet headquarters also houses its own cafe in collaboration with Hampden’s Good Neighbor. Open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday to Monday, the cafe in the back mimics Good Neighbor’s design-forward aesthetic, with the Capet logo embossed on coffee cups and hidden in other interior touches.
The menu offers the shop’s well-known drinks like lattes, house drip coffee, and Japanese-style iced coffee. Food here differs from the Hampden location slightly, incorporating nods to the Egyptian heritage of Carpet’s owners Ayman and Osama Abdeldayem. Case in point: the paranthas (a flatbread most common in India, but popular across the Middle East) filled with egg and cheese, or other sweet and savory ingredients.
Crunch Kulture: Located on the upper level of Lexington Market, Crunch Kulture is now open and slinging salads and wraps six days a week. The new concept from husband-and-wife duo Charles Miller and Kristian Knight-Miller—known for the breakfast platters and crab dip croissants at their other market stall Sunny Side Cafe—offers chef-driven bowls like a steak-topped Protein Power salad or a Caesar Crunch Supreme with roasted chickpeas. The signature Soul Bowl tops a bed of kale with barbecue chicken, cornbread croutons, black-eyed peas, and a smoky honey mustard vinaigrette.
MARKET MOVES
While details are still in flux, two new market concepts are headed our way in the coming months. One from Woodberry chef Spike Gjerde (also behind the new La Jetée and Bar Dalí), who is transforming the former Whitehall Market in Hampden into an Italian-inspired market and kitchen called Ecco Market.
The other was recently announced by Jason and Nicole Daniloski, the owners of Silver Queen Cafe in Hamilton. This summer, they plan to debut The Market at Hamilton at 5500 Harford Road (the building’s longtime tenant, Emma’s Tea Spot, recently moved to a new space five minutes down the street), featuring a deli and sandwich counter with specialty goods like cheese, tinned fish, cured meats, and coffee. Stay tuned for more details.
COMING SOON
Truong Tien: An outpost of Northern Virginia’s Vietnamese favorite Truong Tien—ranked No. 94 on Washingtonian’s 100 Very Best Restaurants list—is landing a bit closer to us next month. Opening inside Live Casino in Hanover, the ode to owner Hue Truong’s Vietnamese heritage specializes in dishes such as BunBo Hue lemongrass noodle soup and banh khoai pancakes. The new spot will also offer additions like banh mi and fried bananas for dessert.
Vesper at Pike & Main: The Wine Bin owner Dave Carney is expanding his Ellicott City footprint with this new restaurant opening in the former Pure Wine Cafe on Main Street. Expected to cut the ribbon this summer, Vesper will be led by Howard County native chef Rachel Bindel—who has worked at several Michelin-starred spots including Tail Up Goat (now transitioning to a new concept called Rye Bunny) in Washington, D.C.
Combining a strong wine program (fueled by The Wine Bin, of course) and Bindel’s seasonal approach, the menu will highlight dishes such as Maryland crab toast, a spring pea salad, summer squash tagliatelle, and Wagyu skirt steak with caramelized sunchokes.
SHUT
Foraged: This one came as a bit of a shock for diners, but the closure of Foraged in Station North—which served its final service on Sunday—marks a new chapter that chef/owner Chris Amendola has been plotting out west. Earlier this year, he purchased The Restaurant at Patowmack Farm on a 40-acre property in Lovettsville, Virginia, just over an hour outside of Baltimore. He posted on social media this week to announce that he’s shifting his focus to the farm full-time, which is unsurprising given the James Beard Award semifinalist’s expertise in foraging and hyper-local ingredients.
His video message thanks the community for their support throughout the restaurant’s eight-year journey—in which it went from a baby-sized spot in Hampden to a larger operation in Station North—and invites diners to visit the farm for signatures like roasted oysters and lion’s mane mushroom “crab cakes.”
One-Eyed Mike’s: Another heartbreaker this week—Fells Point institution One-Eyed Mike’s is slated to close by month’s end. Best known for its bottle club with about 3,500 bottles of Grand Marnier on display, the cozy neighborhood bar with a reliable food menu was founded by the late Mike Maraziti in 2003. It was purchased by owner/chef Akbar Vaiya in 2016, and then unsuccessfully put up for auction in 2023.
The bar’s social media broke the news of the closure earlier this week. “If you’ve been meaning to come in, now’s the time,” the post reads. “Come have dinner, grab a drink, bring friends, and help us make these last few weeks a busy and memorable sendoff.”
The Rockwell: The hits keep on comin’ for Fells Point. South Broadway rock bar The Rockwell—which was once co-owned by All Time Low guitarist Jack Barakat—will shutter on June 6. Co-owner Bryan Burkert—also behind The Sound Garden and new dance spot Wonderland on Aliceanna—posted a video to announce the news, promising that celebrations in the next two months will properly honor the bar’s 15-year legacy.
During that period, it’s become beloved for its dance parties featuring live performers (from DJs to drummers) against the backdrop of its signature artistic projection screens. Watch this space for more details on the reasons behind the closure and Burkert’s next chapter with Wonderland.