B-More Kitchen – Baltimore Magazine

Hiatus Cheesecake Owner on His Love for the Decadent Dessert

Jane Marion — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 16:31:55 +0000

—Photography by Justin Tsucalas

In the early aughts, Matthew Featherstone was juggling his role as one-fourth of The Featherstones—a local songwriting team that includes his brothers, Justin and Christopher, and his cousin William—with area bartending jobs to help make ends meet.

On the side, and just for fun, he’d always enjoyed making cheesecakes for family and friends. One day in 2016, while working at Grace’s Mandarin, an Asian-fusion spot in National Harbor, he brought a vanilla-bean cheesecake to share with coworkers.

“They were so impressed, they said I should go into business,” recalls Featherstone, who has collaborated with artists including Dru Hill, Nicki Minaj, Chris Brown, and Iggy Azalea.

By 2016, he had founded Hiatus Cheesecake. “The owner at Grace’s allowed me to have an insert in the dessert menu that told the story of Hiatus,” Featherstone says. “During that process, I learned that most restaurants that couldn’t afford a pastry chef were outsourcing dessert to distributors like Sysco—in 2019, Sysco became my first customer.”

From there, he developed the retail side of Hiatus and his creations—made at B-More Kitchen in Govans—were soon stocked on the shelves at Whole Foods markets in the Mid-Atlantic.

More recently, Featherstone established a footprint in scores of Kroger Markets with plans to expand to a few hundred stores within the year. “I love food, I love baking,” says Featherstone. “I could sit and read recipes all day.”

How did you get into baking?
My mom baked every day. We were a big family. It was me, my brothers, my sister, my father, and grandfather living together on the west side of Baltimore near Pimlico. We were eating so much bread, so she learned how to make bread herself, including croissants, dinner rolls, and French baguettes. I’d be in the kitchen with her baking the bread that she was making.

Why cheesecake?
One day, my cousin came in with a cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory. I had never tried cheesecake before. At that moment, I became obsessed with cheesecake. I went into one of my mom’s cookbooks, found a recipe, and made my first cheesecake—that was the summer of eighth grade. The first cheesecake I did was espresso. After that, I got into cheesecakes topped with fruit. Eventually it got around that I was pretty good at making cheesecake, so friends and family asked me= to make them for different events.

What inspired the name of your company?
They are 2.75-inch round cheesecakes, so the portions sizes are single servings. I called it Hiatus because it represents a temporary break from your diet.

How do you develop your fantastical flavors?
In bartending, we have drinks that are layered and look really cool. I wanted to bring that concept of layering drinks to layers of cake. For example, I decided to do a vanilla-bean cheesecake, layer it with sweet potato pie, and layer that with Swiss buttercream. That became the sweet potato cake.

So, what’s your favorite flavor?
Every now and then, I grab caramel carrot cake from the stash. It has a carrot cake cheesecake over a carrot cake and the whole thing is drenched in salted bourbon caramel. But I have a love for every cheesecake that I have created—they are all my cheesecake children.

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Papi Cuisine Chef Alex Perez Talks Growing in the Local Food Scene

Lauren Cohen — Mon, 19 Aug 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Anyone who has scrolled through Papi Cuisine’s Instagram feed for even a few seconds will notice that private chef and caterer Alex Perez is known for upping the visual appeal of his dishes. (Think gooey mac and cheese, stuffed salmon, and massive crab cakes.) The eat-with-your-eyes approach has attracted more than 140,000 followers to the page. And soon, fans will be able to try Perez’s food, without having to order ahead of time, at the new Papi’s restaurant opening in Fells Point this fall.

In the meantime, the chef—who preps out of shared commercial space B-more Kitchen in Govans—is preparing to defend his title at the venue’s second-annual Battle of the Brands competition on Thursday, August 22. The event pits local purveyors (including Woot Granola, Hiatus Cheesecakes, Secret Sauce Co., and A Friendly Bread) against one another to see whose bites reign supreme in categories like Best Sweet, Best Savory, Best Overall, and People’s Choice.

We sat down with Perez to discuss strategy for this year’s competition, details about the new restaurant space, how he captures his drool-worthy photos, and constantly growing within the industry.

How did you get your start as a chef?
I come from a family of cooking. I have a lot of family in the Dominican Republic, the Caribbean, and South America. My dad taught me how to cook when I was 10. It was more so traditional Latin-Caribbean dishes, but I noticed at a young age that I had a knack for it. I love to cook because I love to eat.

Does your heritage translate into the food?
Papi Cuisine is a fusion-style cuisine. It’s taking Asian or French food and infusing with Latin-Carribbean flair. There’s a little Southern flair in there, as well. Papi was born back in 2014, when I decided to do a food prep service where I would offer pickup at my home. When I first told my family and friends I’d be cooking they brushed it off, but then they started to see me grow. I was transitioning into things I’d never cooked before and learning a lot.

How did social media impact the beginning of Papi Cuisine?
I started cooking more in my free time around the time Instagram and social media apps were launched, so I would post a lot of food pictures. What got me started was the buzz and the response I would get from my following. They started telling me that I should sell the food, and a seed was planted in my head from there.

What factors contributed to your following growing over time?
The following that we have now is something that happened the last six to eight months. We maintained like 10,000 followers for about three years, but I recently noticed that the food wasn’t getting the attention I wanted it to. I was determined to change that. The pictures and the posts that were gaining traction were the ones that were lively and made it look like you could actually touch the post and dive in and grab the food. I started editing the photos in a particular way to make the food look like it was sitting in front of you.

What led you to B-More Kitchen as a home base?

I was looking for a commercial catering facility that I could rent out to really let customers know I was in a licensed facility so I could run this business with no restrictions. After we made the change to do more catering and private dining, B-More Kitchen made a lot of sense. Once we moved in and got our official catering license, our business grew dramatically.

You won the “People’s Choice” Award at B-More Kitchen’s Battle of the Brands last year. How are you planning to defend that title this week?
Last year, we did our honey-glazed salmon bites with fresh salmon filet, which are cut into nuggets, seared, glazed, and baked. We also did a smoked gouda mac and cheese, and our “Rasta Pasta” with penne noodles, green and red peppers, jerk shrimp, asparagus, and a cream sauce. It’s been a year, so there’s a lot of things I’ve created since then. To defend the title, we’re going to come back with those three dishes and one new item. I haven’t decided what I want that to be just yet. I really love waking up, freestyling, and just creating. That’s where my passion is.

What can you tell us about the brick-and-mortar space opening this fall?
The whole thing about catering and private dining is that it limits the ways for people to try your food, which is why we wanted to do the brick and mortar. I was actually going to wait to open a restaurant for another six months or so. But we found the [former Baltimore Built Bistro] space and I was like, “Wow, I guess that’s how the universe works.” We’re working through everything with BGE and transferring the liquor license, and hoping to be open by mid-September.

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B-More Kitchen Continues to Grow Local Food Community in Govans

Jess Mayhugh — Thu, 13 Apr 2017 14:50:00 +0000

The city’s very first food incubator, B-More Kitchen, is now up to a whopping 26 members working to start up food businesses inside its Govans space. From brick-oven pies from Well Crafted Pizza to crunchy granola from Woot and everything in between, chefs are always working inside the 24-hour, state-of-the-art kitchen.

Co-founded by Eben Altmann and Jonathan Fishman, the concept targets businesses in the true startup phase, with owners who want to the local food community.

“It’s great for these entrepreneurs to come into our facility and be working alongside 20-plus other businesses and entrepreneurs who are trying to do similar things,” Altmann says. “We have businesses who will work together to do an event, or use each other’s products. Being able to plug into the larger community here is great.”

We decided to check in with B-More Kitchen to find out a little more about the newest startups to join the roster.

Divine Donuts
Husband–and–wife duo Jeff and Emily Arenberg, both members of the local vegan community, will be frying up hand-cut, small batch vegan donuts. They’ll have classic flavors like chocolate glazed and powdered, as well as more gourmet creations like S’mores and The Elvis (a banana creme filled donut with a peanut butter glaze, and topped with coconut “bacon”).

“It’s not about what they have in them, it’s what they don’t have—they simply don’t have eggs, and they don’t have animal milk. There’s no vegetables!” says Emily. Gourmet donuts have been having a moment, with Instagrammers posting thousands of the doughy creations on their feeds, which Emily simply explains by saying: “It’s the year of the donut.”

Why Baltimore? “I appreciate the Baltimore food scene because it is eclectic,” Emily say.” You can find different ethnic foods and almost anything you want. Baltimore has a very hometown feel about it, even if it’s not your hometown. . . .When someone is working out of B-More kitchen or doing a startup, you know that they’re really putting love and passion into their food.”

Chesapeake Farm to Table
Farmer-owned online store Chesapeake Farm to Table is hoping to go from the wholesale to the home front. Previously, CFT only sold products to restaurants like Towson Tavern, Turnhouse, and Aromes, but now with the food-safe space at B-More Kitchen, the co-op will be able to break down larger quantities of farm fresh items into consumer-friendly sizes. If customers missed a farmers’ market that week, they’ll be able to place their order online, and the next day the farmer will get the pick list and custom harvest every item.

The co-op features nearly 25 Baltimore area farmers, producing items like edible flowers and micro-greens, and CFT is also responsible for sorting, bagging, and dropping off them items at local pick-up points. (Remington Wine Company and Culinary Architecture in Pigtown, for example.)

Why Baltimore? “Baltimore has always been called ‘Smalltimore’ because it’s like a small-town city,” say Heather Hulsey, CFT’s executive director. “Everybody really cares about their community, and they want to support nearby farmers and chefs.”

Prep4Success
As a former personal trainer, Jesse Hester knows what it takes to help his clients lose weight, and the biggest obstacle always seemed to be diet. “No matter how well I trained my clients or how specific I made their macronutrients or diet regimen for the day, they would still go for convenience over making their own meals. . . and that just happens to be McDonald’s, and fast food,” he says.

After making meal plans for family and friends, Hester realized he wanted to turn his passion into a business and help his clients get the results they wanted. He created Prep4Success, a healthy meal delivery service, which brings same day fully-cooked meals right to customers’ doorsteps. The menu includes items like flat-iron steak with sweet potato and asparagus, banana oatmeal pancakes, and even a new line of guilt-free protein ice creams. “I know it’s hard because I watch my clients struggle through it. They work their asses off in the gym but then they get home and those cravings hit them, especially late at night,” says Hester. “Every hour you spend in the gym is worth 10 times more if you’re feeding your body the right nutrients.”

Why Baltimore? “I grew up here my whole life and the city made me who I am and I would love to give it back,” Hester says. “This is my home. It started right here in my house here with my family, friends, and gym.”

K&B Whole Body Solutions
When that Chinese take-out craving hits, reach out to dynamic sister duo Brittany Adams and Kendra Adams-Winston. The pair founded K&B Whole Body Solutions, a healthy ready-to-eat meal delivery service that specializes in Asian flavors and American classics. Their most popular dishes include coconut curry shrimp, sweet Thai chili chicken, and citrus herb thighs. “It feels like we are really growing our business; we treat the kitchen like our own,” says Kendra. The sisters eventually want to expand to parts of Baltimore City that are considered food deserts, and provide healthy meals for people who don’t have access to supermarkets.

Why Baltimore? “I’m born and raised in Baltimore and I’m living proof that these meals work,” Brittany says. “I’ve lost 50 pounds on them.”

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Open & Shut: B-More Kitchen; Bluegrass Tavern; Ellicott City Businesses Reopen

Lauren Cohen — Fri, 02 Sep 2016 15:36:00 +0000

OPEN

B-More Kitchen:: After months of setbacks, Charm City’s first communal food incubator is officially on its feet. The 28,000-square-foot building in Govans has been completely revamped, now boasting state-of-the-art commercial kitchen space for local food startups to mass produce their artisanal products. The incubator also features a library of communal cookware, cold and dry storage, office space, and an events venue on the top floor. Small-batch makers that have already taken up residency inside the space include Bottoms Up Bagels and Pie Time Baltimore. 5604 York Road

ELLICOTT CITY REOPENINGS

Judge’s Bench: Just shy of five weeks after raging flood waters wreaked havoc in Ellicott City, this Main Street haunt officially reopened its doors last weekend with a celebration that drew in the likes of County Executive Allan Kittleman and Lt. Governor Boyd Rutherford. The corner pub, named after its location near the original Howard County Courthouse, is back up and running, slinging pints of craft beer and serving up its signature pub grub. The bar’s live music schedule, including its signature open mic nights, will pick back up throughout September. 8385 Main St., Ellicott City, 410-465-3497

The Wine Bin: Just across the street, The Wine Bin also celebrated a grand reopening last week. As the stalwart shop gets back into its regular routine, it’s also re-launching various community events including the Ellicott City Old Towne Market on Saturday mornings and its outdoor movie series on Saturday evenings. Though the market has been temporarily relocated to Mount Ida, The Wine Bin will host its dog-friendly Yappy Hour tasting event tonight from 6-9 p.m., and resume its summer screenings with a showing of My Big Fat Greek Wedding Saturday at 8 p.m. 8390 Main Street, Ellicott City, 410-466-7802

COMING SOON

Angela’s Seafood: The first-floor site that previously housed Obryki’s Crab House in Fells Point has sat vacant since 2011, but next month, an emerging seafood spot will breathe new life into the space. Slated to open in the beginning of October, Angela’s Seafood will seat 130 in its bar and dining room and offer everything from mussels and clams to steamed shrimp and local blue crabs. 1727 E. Pratt St.

Baltimore Soup Co.: Husband and wife duo David and Lisa Redmond, the couple behind Towson’s Cafe Gourmet, plan to launch this new soup-centric concept in the coming months. Not only will the owners open a location in Downtown’s Charles Plaza food court this fall, but they have also snagged a portion of retail space on the first floor of the 2 East Wells apartment complex in South Baltimore, which will debut in 2017. Conveniently arriving just in time for the chilly fall temperatures, the Charles Plaza soup shop will highlight eight daily varieties—including favorites like Maryland Crab, tomato bisque, and loaded baked potato—alongside a slew of sandwiches and salads. 222 N. Charles St.

Restaurant B: Earlier this week, Maggie’s Farm owners Matt and Andy Weaver launched a new crowd-funding campaign to open a sister spot at the yet-to-open Soha Union development in Hamilton-Lauraville. Though specific details have not yet been released (the owners are referring to the new eatery as “Restaurant B”), Andy recently told us that the spot will offer a fusion of American and International cuisine, as well as next-level wines and cocktails. The 100-seat space is expected to debut in November 2017, highlighting an open kitchen, woodfire grill, outdoor patio, and spacious bar and dining room. 4801 Harford Road

Chef Malcom Mitchell to Open Second Local Restaurant: Though the name has yet to be revealed, former Food Network Star contestant Malcolm Mitchell recently announced plans to open a second local eatery in Butchers Hill later this month. Mitchell, the Columbia native who quietly opened Ryder’s Bistro last May in Upper Fells Point, plans to focus on shareable plates with next-level wine pairings at the new restaurant, which will seat 80-100 guests. 32 N. Chester St.

CH-CHANGES

B&O American Brasserie: A massive $250,000 renovation project recently got underway at this fine-dining den inside the Hotel Monaco. Led by Los Angeles designer David Hill, the redesign will eventually yield a revised floor plan, 40-seat private dining space, and a fresh look highlighting brass accents, subtle lighting, and a warm gray color scheme. The restaurant and bar will remain open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner service throughout the renovation process, which is expected to be complete by mid-October. 2 N. Charles St., 443-692-6172

Pazo: Foreman Wolf Restaurant Group, the brand behind city spots Charleston, Cinghiale, Petit Louis, and Johnny’s, announced earlier this week that its Sicilian hangout in Harbor East will be undergoing major changes in the coming months. Pazo will close on September 17 to make way for Bar Vasquez—an Argentinian concept featuring authentic cuisine, a carefully curated list of malbecs, and nightly live music. Co-owner Tony Foreman estimates that the new restaurant will be ready for a debut in October. 1425 Aliceanna St., 410-534-7296

Bluegrass Tavern: Later this month, the brick façade on the corner of South Hanover Street and West Fort Avenue in South Baltimore will boast an entirely new logo. Now under new ownership, Bluegrass Tavern—the Lowcountry mainstay best known for its fried chicken and crawfish mac and cheese—will transform into a spinoff of Downtown breakfast spot Saturday Morning Cafe. Owner Will Sterling recently told SouthBMore.com that he intends to keep some of Bluegrass’s best-selling items (think braised beef short ribs and raw oysters) on the menu, while also implementing kid’s offerings and breakfast and lunch service on the weekends. 1500 S. Hanover St., 410-244-5101

SHUT

Family Meal: Earlier this week, celebrity chef Bryan Voltaggio’s modern diner concept shuttered its doors in the Inner Harbor. The news of the closure comes on the heels of Voltaggio’s decision to close three other Family Meal locations in Hagerstown; Ashburn, Virginia; and Richmond, Virginia. Though the concept didn’t materialize the way the he had hoped, the Frederick-born restaurateur tells us that he isn’t ruling out another Charm City restaurant in the future. Stay tuned.

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Open & Shut: The Bun Shop; The DockBar; Stall 11

Lauren Cohen — Wed, 27 Apr 2016 15:15:00 +0000

OPEN:

The Bun Shop: Known for its wide array of sweet and savory pastries, this artsy Mt. Vernon cafe recently expanded with a bigger location downtown. Owners Minh Vo and Andrew Bui opened their second shop—which features a 75-seat interior with comfy couches, marble floors, and gold accents—at 22 Light Street last week. From Paraguayan empanadas to Vietnamese coffee, the cafe specializes in fusing international flavors into its signature puffs, pastries, donuts, coffees, and teas. 22 Light St.

The DockBar: Just in time for the return of outdoor happy hour weather, The Boathouse Canton unveiled a new menu to be served on its attached patio, The DockBar, which opened for the season last week. Guests are invited to take in the sweeping waterfront views while sipping the restaurant’s signature Crushes and snacking on shared plates like crispy chicken sliders, prosciutto and fig flatbread, jerk chicken nachos, and grilled honey Old Bay wings. 2809 Boston St., 410-773-9795

Sammy’s Enoteca: Fans of Sammy’s Trattoria on N. Charles Street will be happy to hear that this spinoff from owner Samuel Curreri rolled out with a soft opening on the 600 block of S. Broadway in Fells Point last week. Decorated with intricate hanging lamps and sleek dark wood furniture, the restaurant will offer Boot Country specialties with a focus on small plates such as duck ravioli and squid-ink pasta. 623 S. Broadway

COMING SOON:

B-More Kitchen: A few months ago we told you about this new incubator that is slated to open in Govans this summer, providing budding food businesses with the space and tools to mass-produce their gourmet goods. Founders Eben Altmann and Jonathan Fishman recently announced B-More Kitchen’s first wave of tenants, which will include local producers Bottoms up Bagels, Happiest Little Baker, Pie Time, Wholesome Nibbles, and Trisha’s Almond Toffee, as well as Spike Gjerde’s restaurant group Foodshed, which will utilize the space to enhance its canning and baking operations. The facilities—which include a 10,000-square-foot shared commercial kitchen, a bakery, cold and dry storage, office space, and a receiving area—can accommodate upwards of 60 members at full capacity. Stay tuned for more updates. 5604 York Road

La Food Marketa: After searching far and wide in hopes of expanding, Chad Gauss has finally landed the perfect space to build a new restaurant. The acclaimed chef and co-owner of The Food Market in Hampden signed a lease to open La Food Marketa in the 3,500-square-foot space that formerly housed Bella Vista in Quarry Lake at Greenspring, a mixed-use development in Pikesville. Gauss’s new Spanglish-inspired spot will serve his takes on classic Central and South American cuisine. Come fall, the 105-seat space will see a revamped interior with custom banquettes, unique light fixtures, and a 10-seat counter facing an open kitchen. 2620 Quarry Lake Drive, Pikesville.

Smoothie King: While it might stand out like a sore thumb in the pack of locally owned restaurants that line the streets of Fells Point, this national smoothie chain will open a cozy 800-square-foot storefront on Thames Street this summer.The grab-and-go shop, which won’t have any seating, will feature all of the brand’s energy-enhancing flavors ranging from Greek Yogurt Pineapple Mango to Carrot Kale Dream. 1716 Thames St.

Stall 11: Yet-to-open Remington food hall R. House recently announced the second of 10 micro-restaurants that will set up shop in the 50,000-square-foot space when it opens its doors next fall. Chef Melanie Molinaro, formerly of Encantada, is set to open Stall 11, an upscale vegetarian concept that will serve plant-based dishes such as Korean cauliflower, sweet corn polenta with a smoked ragu, baby kale and black garlic Caesar salad, black bean brownies, and vegan cookies. Molinaro will also partner with the urban agriculture experts at Urban Pastoral to set up an on-the-go case with fresh greens and herbs, non-pasteurized tonics, and live culture yogurts. 301 W. 29th St., 443-347-3570

SHUT:

Playoff Sports Bar & Grill: This Reisterstown dive bar, which was known for its pub grub, weekly drink specials, and trivia nights, shuttered its doors last week for reasons that are still unknown. Multiple calls to the restaurant were not immediately returned. 11706 Reisterstown Road, Reisterstown

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New Food Incubator to Open in Govans This Spring

Lauren Cohen — Thu, 10 Dec 2015 14:30:00 +0000

For-profit food incubators like Union Kitchen in Washington, D.C. and The Cookery in Durham, NC have been changing the game when it comes to helping small food startups get on their feet, and soon, Charm City will have one of its own.

The Accelerator Building on York Road, a 28,000-square-foot space which has previously operated as a furniture store and a car dealership, will soon debut as B-More Kitchen, a communal hub for budding food businesses to mass-produce their gourmet goods.

“The goal is to take small food entrepreneurs, who have great products and a viable business plan, and give them a platform to fulfill their potential,” says Eben Altmann, co-founder of B-More Kitchen. “We want to help guide the members along so that, hopefully, they can eventually graduate out of the incubator and become as successful as they can.”

B-More Kitchen will house a 10,000-square-foot shared commercial kitchen, its own bakery, a dishwashing area, cold and dry storage, office space, a receiving area, an “equipment library” with communal cookware, and a catering venue on the second floor.

Altmann and co-founder Jonathan Fishman estimate that the facilities can accommodate about 50-60 members, who will have 24/7 access to the building’s amenities for a monthly fee. Some of the local businesses already on-board to snag space include Belvedere Square-based picklers Hex Ferments, and Woot Granola, the brainchild of Fishman’s wife, Gail.

In addition to supplying space for production, B-More Kitchen will also provide members with resources for marketing and business planning, bookkeeping, and distribution efforts. (A partnership in place with Union Kitchen will offer members distribution connections to chains like Whole Foods and Mom’s Organic Market.)

Another advantage: Fishman notes that working in an incubator setting is an ideal way to surpass food laws that restrict entrepreneurs from selling goods produced in their homes to larger grocery stores.

“Early on, [my wife] took her stuff to small markets in town and they would tell her that, while the product was very nice, they couldn’t carry it on their shelves unless it was made in a commercial kitchen,” he says. “Through all of her participation in food events around town it became apparent very quickly that this is a barrier everyone is facing.”

While the incubator concept differs slightly, B-More Kitchen’s opening comes in the midst of Baltimore’s current food hall craze, which has produced up-and-coming communal spots like Mt. Vernon Marketplace, R. House in Remington, and White Hall Mill in Hampden.

“The two of us have been to enough farmers’ markets to know that there’s a huge need for this,” Altmann says. “There’s definitely a pull of curiosity among small business owners in the food community, and they seem to be very excited about what we’re doing.”

Fishman estimates that construction will wrap up this spring, slating a grand opening date for April 2016.

“Co-work space is becoming so popular across the board in technology, manufacturing, and all other kinds of creative fields,” he says. “There’s a real sense of support, and for people who are taking the plunge, it’s comforting to be a part of a community of food entrepreneurs.”

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