Locals who have recently strolled along the Fells Point waterfront have likely noticed that the neighborhood has stepped up its outdoor dining game.

The community has erected a number of “parklets”—parking spaces-turned-al fresco dining areas made out of recycled materials and greenery—adjacent to many eateries on the 1700 block of Thames Street.

The goal is to safely expand outdoor seating, while also supporting the bars, restaurants, and retail shops that have been hammered by the coronavirus shutdown.

Kooper’s Tavern was the first to host a parklet last month, and since then the Department of Transportation has approved dining areas outside of Waterfront Hotel and The Point in Fells. The Kooper’s parklet is divided into sections for neighboring sister-restaurants Slainte and Woody’s, to use, as well. Another is currently in the works for Riptide by the Bay.

“We’re hoping this helps turn 2020 into a profitable year for businesses,” says Maureen Sweeney Smith, executive director of Fells Point Main Street.

Residents and restaurant owners share the same hope. Many volunteers flocked to Thames Street last week to help construct the parklets. The setup outside of Kooper’s, which has been used as a prototype, was designed by Fells Point Main Street board member and resident Bryce Turner, along with his firm BCT Architects.

“I have a theory that people really enjoy being places they’re not supposed to,” Turner says. “I think that’s true in Fells. If you can have seating in a parking space, even in the road, it can be an interesting experience. We needed a perimeter around the seating area, and we thought, ‘How can we do that?’ We didn’t have a lot of funding. So we decided to use repurposed materials.”

The parklets are constructed from reclaimed pallets, crates, and large electrical cable spools, and they’re accented with plants and flowers.

“We didn’t want businesses who are already hurting to have to spend a bunch of money on planters and dividers,” Smith says. “I’m just bowled over with the creativity of what people are doing and how great they’re making these look. It’s been really impressive.”

On Tuesday, June 23, volunteers and restaurant staff brought their own circle saws and got to work cutting pallets, cleaning bike racks, and sprucing up the landscaping.

“It was very community-based,” says volunteer and Fells Point resident Samantha Wilkes. “There was coffee and donuts. Folks were walking by and were interested in what was going on. Some people stopped to help for a bit, then kept walking. Everyone was sharing tools. There were good vibes all around.”

The Point in Fells owner Erica Russo says that she worked with fellow Thames Street bar and restaurant owners to come up with parklets that mimicked Turner’s design.

“We bounced ideas off each other to make sure they were structurally sound and safe,” she says. Around 10 members of Russo’s staff helped construct The Point’s parklet, along with two regulars who came out to lend a hand.

“Some people aren’t ready to sit inside a restaurant, even with 50 percent capacity,” she says. “I think being outside in the summer, [the parklets] will revitalize the area and bring life to restaurants that might not have survived without them.”

The designs are also meant to help curb some of the crowds that have routinely gathered in Broadway Square, a practice that began when bars and restaurants were only serving takeout.

“We hope the outdoor dining will have a positive effect on the neighborhood,” Smith says. “We don’t know whether [the crowds] will continue or not, but we’re hoping the outdoor dining displaces some of the partiers.”

Adds Russo: “With such a thriving area of locals, tourists, and visitors, it’s been rough trying to get everyone back open and follow the rules. Fells Point is a big public open space, so we’re hoping that by using some of that space to create areas for people to sit and dine and enjoy beverages, it will help control the crowds. I think this is really a lifesaver to a lot of restaurants down here.”

And it might not be long before we see the parklets expand beyond Thames. Smith says she’s been discussing outdoor dining expansion plans with businesses on the 700 and 800 blocks of Broadway—including Abbey Burger Bistro and Max’s Taphouse.

“We’re putting a lot of effort into making the neighborhood safe and friendly to all,” Russo says. “Whether they’re tourists or residents, we want everyone to be able to come out in a respectable manner, feel safe, and support local.”

The ongoing construction working to beautify Broadway Square in Fells Point might not be complete just yet, but organizers of the upcoming Fells Point Fun Festival aren’t letting the work stop them from upholding the community’s 51-year-old tradition.

In a classic case of turning lemons into lemonade, organizers with the Fells Point Main Street Association (FPMSA) saw the construction as a reason to downsize the event this year. And, along with the smaller footprint, comes a renewed focus on the local community.

“We knew that without the square we would lose some of the vendor space,” says FPMSA president Nick Johnson, who also owns Su Casa. “We thought about how to still make it this phenomenal festival that people will love even with less vendors. And the answer was to turn it back into a real Fells Point festival, and showcase what’s here every day.”

The community street fair returns October 7-8, focusing in on more local bars, restaurants, artists, musicians, and small businesses than in recent history.

Johnson says that, in recent years, the festival has adopted more of a carnival feel—with offerings like inflatable prizes and eats on a stick. Now, he hopes to get back to the roots of the event—which originally started as a fundraiser to protect the waterfront neighborhood from demolition during the proposed federal highway expansion of 1966.

“If you look at it from a historical context, the festival started out as a celebration of the neighborhood so that the city would see that there was value to keeping it,” he says. “This is a chance to change things up and really start to emphasize what’s so phenomenal about this community day in and day out.”

Unlike previous years where vendors were set up inside Broadway Square, the smaller event will be primarily held along Thames Street this year. Although the Baltimore City Department of Transportation (DOT) estimates that construction on the square will be complete by Friday, September 29, FPMSA admittedly has its doubts.

“I was in an elevator this morning with the community liaison for DOT, and she was like ‘Aren’t you excited the square is going to be done on Friday?’” he recalls, with a laugh. “And I was like, ‘Have you been there lately?'” 

Johnson says that there is still a significant amount of bricklaying and concrete-pouring to be done, but, if anything, the association hopes that the fences around the square will be removed by next weekend so that guests can hang out in the center of the neighborhood during the festival.

Instead of organizers bringing in outside food purveyors, the eateries on Thames Street will set up booths in front of their restaurants and cafe-style seating in the street—a model which Johnson says will be similar to Annapolis’ reoccurring Dinner Under the Stars program. The festival’s open-container policy will once again be in effect this year (organizers got rid of the beer gardens in 2013), allowing attendees to consume alcohol anywhere on festival grounds with the purchase of a wristband.

Aside from restaurants, there has also been a boost in other Fells Point businesses that are vowing to participate this year. Among them is Amuse Toys, which will feature a tent outside, and various family-friendly activities including Smithsonian-recommended silhouette artist Tim Arnold on Saturday, October 7.

“We’ve participated before, but now it’s kind of a reenergized participation,” says Amuse owner Claudia Towles. “It’s going to feel very different. It only makes sense to celebrate the neighborhood by featuring those who make it so charming. Bringing the festival back with a local focus is key to the continued success of the community.”

Other highlights to look forward to include handmade wares for sale by local crafters, and a jam-packed live music lineup boasting only Maryland bands. Headliners are set to include local rocker—and Dangerously Delicious Pies owner—Rodney Henry, the bluesy Kelly Bell Band, and Annapolis-based reggae and ska favorite Bumpin Uglies.

The reinvigorated festival comes at a transformative time for the neighborhood, which recently welcomed Kevin Plank’s $60 million Sagamore Pendry Hotel, and was added to Waterfront Partnership’s purview earlier this month.

Johnson says that the evolution of Fells Point is something that he and longtime friend Bryan Burkert, who owns The Sound Garden, talk about often: “Whenever there is a new project announced we always joke, ‘This is going to be the one that takes us to another level,’” he says with a laugh. “But this year really marks the turning point. Once the square is done, there is very little to hold us back.”

Towles, too, sees the reinvigorated festival and all of the recent improvements as a larger vision for what’s to come.

“It’s turning the page on the focus of the neighborhood,” she says. “What’s new is shiny and beautiful, and certainly changes the dynamics, but it’s only serving to highlight what is already here.”