A legendary local name appears headed to take over a well known North Baltimore business.

John C. Unitas III, grandson and namesake of Baltimore Colts football legend and Golden Arm restaurant owner Johnny Unitas, has emerged as the prospective lead buyer of the Grand Cru wine bar and wine shop, nearly six months after the sudden death of former owner Nelson Carey.

Unitas and a business partner, Jacqueline Beal, are identified as prospective buyers of the popular gathering spot in Belvedere Square Market, including its liquor license, in documents on file with the Maryland Board of Liquor License Commissioners for Baltimore City.

Unitas and Beal have formed an entity called BSq Wine Co. LLC to buy Grand Cru. An application to transfer Grand Cru’s seven day liquor license to BSq Wine Co. LLC was filed on January 6, and a public notice was posted on the exterior of the wine bar last week. The current license holders are Christina Carey, Nelson’s widow, and David O’Ferrall. Christina Carey and the Grand Cru staff have operated the wine bar since Carey died of a heart attack last year, at age 50.

Stan Meros, manager of Belvedere Square Market, said the management of Belvedere Square supports the new owners.

“We’re upbeat about the transfer,” Meros said. “It is working out very well. It’s a bad situation whenever someone dies, but we have made the best of it.”

Meros said the business is changing hands because Christina Carey has another career and did not want to continue operating Grand Cru after her husband passed away. He said Grand Cru has been an asset to Belvedere Square and the management wants to keep it that way. Meros also noted that Unitas’s grandfather operated the Golden Arm restaurant about a mile north of Belvedere Square.

Unitas, 26, said he is currently a buyer for Urban Outfitters in Philadelphia but has worked on the wine team at Cinghiale in Harbor East and as a server at Petit Louis Bistro in Roland Park. He said he is excited to be taking over a business with such a strong reputation and following.

“I want to get back into the food industry,” he said. “What better way to do that than to have a place with such a great legacy and such a great soul? . . . I have tremendous admiration for what Nelson Carey accomplished . . . I would say the experience will not change. It’s a great meeting place, a great place where people can get together. The legacy that Nelson built at Grand Cru will always remain part of Grand Cru. That will not leave.”

Unitas, who goes by “JC” and called his grandfather “Pop-Pop,” said Grand Cru was his “date night spot” before moving to Philadelphia and he knew Carey from being a patron there.

He added that with the last name of Unitas, “I have always been handed a huge pair of shoes to fill . . . I am ready for the challenge.”

Since opening in 2003, Grand Cru has become a magnet for a diverse mix of patrons from North Baltimore and beyond, including attorneys, doctors, developers, educators, politicians, clergy, artists, television personalities and the occasional Pulitzer Prize winner. Its success was largely attributed to Nelson Carey, whose sudden death was followed by a wave of tributes. Hundreds attended his memorial service at The Episcopal Church of the Redeemer.

According to the liquor license transfer application, Unitas will have a 99 percent financial interest in the business, and Beal, 28, will have a one percent financial interest. Unitas will be the “full time operator.” Additionally, the sale price of the business, including the liquor license, is $200,000. Grand Cru’s monthly rent at Belvedere Square is $6,630 per month.

The liquor board has set January 22 as the deadline for people to protest the proposed liquor license transfer. According to Douglas Paige, assistant executive secretary of the liquor board, a public hearing on the application likely will be held in February. If approved by the liquor board, the sale of the business and transfer of the liquor license could take effect shortly afterwards.

Cora Flynn-Williams

McCabe’s
Cora
Flynn-Williams is the face of McCabe’s (3845 Falls Road, 410-467-1000),
the popular Falls Road pub in Hampden. On her rare nights off, she likes
it low-key and walking-distance from home. “I definitely stick to my
’hood,” she says—the ’hood, in this case, being Remington. Among her
favorite watering holes are Joe Squared, the Ottobar, and Long John’s
Pub, which she can see from her house. On a moist Tuesday night, she
enters Rocket to Venus. Before she can get to a barstool, two
waitresses, Katrina and Brie, run up and hug her. When she finally sits
down, both bartenders, Scott and Eric, come to take her drink order. A
pint of Guinness appears, and she takes a sip, leaving a tan foam
mustache on her lip. Moments later, a few patrons approach and give her a
hug—apparently, she knows everyone in the place. She doesn’t mind—she
chose this bar because she wanted to see people. Other nights, she might
want something quieter. Wherever she goes, she won’t stay out late. “I
have two kids who get up at 6:30 in the morning. And when I close
McCabe’s, I get home at 4:30.” Over another Guinness, she talks about
opening her own place someday, “somewhere where I can be an old-time
bartender, and talk to the customers.” In Remington, of course, within
walking distance of home.

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John F. Klaus

The Prime Rib
John
F. Klaus has worked the bar of The Prime Rib (1101 N. Calvert Street,
410-539-1804) for 27 years, and, like the fine wines he serves, he’s
aged to perfection. Beneath his tuxedo, he’s Baltimore through and
through—born and raised in Waverly, he even performed as the Orioles
batboy during their 1983 World Series win. Not many bartenders can make
that claim. The bar is old-school cool—a blend of mirrors, onyx, and
leopard-print carpet. Between 5 p.m. and midnight, the bar will fill
several times and Klaus will mix hundreds of drinks. He’ll concoct
high-end cocktails and pour wine for customers and servers, all the
while playing the role of ringmaster. At the end of his shift, he hangs
up his tux, puts on casual clothes, and steps out onto a quiet Chase
Street. He’ll make his way to one of his two after-work haunts, The Owl
Bar at The Belvedere or The Brewer’s Art around the corner. This night,
The Owl is already closed, so Brewer’s wins by default. “I like it
here,” he says as he walks down the steps, “It’s dark. It’s easy.” In
the basement bar, he sips Dewar’s over ice, his usual. There’s a
familiarity to the bartending routine. “The same guy comes into the Rib
every night at 9:15 p.m. and orders a cognac. I know people by what they
drink.” I ask if he knows my friend Norm. “Sure, I know him. Crown
Royal on the rocks.”

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Shannon Cassidy

The Laughing Pint
Shannon
Cassidy’s day at The Laughing Pint (3531 Gough Street, 410-342-6544)
begins at noon. She doesn’t just work there; she owns the place. And
usually that day ends at 1:30 the following morning. So on her nights
off, she likes to cut loose. She calls a cab and goes to see her
favorite bartenders at saloons like Liam Flynn’s Ale House, The Windup
Space, or Dougherty’s Pub, where she is tonight. She orders her favorite
beer-and-shot combination—a bottle of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and a
Southern Comfort, Amaretto, and lime. She waves off the warning that the
night is young: “Yes, but I only have one night.” After a second beer,
she receives a text from a friend—“Michelangelo and the Four Asses.” She
translates: “That’s code to meet at the Mt. Royal Tavern.” It’s an
inside joke, alluding to the paintings on the wall and ceiling. When she
arrives at the tavern, she orders another Sierra Nevada, but the shot
is changed to a Peach Kamikaze, which tastes as bad as you would
imagine. Finally, she relaxes and reflects upon her six years of bar
ownership. “I’d like to have only one job instead of 12, and I’d like to
work only 50 hours a week instead of 80.” Then she laughs and admits
that she loves it. She receives another text, this time it’s from her
bartender back at The Laughing Pint—there’s a problem with the sink in
the ladies restroom. She shakes her head, “I never get a night off.”

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Nelson Carey

The Grand Cru
It’s
8 p.m. on a Thursday and business is good at Grand Cru (527 E.
Belvedere Avenue, 410-464-1944), the premier wine bar in tony Belvedere
Square. Every seat at the bar is taken, and the tables are filled.
Nelson Carey, the owner, can call it a day and leave the business in the
hands of his three capable bartenders. But before he heads for home, he
stops in at Swallow at the Hollow, a quick two-minute walk away. Behind
the bar stands Jeff, a 16-year veteran of Swallow. As Carey walks in,
Jeff draws a Guinness—no words are exchanged. A minute later, the glass
is set in front of him. Beautiful. He picks it up, “They pour a great
pint here.” Though located practically next door, the two businesses
can’t be more dissimilar. The Cru is noted for its 45 wines by the
glass, an even greater selection of bottles, and exotic draft beers. The
Swallow is an institution, albeit a shot-and-a-beer institution. That’s
the way Carey likes it. “I come here because it’s different. I come
here to relax, and I don’t want to go drink at the same place I’m
walking away from.” But there is a visceral attraction as well. Four
generations of his family have lived within three blocks of here. “I
consider myself worldly and well-traveled, and yet I keep coming back.”
Two contrasting bars 170 paces apart, and Nelson Carey is at home in
either.