The high-ceilinged property at 518 N. Charles Street—which most notably operated as Louie’s Bookstore Cafe in the ’80s—changed hands earlier this week, as Ware House 518 owners Ezra Tilaye and Tegist Ayalew said goodbye to the space after seven years.

The duo sold the business to new owners Joshua Persing and Robert Gay, who plan to unveil a rebranded lounge concept at the end of April. Tilaye cites Ayalew’s impending retirement as one of the main reasons behind the closure, saying that he will now focus his efforts on the duo’s D.C. restaurant, Creme.

“Given the circumstances, we knew that it was on the horizon,” Tilaye says. “We had to consolidate what we were doing as far as location.”

The partners first opened a second location of Creme in the storied space in 2010, but three years later opted to rebrand into Ware House 518­—a concept that emphasized seasonal fare and next-level cocktails—to better reflect the uniqueness of Mt. Vernon.

Being a part of the historic neighborhood is one thing that Tilaye says he enjoyed most, sharing memories like getting to know regulars, partnering with local bartenders and breweries, and hosting community events.

In particular, he mentions a recent fundraiser with Wild Kombucha to benefit Planned Parenthood, as well as a gathering for the Mt. Vernon Historic Charles Street Association in 2015 that supported neighboring businesses that were damaged during the Baltimore Uprising.

“That, to me, was just a preview of what the city can do,” Tilaye says of the event. “Our connection to the community was a big part of our business. We always understood that a stronger city builds a stronger community.”

Though he will now be commuting back and forth to his native D.C., Tilaye says he plans to maintain strong ties to Charm City with culinary and community outreach work: “The city needs good entrepreneurs and creatives,” he says. “I’m going to continue to fight for it.”

As Tilaye moves on, the new owners are getting to work to quickly transform the space into G.A.Y., a West Coast-inspired concept which is slated to debut on April 28.

Persing, a local industry veteran who previously worked for Boordy Vineyards, says that the new spot was largely influenced by The Hippo, Mt. Vernon’s stalwart gay club, which closed in 2015.

“We felt that it left a void in the community,” he says of closure. “So that’s what fueled us. It was the perfect time to bring something chic and elegant with a different feel.”

The 70-seat lounge will feature sleek furniture, a menu of small plates from 4-9 p.m. nightly, brunch service on weekends, and a lineup of live entertainment including frequent drag brunches.

Though the concept is modern, Persing is adamant about maintaining the historic charm of the early 20th-century building, which includes 17-foot ceilings, gilded columns, and a vintage fireplace mantle.

“It speaks elegance, and the mezzanine level up top really overlooks all of that beauty,” he says. “The new look will really drive it home for Baltimore.”

With the building in good hands, Tilaye is content moving on to the next chapter.

“The Baltimore food scene is forever growing, especially with the young scrappy restaurateurs that are coming into the game,” he says. “I’m excited that I could have been a part of that growth, and I’m excited to see it go further as a guest.”

A visit to The Boathouse Canton provides many options. Maybe you’ll wander indoors to the dining room to slurp oysters. Maybe you’ll grab a seat on the deck overlooking the docked boats bobbing in the harbor. Or, as of this summer, maybe you’ll make a right at the entrance and head into The DockBar, an outdoor space replete with a dedicated food-and-drink menu, games of cornhole, and plenty of crushes to spare.

The DockBar (2809 Boston St., 410-773-9795) is the latest in a trend of breakout bars—a way for drinking establishments to re-brand sections of their spaces, offering exclusive menus, signature events, and, in many cases, the best views of the city.

Such is the case with DockBar, with its dog-friendly patio, pavilion bar, and seating area that’s open from April through October. The outside area features a station for smoking and shucking, and for watching O’s games on TV. We recommend fare such as tasty ahi tuna tacos with pickled red onions and refreshing orange crushes (just $5 during weekday happy hours).

If you want to make a night of it, head uptown (both geographically and in altitude) to experience The Lord Baltimore Hotel’s outpost, the LB Sky Bar (20 W. Baltimore St., 855-539-8400). Located on the 19th floor of the French Renaissance-style hotel, the sky bar offers impeccable views of the downtown skyline, and an up-close look at the art deco NationsBank building. Open Wednesday through Saturday evenings (when weather permits), the rooftop space seats 65 at high-top tables and lounge chairs.

Though the bar offers a selection of sushi, we were intrigued by the “trilogy” menu (three small plates) and opted for the Italian, comprised of Parma ham and dried figs, eggplant caponata, and a Caprese salad. On what was a balmy day, we went with a refreshing Sky Collins (Hendrick’s gin, muddled cucumber and honey, lemon, cranberry, and club soda).

End your bar crawl by meandering a few blocks north to Ware House 518’s Louie Bar (518 N. Charles St., 443-869-3382), which pays homage to the building’s former occupant, Louie’s Bookstore Café. The literary-themed space, which was re-branded last fall, is dedicated to from-scratch craft cocktails and is open Friday and Saturday nights.

Louie Bar’s menu is divided into bookish “chapters.” Among them: Adaptations (twists on classics like a Sazerac), Short Prose (served up in rocks glasses), and Tall Tales (served over ice in Collins glasses). We went the “when in Rome” route and tried The Vernon with Leblon Cachaça, Fernet-Branca, and lavender bitters. The drink was just as a cocktail should be: three ingredients that ideally balance fruit, bitter, and aromatics.

Time was, Louie’s The Bookstore Café was a Mt. Vernon fixture, known for its coffee, confections, literary works, and artsy atmosphere with live music and exhibits. Although the iconic spot is long gone (it closed while Bill Clinton was still president), to me, that space will always be Louie’s The Bookstore Café. Through the years, it has had several transformations, but none have lived up to Louie’s.

The latest concept for the onetime Ware & Co. furniture store is the Mason-Dixon-driven Ware House 518. The space is still wow-worthy, invoking Southern gentility with its soaring 17-foot ceilings, gilded Corinthian columns, and fireplace mantel in bas-relief. While a ladies’ “slenderizing salon” also was once located on this site, this menu highlights stick-to-your-ribs, Southern and New American-inflected cuisine, from seared pork belly with garlic purée and pork jus to beer-battered catfish and chips, and Delta-style gumbo. Ware House’s Ezra Tilaye and his mother, Tegist Ayalew, actually have owned this restaurant space since 2010, back when it was called Créme Restaurant & Lounge. But in October of 2014, Tilaye realized that he needed to retool the concept and give it, in his words, “something that was a little more Baltimore cool.” So Créme was closed and Ware House 518 was born. Part of the rebranding effort includes a restaurant-within-a-restaurant concept, when the bar area turns into Louie Bar (a nod to the beloved bookstore) with a separate menu on Friday and Saturday nights.

Maybe it will take more time to get things going, or maybe this is the pressure of opening a spot on hallowed ground, but on our visits, it was the vibe that was most missing. On the first go, a weeknight after work, my companion and I settled into a dining room with so few patrons that, by the end of the evening, we had the spot to ourselves. Even so, Tilaye did his best to create a sense of intimacy, as he eagerly expounded on the history of the place. He also took great care to learn our names, which he used throughout our meal.

The cool factor did run high on the libations, as head bartender Perez Klebahn (the former co-owner of Mr. Rain’s Fun House) turned out playful renditions of vintage cocktails that included house-made cordials, bitters, and syrups. I went wild for the French 75 featuring basil-infused gin, lemon, and champagne. A Bloody Mary with smoked tomatoes was also a terrific tipple.

While the drinks are the draw, the food is more hit-and-miss. To quell our hunger, we dug in to the Ware House Spreads and Pickles. The board included pimento cheese, a scant serving of house-pickled vegetables, soppressata, and several pieces of rubbery mortadella. A more successful starter was a steaming bowl of sweet Prince Edward Island mussels soaked in a heady elixir of butter sauce and herbs.

For entrees, we ordered a lusty Low-Country example of Dixie Shrimp ’n Grits. Grits thickened with cream cheese and flecked with andouille sausage were swimming in a smooth and smoky tomato cream sauce and topped with four plump shrimp, sourced from the Texas Gulf. My companion, who went to college in South Carolina, proclaimed the plate “excellent.” Her entree, a bowl of house-made gnocchi served in a lemon beurre blanc sauce, wasn’t memorable, but it was particularly pretty with brightly colored seasonal vegetables. For dessert, I highly recommend the bananas Foster bread (think banana bread drizzled with house-made caramel), which was dense and delicious.

On a subsequent visit, we stopped by for Sunday brunch. After a 15-minute wait, we languished way too long before our coffee was served and had to flag down a waiter for refills throughout our meal. Hungry from our wait, we decided to go for the gusto with the Caprese-style eggs Benedict with mozzarella and tomato, topped with a tangy house-made hollandaise. Instead of the usual potatoes, the eggs were accompanied by a lovely side of greens tossed with house-made honey mustard vinaigrette. Rockfish tacos, dressed with smoked-tomato aioli and cucumber pico de gallo, were another good choice, though we could have used more fish in the filling. The burger with pimento cheese on brioche beckoned, but when one of my dining companions ordered it, he was told they’d run out. He settled instead on a heavily fried chicken and waffle plate. Despite dousing the dish with a heap of syrup, it was dry and bland.

On both of our visits, the servers seemed to be running on Southern time, and the waitstaff was harried and disorganized. That said, I still think this spot has potential thanks to a top-flight beverage program, several signature dishes, and the beauty of the space. This Louie lover hopes Ware House can turn the page.

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Ware House 518 518 N. Charles St., 443-869-3381.
HOURS Tues.-Thurs. 5-9:30 p.m.; Fri.-Sat. 5-10:30 p.m.; Sun. 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
PRICES Appetizers: $7-14; entrees: $15-26; desserts: $6-7.
ATMOSPHERE Gilded Age meets modernity.