Earlier this month, I wrote about some signs of spring: the seasonal markets back in swing, the snowball stands and rooftop bars reopening and even a bar and a restaurant that were coming back from hibernation.
But one recent fixture of Baltimore’s warm-weather months will not be making a return this year.
Maienfels Biergarten, a German-inspired spot for beers and bratwurst in the Bromo Arts District, will be closed this summer. Founder Georgia Howard said the biergarten, set in an open lot at 319 N. Paca St., was not able to get hooked up to water and electric services in time for the season.
Maienfels, which launched in 2022, used generators for power the past two summers, but Howard said the setup had become tedious. BGE quoted the cost to connect the lot to electricity at $25,000. The biergarten applied for a grant from the power company but was denied. A request for the city to connect the lot to running water, meanwhile, is still in the works.
Howard, who was inspired to open the biergarten by her own experiences in Europe, said she hopes the hangout can return in 2025. The seasonal bar, with its picnic tables, string lights and live music, had become a weekend destination for the community. Ten percent of the biergarten’s proceeds went to the St. Francis Neighborhood Center.
“We would really love to continue,” Howard said. “It’s such a beautiful space. Having that in the neighborhood was huge.”
Red Lobster liquidation
National seafood chain Red Lobster is reportedly closing at least 48 locations across the country amid financial troubles, and four of the chain’s Maryland restaurants appear to be on the list.
Auction house TAGEx brands has listed equipment and furniture from Red Lobsters in Columbia, Laurel, Silver Spring and Gaithersburg on its website. The winner-takes-all auctions will turn over each restaurant’s furnishings — seating booths, lobster tanks, nautical flags and more — to the highest bidders on Thursday.
Red Lobster’s media team didn’t get back to me when I reached out to confirm the local closures, but the chain’s website lists those restaurants’ hours of operation as “closed” each day of the week.
The wave of closures follows a $12.5 million operating loss for Red Lobster in the fourth quarter of 2023. A popular “Ultimate Endless Shrimp” deal was partly to blame for the financial hit, the New York Times reported.
Marylanders craving Cheddar Bay biscuits and shrimp scampi can still find Red Lobster in 10 other locations throughout the state, including Owings Mills, Nottingham, Hanover and Annapolis.
Landmark nightclub for auction
A storied Station North nightclub is searching for a new owner.
The building at 1815-1817 N. Charles St. that houses Trip’s Place and Gatsby’s will head to auction next month. The club, event hall and after-hours venue was founded by Odell Brock, also known for his Odell’s disco on North Avenue, and drew partiers for decades. It’s now operating on a “very limited basis,” according to Daniel Billig, a principal for A.J. Billig Auctioneers, which is handling the listing.
Trip’s Place/Gatsby’s, as well as an adjoining building at 1813 N. Charles St. and another at 1819 N. Charles St., will be auctioned simultaneously online and on-site on June 12. In total, the properties span more than 17,000 square feet. The winning bidder will also get the club’s furnishings — including five DJ booths — and a seven-day beer, wine and liquor license with an adult entertainment permit.
The club, a landmark in the redeveloping neighborhood, is being auctioned based on an order from the Orphans Court, which is involved in settling the estate of former owner Anthony Dwight Triplin Sr., who died in 2014.
Could Gatsby’s once again become a nightlife hotspot? Billig said the building will be “delivered unoccupied,” leaving room for a new owner’s vision.
Bidding starts at $500,000.
‘Freetjes’ and other Belgian snacks
Chef Bernard Dehaene is back in the kitchen with a new Federal Hill restaurant focused on Belgian eats.
Freetjes, which recently opened at 1448 Light St., serves fried potatoes, waffles and other snacks from the Low Countries, according to a menu posted on social media. “Frietjes” is the Dutch word for fries.
Dehaene was previously the chef and owner behind The Corner Charcuterie and Bar in Hampden, and more recently was involved with Octobar, a tapas restaurant about a block away on Light Street.
In a Facebook post introducing the new concept, Dehaene wrote that Freetjes is a testament to his upbringing, which “instilled in us a deep appreciation for the meticulous and the methodical.”
“We pour our hearts into the taste and texture of our dishes, the preparation, and the ‘mise en place,’” he wrote. “Our kitchen is not just a place for cooking, but a classroom where even our dishwasher evolves into a valued partner in our gastronomic adventure.”