Toluwaloju Runsewe is juiced about Baltimore.
He heads a business called MoreLife Organic Juice, which offers healthy drinks at the Pratt Street Market that help people stay well and energized.
“Health is wealth,” he says. “Everything we do, everything we put in our body, can or cannot give us more life.”
Now he and partner Nicole Scott are hoping to give the city more life by opening a store at the Inner Harbor. In addition to organic juices, they’ll feature herbal teas and raw vegan snacks.
“Everybody comes together and makes things happen. That’s what Baltimore is about,” he says. “MoreLife is about helping the city get more life…. We’re making Baltimore juicy again.”
Runsewe heads one of seven temporary businesses that will open next month in the Harborplace pavilions at Pratt and Light streets.
The Downtown Partnership of Baltimore and MCB Real Estate, the owner of Harborplace, held a ceremonial ribbon-cutting on Wednesday for the businesses, which will open by Juneteenth, June 19.
They’re all part of the Downtown Partnership’s Black Owned and Operated Storefront Tenancy (BOOST) incubator program, created to help entrepreneurs open businesses that can fill vacant retail spaces and energize downtown.
MCB has long-range plans to demolish the two retail pavilions and replace them with a $500 million mixed-use development that includes two residential towers, shops, restaurants, offices and green space. The company needs approval from city voters in November in order to move ahead with its plans.
To activate the pavilions and help draw visitors to the Inner Harbor while it firms up its long-range plans, MCB has been filling empty storefronts at Harborplace with tenants who agree to occupy space on a short-term basis and move out when the developer is ready to proceed with construction.
MCB disclosed plans last year to work with the Downtown Partnership and create a Harborplace version of its BOOST program. For the Harborplace version, applicants were told from the start that there would be a time limit to their tenancy but they would otherwise get the same degree of support, technical assistance and coaching as merchants chosen in previous rounds of the program. All have signed license agreements that permit them to be tenants at Harborplace for two years.
Five of the merchants will occupy “suites” in an area of the Light Street Pavilion that will be called the BOOST Boutique. It’s part of the Made in Baltimore footprint, in the former H&M space. They are:
· Cuples Tea, a premium loose-leaf tea company curating a collection of teas and tea accessories. It will be the second location for the business, operated by husband and wife owners Eric and Lynnette Dodson.
· Milton’s Daughters, a shop providing authentic waist beads and cultural accessories as well as crystals, herbs and spiritual tools, owned and operated by Amanda Hynson.
· Pandora’s Box, by Monesha Philips, featuring “a unique selection of the latest trends, jewelry, gifts, home decor, and personal accessories.”
· Storybook Maze, a literacy community outreach movement by Araba Maze that seeks to eliminate book deserts by installing free public book vending machines.
· Yele Stitches, an African Luxury brand creating custom and handmade dresses, tops, bridal gowns, and more, owned and operated by designer Abisola Omoyele “Yelé” Oladeinde.
MoreLife Organic Juice and one other merchant will open in the Pratt Street Pavilion. The other BOOST tenant opening on Pratt Street is Motion Athletics, an athleticwear brand with a fashion and streetwear focus, owned and operated by Idris Coleman.
The Downtown BOOST Harborplace Incubator Program was made possible by MCB and the Office of Mayor Brandon Scott. It brings to nearly 20 the number of merchants selected for the BOOST program since it was launched in 2021. Five were selected in 2021 and five more in 2023.
Each Harborplace tenant will be able to use up to $25,000 in grant funds to support their physical space needs, as well as technical, legal, marketing, zoning and permitting services, and accounting support.
Shelonda Stokes, president of the Downtown Partnership, said the BOOST Boutique, with five new merchants clustered together, will be “more of a department store concept” than some of the previous free-standing ventures. She also noted that some of the merchants in this round of the BOOST program are opening second downtown locations, which means they are growing and creating more jobs for the local economy.
“Several of our BOOSTers, this isn’t their first location,” she said, mentioning Motion Athletics, Pandora’s Box and Cuples Tea. Besides being an incubator for first-time businesses, the BOOST program “is about expansion and growth,” she said. “We want to get people in, but it’s also about how do we really grow and lift as we climb.”
“These businesses are not just tenants. They are partners in our collective effort to reimagine” and rejuvenate downtown Baltimore, said Justin Williams, Deputy Mayor for Community and Economic Development.
More information about the BOOST Program and the Downtown Partnership’s other initiatives is available at GoDowntownBaltimore.com/.
