Starting this month, visitors to Harborplace have two new restaurants to patronize there, thanks to recently-passed state legislation that made it possible for them to open even though the waterfront pavilions are targeted for demolition.
Baltimore’s liquor board on Thursday approved Class “B” Beer, Wine and Liquor licenses for two restaurants that are leasing previously-dormant spaces in the Light Street Pavilion at 301 Light Street.
The restaurants are Supano’s Steakhouse and Sports Bar, which is already open on the first level of the Light Street pavilion, and Angeli’s Pizzeria, which is opening this weekend on the second level of the Light Street pavilion.
As a result of the board’s action, the operators of both establishments can now serve alcoholic beverages. But their licenses aren’t like any others in the city. They are liquor licenses granted for businesses specifically operating on a short-term basis.
When the city liquor board approves new licenses or license transfers, it typically requires that the applicants demonstrate they will invest a certain minimum amount for fixtures, furnishings and other improvements and provide a certain minimum number of seats. When the licenses are granted, they are valid for up to one year and the license holders must apply to renew them every spring.
But Harborplace is an unusual situation because the landlord, MCB Real Estate, has announced plans to demolish the two pavilions at Pratt and Light streets and replace them with a $500 million mixed-use development that includes two apartment towers, shops, restaurants, offices and park space.
While it finalizes its development plans, MCB is filling empty spaces in the existing pavilions with short-term tenants who agree to move out when the company is ready to begin construction on its long-term project. It’s a two-phase strategy that creates jobs, activates dormant storefronts and helps draw visitors to Baltimore’s waterfront during the planning phases, which can last more than a year.
For some short-term tenants at Harborplace, the cost of occupying an empty storefront can be manageable, especially for entrepreneurs who receive assistance from the Downtown Partnership’s BOOST [Black Owned and Operated Storefront Tenancy] initiative or other grant programs.
But for full-service restaurants that are required to show a substantial investment for capital improvements, it’s not necessarily feasible if the operators know they may not be at the location for more than one or two years.
It helps that the short-term restaurateurs are moving into spaces that previously housed restaurants and potentially have equipment left behind by the previous tenant that may still be usable, but that’s not guaranteed. Either way, new restaurants typically would have to satisfy the liquor board’s regulations for minimum capital investment and minimum number of seats. If they had to close down when demolition begins, there would be no easy way for them to recoup their investment.
New law
That’s where Maryland’s General Assembly came in and essentially crafted a new kind of liquor license for restaurants operating on a short-term basis.
During their most recent session, lawmakers passed legislation that authorizes the liquor board to waive certain requirements for a restaurant “within a certain bounded area” in the 46th Legislative District, and that area was Harborplace. The legislation was Senate Bill 662, sponsored by Senate President Bill Ferguson, and House Bill 784, sponsored by Delegates Luke Clippinger, Mark Edelson and Robbyn Lewis. After passage, the legislation took effect on June 1, 2025. That’s when the two applicants could apply for liquor licenses at Harborplace.
According to liquor board representatives and others, the legislation means that the licenses for Angeli’s and Supano’s were treated as transfers, rather than new applications. It required no minimum capital investment and no minimum number of seats – thresholds that applicants must meet in other parts of the city. It also stipulates that their licenses can’t be transferred outside the “bounded area” identified in the legislation, whenever their businesses move out to make way for MCB’s long-range project.
When it opened in 1980 and was run by The Rouse Company, Harborplace had nearly a dozen restaurants, and they served as anchors for Rouse’s “festival marketplace” in the same way that department stores are anchors for suburban shopping centers.
Restaurants in the Light Street Pavilion included Jean Claude’s Café; City Lights; American Café; Phillips Seafood and The Soup Kitchen Ltd. Restaurants in the Pratt Street Pavilion included Black Pearl, Athenian Plaka, Tandoor and Pronto. Over time, they were replaced by chains or franchises such as the Cheesecake Factory, which opened in 1995 and is still there, and Planet Hollywood and Hooters, which aren’t.
According to Matt Achhammer, the liquor board’s community liaison and spokesperson, the recently-passed legislation authorizes the panel to entertain requests from up to three others who might want to open short-term restaurants at Harborplace the way Angeli’s and Supano’s have, if they apply and have MCB’s support. As passed, the law is in effect until June 30, 2030.
“If you read the legislation,” he said, “there are five licenses that can be considered unexpired for the purposes of transferring with all those parameters.”
Where are the licenses transferred from?
“From licenses that were there but they’re already dead and expired,” Achhammer said.
How can expired licenses at Harborplace come back to life?
“By legislation,” he said.
They died but now they’re alive again?
“Effectively,” he said, but only until the enabling legislation expires in 2030.
Now open
The license holders for Supano’s Steakhouse and Sports Bar are Geminiano Sicadsicad, the owner, and Ali Kemal Sahin, the general manager, of SSS Bar and Grill Inc. Supano’s opened about two weeks ago without a liquor license in the former Hooters space on the first level of the Light Street Pavilion. Sicadsicad and Sahin told the liquor board they expect to remain there for one and a half to two years. Their liquor license includes outdoor table service.
Supano’s takes its name from Supano’s Prime Steakhouse Seafood and Pasta, which was located at 110 Water Street for more than a decade and closed several years ago. Its founder, Terry Coffman, is part of the team working on the Harborplace restaurant. Sicadsicad said he was the general manager at the Water Street location for eight years.
The license holder for Angeli’s is Cuneyt Ozturk of 5716 LLC. His restaurant occupies a prime spot on the south end of the second level of the Light Street Pavilion, with views of the harbor, and will seat about 200. It’s the fifth restaurant for Angeli’s Pizzeria, a family-run business that opened its first location at 413 S. High St. in Little Italy.
Ozturk said Angeli’s opened a pop-up pizzeria at that spot last year. Before he took over, he said, it was vacant for 19 years. Initially, he said, Angeli’s will be open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and then more days will be added once he sees how business goes. The liquor board approved outdoor table service as part of the license.
Both Sicadsicad and Ozturk said they plan to be open on August 25, when MCB principals host a community forum to provide updates about their redevelopment plans. The meeting will be held on the second level of the Light Street pavilion from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Asked after the liquor board hearing how long he expects Angeli’s to be at Harborplace, Ozturk said it may be less than a year but it could be longer.
“I think we have only 10 months maybe,” he said, “because they were saying July 4 they’re planning to have a goodbye party.” He said he also has been told the time may be extended until the end of 2026. It all depends how quickly the plans for the replacement project come together, he said. “We know we have two summers and then one winter.”
Ozturk declined to say exactly how much he’s investing to get his restaurant ready to open. “I’m investing a good amount,” he said. “MCB helped a lot to get it done,” he added.
Ozturk said he knows he can’t count on transferring his Harborplace license when he has to vacate the building.
“We are never going to transfer,” he said. “This license is just specifically for that location, so when tourists come there they will be able to get some food…It’s good for the community. It’s great for the tourist business.”
Ozturk’s attorney, Stephan Fogleman Jr., called his client “the pizza king” of Baltimore during the hearing and said he is a “social media big shot” who wants to bring his talents and energy to Harborplace before demolition occurs.
For now, Ozturk said, he’s doing all he can to get the word out about the new location of Angeli’s and take advantage of the time he has at Harborplace. “Marketing is everything,” he said.
More licenses
In other action on Thursday, the liquor board:
Granted a Class “B” license for an applicant to open a restaurant in the former Supano’s restaurant space at 110 Water Street. The license holder is Shawnta A. L. Taylor of S&S Restaurant Enterprises Inc. The restaurant will be called The 1920, and has permission to provide live entertainment and off-premises catering.
Approved a request to transfer a Class “B” license to operators of Kneads Canton, part of the Kneads Bakery group. The license holders are Loic Hemery and Adam Paterakis. The location, 3601 Boston Street, was formerly occupied by Atwater’s. Kneads operates it from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. The license includes outdoor table service and off-premises catering.
Approved a request to transfer a Class “D” Beer and Light Wine license associated with The Birdhouse at 508 Washington Boulevard. The new license holder is Raquel Almetta Cruz-Stratton. The transferred license includes live entertainment and outdoor table service at the Washington Boulevard location.
