An arcade game-themed restaurant is coming to The Avenue in Hampden.
Baltimore’s liquor board (BLLC) on Thursday approved a license transfer for an as-yet unnamed bar and restaurant at 1113 W. 36th Street, a building vacated last fall by a store called Caravanserai.
The approved license holder is Glenroy R. Laing of Voight Stampf LLC. The Class “BD7” Beer, Wine and Liquor license is being transferred from 1117-1119 W. 36th St., where 13.5% Wine Bar used to be. The target opening date is early December.
According to attorney Stephan W. Fogelman, Jr., the new operation will serve burgers, wings, salads and other fare. He told the liquor board that Hampden doesn’t have a venue that features arcade games, as some other Baltimore neighborhoods do, and Laing wanted to see if the concept would succeed on W. 36th Street, also known as The Avenue.
“I think it will be well-received,” Fogleman told the board. “There’s nothing like it in Hampden.”
New liquor board chair, commissioner, and chief inspector
Thursday’s liquor board hearing was the first since Gov. Wes Moore appointed a new commissioner and the board selected a new chair.
The new commissioner is Donald L. Chambers, Jr., who joins the board with more than 20 years of service with the federal government. An IT specialist, Chambers has held various positions of responsibility within the U. S. Department of the Treasury, including the Internal Revenue Service. He is a resident of Baltimore’s Ashburton neighborhood, holds a business administration degree from Bowie State University, and is a life member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity.
The new chair is Granville Templeton III, who has been on the liquor board since July of 2023. The board selected him to serve as chair in a session before Thursday’s hearing.
“I am grateful to Governor Moore for providing me with this opportunity to serve in this capacity,” Templeton said in a statement. “Under my leadership, the BLLC will build on the reform efforts that have made the agency into one of the top performing organizations within Baltimore City. You have my word that we will continuously strive to increase and enhance the services we provide to our licensees while also remaining highly responsive to the residents of Baltimore.”
Templeton replaced former chair Albert Matricciani, Jr., who has left the board after more than nine years of service, starting when Stephanie Rawlings-Blake was Baltimore’s mayor. Former Baltimore City Councilmember Edward Reisinger has also left the board.
The board also announced that David McGinnis is the agency’s new Chief Inspector. A city resident, McGinnis has more than 25 years of experience in law enforcement and code enforcement. He most recently served as Director of the city housing department’s Special Investigations Unit.
Partnership with Sheriff’s Office
On Oct. 1, the liquor board officially launched a partnership with the Neighborhood Services Unit of the Baltimore City Sheriff’s Office. Maryland’s General Assembly this year enacted legislation that established the Neighborhood Services Unit and required that it formalize a longstanding collaboration between the Sheriff’s Office and liquor board in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
The MOU describes how the agencies will leverage their individual authorities to jointly compel compliance with Maryland’s alcoholic beverage laws to correct negative behavior that disrupts communities and threatens public safety.
“This new unit will allow for an unprecedented level of accountability for those not following the law,” said Liquor Executive Secretary Douglas Paige, in a statement. “The expanded partnership will allow our agency to protect communities against non-violent criminal activity and nuisance behaviors.”
Baltimore City Sheriff Sam Cogen thanked the General Assembly’s Baltimore City Delegation for prioritizing public safety through collaboration.
“We will continue to take our cues from the residents as we play a visible role in improving the overall safety of our city,” he said in a statement, referring to his office. “I can’t think of a better governmental partner to collaborate with than the liquor board, as I believe we share a vision of being responsive directly to the members of the community and to the businesses who are following the rules.”
