Eddie’s of Mount Vernon, a neighborhood fixture, to close by the end of June

Eddie’s of Mount Vernon, a neighborhood fixture for decades and the only grocery store in the community, will close by the end of the month.

The family-owned business, headed by Dennis Zorn, announced on social media over the weekend that it will be holding a going-out-of-business sale as it prepares to cease operations at 7-11 W. Eager St.

“It is with a heavy heart and tears in our eyes that we have to announce that after 24 years being in business we will be closing our doors for good at the end of June,” said the message posted on Facebook and Instagram.

“We have truly enjoyed being a part of the Mt. Vernon community and will miss all the employees and customers we have grown to know and love over the years. It is tough to put in to words the gratitude we have for all the customers that have shopped with us over the years and kept us open this long.”

Eddie’s of Mount Vernon is an independent business that is not affiliated with the Eddie’s grocery stores at 5113 Roland Ave. and 6213 N. Charles St.

Zorn has owned Eddie’s of Mount Vernon since 2000, but the property has housed a grocery store since 1939. Before it was Eddie’s, it was an Acme. The store was constructed within the shell of an old stable, Coffay’s Livery, which dates from the mid-1800s and later became a garage.

The building is owned by 13 West Eager LLC, headed by developer and Mount Vernon resident Dennis Richter. In April 2018, with the support of the Mount Vernon-Belvedere Association, Baltimore’s preservation commission approved plans by Richter to build a 10-story apartment building in the unit block of West Eager Street, including the footprints of the grocery store, the former Eager House restaurant at 13-15 West Eager Street, and the former Comprehensive Car Care property at the southeast corner of Eager and Cathedral streets.

To make way for that development, Richter planned to move Eddie’s into a space on the lower level of the Belvedere condominium and retail complex at Charles and Chase Streets so the community would still have a grocery store, but the move didn’t take place.

Richter was exploring plans to construct a somewhat less-tall residential building when the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 caused projects around the city, including the Eager Street development, to stall. Any replacement plan for Eddie’s would have to go back to the preservation commission for design approval if it’s not consistent with the design previously approved.

With about 5,000 square feet of space, Eddie’s is the only grocery store in the Mount Vernon-Belvedere area. The closest grocery stores are the Safeway store at 2401 N. Charles St.; Streets Market & Café at 222 N. Charles St. and Save A Lot at 2008 Maryland Ave.

This is the second time in a year that Zorn has announced that the store is closing. On August 9, 2022, he posted a sign at the entrance saying that the store would be shutting down, after a city health department inspection showed that the temperatures of refrigerated foods in the dairy section weren’t cold enough by three degrees to meet the city’s standards.

Zorn cleared out the yogurt and other items in the dairy case after the inspection. But he changed course later in the day and announced on social media that he was staying open, after customers appealed for him to reconsider.

This time the decision appears to be final.

“Over the next few weeks we will begin marking down items for our going out of business sale,” the store’s message said. “Please come in to say goodbye and share a story if you have one. Goodbye, Mt. Vernon, it has truly been a pleasure.”