Another remnant of former Orioles owner Peter Angelos’ once extensive real estate empire has gone up for auction.
The former Boccaccio restaurant at 923-937 Eastern Ave. in Little Italy is the subject of a two-day online auction that started on Monday, July 28, and will end at noon on Wednesday, July 30.
The sale is being handled by Ten-X in conjunction with the Baltimore office of JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle), a commercial real estate agency. It’s being conducted on the LoopNet.com website, a real estate marketplace.
“A prime 0.318-acre infill development opportunity in Baltimore’s most exclusive waterfront neighborhood,” the auction listing reads. “This outstanding development opportunity is located at the gateway of Harbor East, the most desirable neighborhood on Baltimore’s waterfront.”
Boccaccio was an upscale dining establishment that opened in 1992 and closed after owner Giovanni Rigato’s death in August of 2008. Angelos, the attorney and former Orioles owner who died at age 94 in March of 2024, bought the property in 2010. Named after the 14th century writer Giovanni Boccaccio, it was one of his favorite restaurants.
Located near the intersection of Eastern Avenue and S. Exeter Street, Boccaccio is one of several prominent Baltimore area properties that Angelos-affiliated entities acquired over the years. Others include One Charles Center, where Angelos had his law offices; Marconi’s restaurant at 106 W. Saratoga St.; the Fidelity & Deposit Co. office building at 210 N. Charles St., the 30,000-square-foot Foxtail Center shopping strip in Timonium and the eight-story Court Towers office building in Towson.
Angelos never did anything with the Boccaccio property after he bought it, and it has been vacant for more than 15 years. A faded Boccaccio sign still hangs off the front facade.
In his real estate activities, Angelos was not unlike “Honolulu Harry” Weinberg, the Baltimore-born businessman who acquired numerous buildings in Baltimore’s traditional shopping district near Lexington Market and had a reputation for letting them sit.
In recent years, some of Angelos’ properties have changed hands. One Charles Center was sold in 2024 to a buyer that is keeping it as offices. The 15-story Fidelity & Deposit Co. building has been sold to a joint venture formed by Trademark Properties and is undergoing conversion to residences.
The Boccaccio property is being sold by heirs of Peter Angelos. According to the auction listing, the sale includes the two-story, stucco-clad building that housed the restaurant and a 20-car parking lot east of it. The vacant building contains about 9,000 square feet of space. The land is zoned for commercial development, which could include offices, stores, restaurants, housing or a combination of uses.
Bidding started at $225,000. As of midday Tuesday, the highest bid was $525,000 and bids were increasing in $100,000 increments. According to the LoopNet website, the reserve had not yet been met, meaning the auction could be cancelled if bidding doesn’t exceed a certain point.
