The owner of Pete’s Grille in Waverly has acquired Werner’s Restaurant at 225 East Redwood Street and plans to reopen in November.
Restaurant owner Ray Crum has signed a lease with the landlord of the Vickers Exchange building, where Werner’s is located, and plans to open a restaurant that serves the same “large plate comfort food” he does at Pete’s Grille at 3130 Greenmount Ave.
Kemp Byrnes and Brad Byrnes of Byrnes & Associates, Inc., a Baltimore-based commercial real estate and investment company, and Dave Gupta, a local entrepreneur, head an investment group that owns both 225 East Redwood Street and 233 E. Redwood Street, now called Redwood Exchange. They bought both buildings last year and have been working to renovate them and bring in new tenants.
“The reopening of Werner’s Restaurant by this highly-seasoned and successful entrepreneur represents a critical piece of the puzzle in our make-over and re-tenanting strategy at these two iconic assets, while also elevating occupancy at the Vickers Exchange to 100 percent,” said Brad Byrnes, President of Byrnes & Associates, in a statement.
“Popular restaurants inject energy and excitement into real estate projects and, based on the long-term embrace and support of the community to the Pete’s Grille concept, we are confident that this is the perfect use and operator,” he said.
Werner’s Restaurant was a popular dining establishment that was first opened in 1950 by Werner Kloetzli. Over the years, its Art Deco interior has been used in the filming of numerous movies and television shows, including The Wire, Liberty Heights, Ladder 49, Tin Men, Avalon and House of Cards. The new concept has received preliminary approval for a Class B, seven-day beer, wine and liquor license, which will include outdoor seating and entertainment.
According to Crum, the menu will include breakfast, lunch and dinner entrées with an emphasis on large plate items such as egg omelet platters and full stack pancakes; jumbo hamburgers, crispy chicken sandwiches and tuna melts; deli sandwiches; homemade meat loaf and a full array of store-made dessert items and daily dinner specials. The new space will accommodate approximately 80 diners inside of the restaurant and 20 seats outside. Anticipated hours are Monday to Friday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sundays from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Olympic Gold Medal winner Michael Phelps was a regular customer at Pete’s Grille. He wrote in his autobiography, “Beneath the Surface,” that his typical breakfast order consisted of three sandwiches of fried eggs; one omelet; a bowl of grits, three slices of French toast and three chocolate chip pancakes.
“Werner’s is a Baltimore Landmark,” Crum said. “As someone who has lived here his whole life, I’m excited to be a part of its next chapter. We will keep in place the traditions of the menu, quality of food and excellent service. We welcome everyone to come in for great meals, friendly conversations and classic cocktails.”
The owners of 225 and 233 East Redwood Street have launched a $5 million effort to renovate and reposition the properties and have signed 21 new office leases at the two buildings. Much of the work consisted of transforming the upper floors of Redwood Exchange into multi-tenant office space, after one large tenant moved out. The ground floors of both buildings will be leased to restaurant and retail users.
Redwood Exchange is a 13-story building designed by architects J. B. Noel Wyatt and William Nolting. It was constructed by the family of John Work Garrett, a prominent entrepreneur and philanthropist in Baltimore who served as president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad for nearly 30 years and opened in 1913, nine years after the Great Baltimore Fire.
“Our vision for Historic Redwood Street to become the Main Street of Downtown continues to move forward ahead of plan,” Brad Byrnes said. “We consider the 200 block of Redwood Street a microcosm of everything great about downtown Baltimore, including one-of-a-kind architecture, great history and the perfect mix of theater, office space, apartments, hotels and restaurants. The recent leasing activity we completed at these two assets will bring new employees and visitors to this area every day, and recreate a pedestrian-friendly environment that has been missing of late.”
