Yellow Bowl restaurant, one of the city's premier soul food destinations, goes on the auction block next month.
The restaurant, in the 1200 block of Greenmount Avenue, came back from a devastating fire 10 years ago and had been a favorite of Kurt L. Schmoke, who tapped it to cater some City Hall events when he was mayor.
The restaurant closed several years ago because of the declining health of its owners and the family has decided to sell. Co-owner Eva Virginia Fullard died in 2008.
"The original Yellow Bowl opened in 1921, when it got its name and most of its business from the Yellow Cab Co. office that was then nearby on Preston Street," according to Fullard's obituary.
As the Johnston Square neighborhood changed during the 1960s from mostly white to mostly black, the Fullards changed their menu from Salisbury steaks, meatloaf and spaghetti and meatballs to ribs, chitterlings, fried chicken and collard greens.
A. J. Billig & Co. will conduct the auction at the restaurant site Aug. 18 at 2 p.m.
The restaurant occupied two two-story rowhouses adjacent to the redeveloped Johnston Square Apartments. The buildings, the restaurant fixtures and equipment will be sold to the highest bidder above $50,000.
Complete details and sale terms can be found at the auctioneer's website.