DuClaw Brewing Company's old Fells Point storefront has a new tenant.
It is the the Philadelphia restaurant and bar Ladder 15, just like Midnight Sun reported in December. The new owners got the liquor license last Thursday.
They plan on renaming the space at 901 S. Bond Street. It won't be a Ladder 15 after all, but will instead be called Bond Street Social.
It's not clear when it will open; the new owners haven't responded to several requests for comment.
DuClaw closed its location in Fells Point in December 2009 because business had been sluggish.
In December, John Durkin, one of the Ladder 15 owners, said they'd been looking to open a new Ladder 15 location, and saw there weren't many other places like it in Baltimore.
The Philly restaurant calls itself "upscale yet unpretentious" on its website.
But there is in fact another place like it here already - Mad River Bar & Grille, where Durkin is an owner himself. Durkin insisted Ladder 15 and Mad River are different concepts.
Durkin said they'd been pursuing the Fells Point location since Fall of last year. In December, he and his partners filed an application with the Baltimore Liquor Board.
Durkin said then the deal to sign a lease was "close." It's not clear when it was finalized, or how much they'll be paying.The license, which DuClaw had given up, was finally transferred at Thursday's liquor board hearing.
In December, Durkin said the Fells Point location would be similar to Ladder 15, which serves New American cuisine, offers nine wines in the $7-$11 price range, and carries 12 draft beers.
At the Thursday liquor board meeting, the new owners said the Baltimore location would feature a locally themed menu and carry regional craft beer.
Bill's Lighthouse Inn sold
In related bar news, Bill's Lighthouse, the 30-year-old South Baltimore bar known for soft crab sandwiches, has been sold, the City that Breeds writes. The new owners are a group called Velocity Cafe.
Bill's owner, Adele Wedemeyer, had auctioned off the bar in December, but ultimately rejected the high bid of $475,000. She re-listed it for $625,000, she told Midnight Sun then.
It's not clear if the bar was sold for that amount. Wedemeyer nor the new owners could be reached for comment.
Wedemeyer's husband, William, had opened the bar 30 years ago, but since he died, she'd been trying to sell the bar to pay off estate debts.
The new owners inherit the bar's building, liquor license, and its equipment and furniture.
Bill's includes a bar, a seated area, two public restrooms, and a commercial kitchen. The rest of the real estate is made up of a second-floor, two-bedroom apartment and two empty buildings that require renovation.