Without Phillips as the original Light Street Pavilion anchor, would Harborplace have been so successful? I don't think it would have. Phillips was the essential ingredient in the Harborplace stew, and even as local diners increasingly stayed away, the numbers, and profits, spoke for themselves. Phillips was a monster hit during those early years.
Harborplace has changed, though, and Bubba Gump could turn out to be a more strategically attractive anchor restaurant for the Harborplace of today. Bubba Gump won't sail into Baltimore until next May, but signs point to its finding Baltimore's harbor a very comfortable berth.
Unlike Phillips, which opened in Harborplace with a semi-formal atmosphere, Bubba Gump was conceived from the start as a family-style, moderately priced restaurant concept for venues like Harborplace. Bubba Gump, "the first restaurant group based on a motion picture," features alongside its moderately priced seafood menu a fun Alabama atmosphere filled with "downhome décor." And a retail store selling clothing and souvenirs like boxes of chocolate and "RUN, Forrest, RUN" license plates.
Phillips, on the other hand, wasn't a concept — it was a restaurant, and it had to discover over time what diners wanted from Harborplace dining, and adjust to their changing tastes. If Phillips always had to operate with at least the pretense of serving serious cuisine, Bubba Gump can openly court diners looking for a fun atmosphere and a souvenir.
The Bubba Gump announcement may have struck some people funny, as though they had heard it before. That's because Bubba Gump did almost make it to the Inner Harbor in 1998, when it would have occupied a floating barge developed by the Cordish Cos. The location and appearance of the barge became the subject of epic wrangling between the Cordish Cos. and the National Aquarium, with then Mayor Kurt Schmoke caught in the middle.
The Bubba barge was abandoned, but Cordish successfully placed barges in front of the Power Plant for the Hard Rock Cafe and the ESPN Zone.
Seafood promotion A fall dining promotion will feature Maryland seafood on restaurant tables, not only in Maryland, but in Delaware, Washington and Pennsylvania. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources last week announced the new partnership and details about the dining promotion.
Described as a celebration of Maryland seafood, "From the Bay, For the Bay: Dine Out" will run Oct. 2-9, with more than 150 restaurants having already committed, and as many as 300 anticipated.
Each participating restaurant will donate a dollar from every Maryland seafood dinner sold during the week to the Oyster Recovery Partnership, a nonprofit organization working to rebuild the Chesapeake Bay's native oyster population, according to a news release.
Stephen Vilnit of the DNR's Fisheries Program helped develop the program and partnership. "My thought has always been that the best way to promote seafood is through the restaurants," Vilnit told me.
Vilnit's background is in wholesale seafood. He worked for 11 years at the Jessup Seafood Market before being recruited by the DNR last Fall. "Seventy percent of the seafood consumed in this country is in the restaurant business and reaching out to this end of the industry gives us the best opportunity to reach the largest amount of end users."
Vilnit told me that the tally of participating restaurants currently stands at 170. "More are joining every day, he said.
A website launched last week at dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/fromthebay.
New food truck Baltimore's newest food truck debuted on Monday. GrrChe is a gourmet food truck serving a basic menu of "plain and simple" sandwiches on white or wheat. Specialty sandwiches include the Lobster Grill and the Crab Delight.
GrrChe also will be selling gourmet breakfast sandwiches and desserts. More information is at http://www.grrche.com.