The Washington-based restaurateur Robert Wiedmaier, whose restaurants include Brasserie Beck and his flagship, Marcel's, is bringing his Mussel Bar & Grille concept to Baltimore.
For his first foray into Baltimore, Wiedmaier has chosen the Harbor East location where Townhouse Kitchen lasted for less than two years. That restaurant, like Mussel Bar, was a first-time operation by an out-of-town restaurant group. Wiedmaier said he's not worried about being perceived as an outsider.
"We're just going to go in there and give great friendly service and embrace the locality of Baltimore,"; Wiedmaier said. "I've always loved Baltimore. Very few people you meet in Washington were born and raised in Washington. It's full of suits, and it's very conservative. People are from Baltimore."
Wiedmaier opened the first Mussel Bar &; Grille in Bethesda in 2010. The Baltimore Mussel Bar will be the fourth for Wiedmaier's RW Restaurant Group; others operate in Arlington, Va. and Atlantic City, N.J.
Baltimore's Mussel Bar & Grille will open in Baltimore in early 2015, Wiedmaier said.