The restaurant and jazz club Darker Than Blue, 3034 Greenmount Ave., in Waverly, is celebrating its five-year anniversary with free appetizers, beer, wine and jazz, Thursday, Sept. 15, 6-8 p.m.
The event also celebrates the Greenmount Avenue commercial corridor, which is coming into its own, said Darker Than Blue chef and owner Casey Jenkins, president of the Waverly Merchants Association.
Jenkins plays a big role in trying to lift up the corridor. The merchants association was revived and is a voting member of the Charles Village Community Benefits District, a special taxing district. Several new shops have opened on Greenmount, including Hair International and Main Street Hats. But a pet grooming store left, and no other restaurants at similar price points have opened.
Jenkins believes the corridor is better for his arrival, and that the eatery is "a great investment for us," although he has lowered prices and increased portions and serves more "comfort food" in a bad economy.
Darker Than Blue, near Oakenshawe, Charles Village, Abell and Guilford, is noted for its Southern cooking and is one of Baltimore Magazine's top 50 restaurants.
"I don't want to say Darker Than Blue has been a catalyst, but I do think we have helped (Greenmount) grow," Jenkins said. "There is more traffic coming to this area because of Darker Than Blue."
Main Street Hats owner Clyde Davis-El commends Jenkins for "pulling people together" and recruiting new businesses.
Davis-El said he opened his shop in 2009 because, "I saw the growth potential."
Now, he said, he sees customers from Johns Hopkins University's Homewood campus and from Union Memorial, and "a more international crowd."
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