New restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner planning November reopening
Ray Crum, owner of Pete’s Grille on 3130 Greenmount Avenue in Baltimore City, has acquired the venerable Werner’s Restaurant within 225 E. Redwood Street in downtown Baltimore and subsequently signed a new lease with the local investment group that also owns and manages the adjacent 233 E. Redwood Street. Crum intends to open a restaurant that replicates the “large plate comfort food” associated with Pete’s Grille in the street-level portion of the four-story building now known as the Vickers Exchange in November. Kemp Byrnes and Brad Byrnes of Byrnes & Associates, Inc., a Baltimore-based boutique commercial real estate and investment company, as well as Dave Gupta, a local entrepreneur comprise the investment group that acquired both 225 and 233 E. Redwood last year.
“The reopening of Werner’s Restaurant by this highly-seasoned and successful entrepreneur represents a critical piece of the puzzle in our make-over and re-tenanting strategy at these two iconic assets, while also elevating occupancy at the Vickers Exchange to 100%,” explained Brad Byrnes, President of Byrnes & Associates. “Popular restaurants inject energy and excitement into real estate projects and, based on the long-term embrace and support of the community to the Pete’s Grille concept, we are confident that this is the perfect use and operator.”
Werner’s Restaurant was a highly-popular dining establishment which first opened in 1950 by Werner Kloetzli, and it was chosen for the filming of numerous movies and television shows due to its distinctive chrome and maple Art Deco interior. The eatery had roles in The Wire, Liberty Heights, Ladder 49, Tin Men, Avalon and House of Cards. The new concept has received preliminary approval for a Class B, seven-day beer, wine and liquor license which will include outdoor seating and entertainment.
The menu will contain breakfast, lunch and dinner entrées with an emphasis on large plate items such as egg omelet platters and full stack pancakes; jumbo hamburgers, crispy chicken sandwiches and tuna melts; deli sandwiches; homemade meat loaf and a full array of store-made dessert items and daily dinner specials. The new space will accommodate approximately 80 diners inside of the restaurant and 20 seats outside.
Olympian Michael Phelps was a regular customer at Pete’s Grille and, as described in his autobiography Beneath the Surface, his typical breakfast order consisted of three sandwiches of fried eggs; one omelet; a bowl of grits, three slices of French toast and three chocolate chip pancakes.
“Werner’s is a Baltimore Landmark. As someone who has lived here his whole life, I’m excited to be a part of its next chapter. We will keep in place the traditions of the menu, quality of food and excellent service. We welcome everyone to come in for great meals, friendly conversations and classic cocktails,” said Crum.
Last year, the new ownership group initiated a comprehensive $5 million redevelopment and strategy at 225 and 233 E. Redwood Street, as well as rebranding the assets to Vickers Exchange and Redwood Exchange, which recently led to the signing of 21 new office leases at the two buildings. The renovation and repositioning program consisted of transforming the upper floors of Redwood Exchange into multi-tenant office space. The ground floors of both buildings will be leased to restaurant and retail users.
“Our vision for Historic Redwood Street to become the Main Street of Downtown continues to move forward ahead of plan,” added Byrnes. “We consider the 200 block of Redwood Street a microcosm of everything great about downtown Baltimore including one-of-a-kind architecture, great history and the perfect mix of theater, office space, apartments, hotels and restaurants. The recent leasing activity we completed at these two assets will bring new employees and visitors to this area every day, and recreate a pedestrian-friendly environment that has been missing of late.”
For leasing information contact Brad Byrnes at brad@byrnesandassociatesinc.com and review listings at: https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/233-E-Redwood-St-Baltimore-MD/22042078/
History of 233 E. Redwood Street
The building was constructed by the family of John Work Garrett, a prominent entrepreneur and philanthropist in Baltimore who served as president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad for nearly 30 years. In 1870, Garrett acquired 1,400 acres in Baltimore City and built a Victorian-style mansion that was named “Montebello.” After his death, his family constructed the 13-story 233 E. Redwood Street – which was considered extremely tall for that time period – with the building designed by architects J.B. Noel Wyatt and William G. Nolting. It was delivered in 1913, approximately nine years after the Great Baltimore Fire.
Nearly 155,000 people reside within a two-mile radius of the buildings, including more than 68,000 households with an average household income approaching $70,000. The daytime population within two miles is nearly 290,000.
About Dave Gupta
Dave Gupta is a local entrepreneur who currently owns apartment buildings including The Telephone building in Charles Village next to Johns Hopkins University, and the Calvert School Apartments on 10 W. Chase Street in Mt. Vernon that formerly functioned as the Calvert School. He also owns a number of other real estate holdingsin downtown Towson.
About Byrnes & Associates, Inc.
Byrnes & Associates, Inc. is a boutique real estate company providing a comprehensive array of commercial real estate brokerage, leasing, redevelopment and asset management services to institutional and private investors, companies and other owners. Since 1981, the company has been involved in a number of historical redevelopment projects including The Professional Building, The Latrobe Building and The McDowell Building. Over the past year, Byrnes & Associates has brokered the sale of several high-profile projects in Baltimore City including The Munsey Apartment Building, the Lanahan Building on 22 Light Street and the recent 120,000 SF Multifamily Conversion at 300 W. Fayette St.
The company continues to be involved in numerous charities and business organizations throughout the City. Last year, the company recently relocated its corporate headquarter to The Vickers Exchange in anticipation of expected growth of its brokerage and development business.
For additional information about Byrnes and Associates, visit www.ByrnesandAssociatesInc.com
