The Baltimore House announced it's closing at the end of March.
Opening in 2011, Baltimore brought vibrancy to a strip of King William that lacked restaurants and a block of it which lacked any nightlife or cultural venues.
I thought the owners were out-of-their minds; which is a necessity for trail-blazing entrepreneurs.
Baltimore brought people onto King William for lunch and dinner, helping to set the foundation for the restaurant strip that exists to today.
Entertainment wise, Baltimore gave us a successful trivia night in the Central Business District (Downtown), it's Sunday night Discography brought nightlife into the core on weekends. The owners took risks on new talent, and new events.
They paved the way for so many businesses that are now in the area.
They were great to the community, we've had many meetups of leaders in the Beasley community.
To me, they were nothing short of fantastic. Each time I came into the venue, they provide great hospitality. The few times I went to Discography, they went out of their way to make sure I enjoyed myself.
As is often the case for trailblazers, they are under-capitalized and more innovative. As they succeeded and paved the way for new businesses on King William, they had to compete against venues with greater capital, and recently the ability to be more specialized in their offerings.
As the trailblazer, The Baltimore House had to be many things to gather enough business to survive.
The result is today, they are closing.
They deserve praise for all the work they did, and while the taste of the business cycle is bitter, they've contributed to the betterment of Hamilton.
For this, and so many other things, I thank them.
Top Image: Baltimore House cross from their Twitter avatar photo