Film : Development News

Movies have returned to Pikesville for the first time in 27 years with the Nov. 1 opening of the Pikes Cinema Bar and Grille.

Ira Miller, the owner and operator of the Rotunda Cinemas in Hampden, operates the new Pikesville theater in the historic Art Deco building that also houses the Pikes Diner & Crab House. The cinema consists of two, stadium-style theaters that seat about 75. The theater will show a mix of first-run films, art films and independent movies. 

Pikes Diner Owner Wil Reich has spent about $200,000 to renovate the building at 921 Reisterstown Road. The project also received $50,000 from the Baltimore County Department of Planning.

Miller came up with the idea of turning the front of the diner into a movie theater, Reich says.

"I’d like to take credit but I can’t. Miller approached me with the idea."

Reich subdivided the approximately 7,000-square-foot, circa 1930s building. Reich is turning the front portion, about 3,000 square feet, into the theater space.The rear portion remains a restaurant but with a new menu that serves a combination of seafood, burgers and Mexican cuisine.

The Baltimore County Council approved a zoning change in April that will allow movies to return to the location. The building originally opened as a movie theater in 1934.  It has gone through several changes since closing as a theater in 1986.
 
After an extensive renovation, it reopened as an Italian grocery store. It then became a kosher restaurant before Pikes Diner opened in the rear portion of the building. Pikes Diner last year changed its name to Pikes Diner & Crab House. The restaurant has a separate entrance; the marque from the original movie theater remains atop the front of the building.
  
Reich says that because the last movie ends around 11 p.m., the future Cinema Bar and Grill will stay open later than the current Pikes Diner to accommodate patrons. Reich also owns Jilly’s Bar & Grill, located across the street from the Pikes Diner, and it too will adjust its hours, he says.

Source: Wil Reich, Cinema Bar and Grill
Writer: Barbara Pash
 
 

It’s a good time to celebrate the Roaring 20s. Director Baz Luhrmann has remade “The Great Gatsby” movie. WC Harlan in Remington is one of Baltimore’s hottest bars. And now the former Martick’s Restaurant Francis is about to be remade into a modern-day speakeasy when it reopens in August.

Speakeasies were hidden bars where in-the-know customers could enjoy a cocktail during Prohibition. It will still be called Martick’s, in honor of the late Morris Martick, the restaurant’s long-time owner, but there won’t be a sign at the Mount Vernon restaurant — just like its predecessor. If the light is on, it’s open. If not, you’re out of luck, says Co-owner Brooks Bennett. Another co-owner is Alex Martick, Morris Martick’s brother.

The property at 214 W. Mulberry St. in Mount Vernon consists of a first floor main dining room and the original 1933 bar, plus a second floor slated to be used for private parties. The first floor can seat about 75.

Bennett says they’re bringing in a chef and a mixologist who will showcase seasonal and regional beverages, highlighting Prohibition-era cocktails.

The menu is preliminary but will feature about a half dozen appetizers, including fries made from blue, white and yellow potatoes. The half dozen or so entrees will emphasize seafood.

The operators are leasing the building from the Martick family. The building will undergo a renovation with an eye toward giving it an old-timey speakeasy atmosphere, with reclaimed wooden floors and photos of the late Martick. 

Bennet hopes to do a soft opening in August, with an official opening in September. Currently Martick’s will likely be open Wednesdays through Sundays, but if business is good, the owners may expand the hours. Bennett says he expects the city to approve the liquor license in July.

The building really was a speakeasy back during Prohibition. After repeal, it became a legitimate bar. For 38 years, Morris Martick ran his French restaurant there before retiring in 2008.  Martick died in 2011 at age 88.

Speakeasies are making a comeback. Bennett says he visited modern day speakeasies from New York to Virginia to get a sense of what might work here in Baltimore.

“It’s all about the mystique and the mood,” he says.
 
Writer: Amy Landsman
Source: Brooks Bennett, co-owner Martick’s Speakeasy.

The owners of the Senator Theatre will wrap up its $3 million restoration this spring and expect the historic North Baltimore landmark to open at the end of May after a year of closure.
 
The once aging, single-screen theater will open with four screens and a 50- to 75-seat wine bar, says Co-owner Kathleen Cusack.
 
The yearlong renovation includes restoring the murals, installing new seats and getting a new chandelier for the 74-year-old Art Deco-style theater. Kathleen and her father James “Buzz” Cusack spent $1 million on the repairs, while the remaining money for the restoration came from a bank loan and city and state money.
 
“We’ve been working on this project since 2009 and it’s been a very labor intensive process. We’re happy to see things finally moving along,” Cusack says.
 
The theater will show mostly big Hollywood productions when it opens and house a total of 1,080 seats. The main auditorium will hold 770 while the other three will contain 150, 85 and 75 seats.
 
Baltmore City bought the theater three years ago for $810,000 after it went into foreclosure. It sold it to the Cusacks in September at a $310,000 loss.
 
The Cusacks operate the Station North Arts & Entertainment District’s Charles Theater, which shows mostly independent movies. 

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Kathleen Cusack

Portuguese, Italian and Mexican restaurants will join Cinemark Theatres at the $85 million Towson Square project, expected to generate more than 1,500 jobs.

Plans for the theater have also been revised, with 15 screens instead of the original 16, county officials and developers said at a news conference Tuesday. The theater will be one of two in the country to feature a VIP seating section with private bar access and premium food. Work on the 850-space parking garage will finish in the fall and the entire Towson Square project will open in 2014.

Nando’s Peri-Peri, La Tagliatella and On the Border Mexican Grill and Cantina will open at the development, along with five other eateries that have yet to be unveiled. A South African-based franchise that sells flame-grilled Portuguese-style chicken, Nando's has restaurants in Annapolis, Gambrills, National Harbor, Silver Spring and Gaithersburg. La Tagliatella is a European chain that is owned by AmRest Holding SE, which bills itself as the largest independent restaurant operator in Central and Eastern Europe. This would be the first La Tagliatella in Maryland and the fourth in the US.

The development may include some retail, but the center will be predominantly entertainment focused, said Cordish Cos. Vice President Blake Cordish. 

Branding Towson as an area that can attract folks outside the county was a major theme at the news conference.

"We’ve put together a collection of amenities that would be a regional draw,” Cordish said.

Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz engaged in a little light-hearted rivalry with Bethesda, saying he’s tired of hearing about Bethesda’s wonderful amenities and strong business community.

“Guess what folks? We’re certainly a livable and loveable jurisdiction. We are going to make Towson a regional destination.”

Writer: Amy Landsman
Sources: Blake Cordish, Cordish Cos; Kevin Kamenetz, Baltimore County Executive 

Construction on the historic Senator Theatre could begin the end of this month or early September now that it has the city's go ahead, says Kathleen Cusack, a co-leasee of the property with her father, Buzz Cusack.

The new Senator with its four movie screens and wine bar could open March 2013, depending on the construction schedule. The city's Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation OK'd the Cusacks' plan earlier this month. The entire project is costing $3 million, of which the Cusacks are investing $1 million, and the remainder is from a commercial bank loan and city and state funding.

The Cusacks are now in the process of restoring the main lobby. The original wood paneling and mural are under restoration and professional artists have been hired to do the work, she says. Cusack says the restored theater and its additions will open together, and not in phases. 

The Senator Theatre occupies about 65 percent of its lot, leaving a small area for parking in the rear. Cusack says they are expanding the theater by “filling in the corners” of the lot with the construction of the three new theaters and the wine bar.

The main theater “needs a lot of work,” Cusack says. It formerly seated between 800 to 900 people, but the original seats are being replaced with seats that are larger and more comfortable and she expects its seating capacity to be 770 when the work is done.

Cusack leases The Charles Theater, 1711 North Charles St., in the Station North Arts and Entertainment District. But Cusack says that plans for the Senator are quite different from the Charles.
 
“The Charles is an art house,” says Cusack, and plays films that are often not shown in other venues in Baltimore.  “The Senator has never been an art house. It has always played big Hollywood products. And, we don’t want to compete with the Charles.”
 
After a competitive process in which four proposals were submitted, Baltimore City last year awarded the Cusacks a 40-year lease on the property. The city bought the theater three years ago after it went into foreclosure. 
 
One of the new auditoriums will have a seating capacity of 150; the other two auditoriums will seat between 60 to 80 people each. “It will be like any movie theater with multiple screens. The auditoriums will play national movies,” like the Senator itself, she says.
 
The wine bar will serve light fare and feature outdoor tables along York Road.
 
“Our vision is to restore the Senator as a beautiful Art Deco movie palace,” says Cusack.
 
Source: Kathleen Cusack, The Senator Theatre
Writer: Barbara Pash

You just might find that treasure you've been looking for this weekend at the opening of the Station North Flea Market.
 
The season opens Saturday, May and will run on the first Saturday of every month until October at the corner of Lafayette and Charles Streets in the Station North Arts and Entertainment District.

Previously the market was held on the unit block of East North Avenue, but the decision was made to relocate the market from a busy and loud location on North Avenue to an area better scaled for a flea market, says Ben Stone, executive director of the Station North Arts and Entertainment District. 

One of the main goals of the market, Stone says, is to create a vibrant community event that engages locals, visitors, and artists alike. The market helps to build community for both older residents of Station North, as well as younger artists and students.  

This year, the flea market will commission some small, affordable pieces of artwork. The goal was to create a way for people to get quality art rather inexpensively, Stone says.
 
Other offerings include antiques, vintage clothes, crafts, and household items.
 
Stone expects at least one or two food trucks selling their culinary creations on-site.
 
If the weather is good, tours will be offered of the murals painted recently as part of the Open Walls Baltimore project. The opening of the flea market will also coincide with the opening of the Maryland Film Festival.
 
For vendors interested in participating in the flea market, the market is first-come, first-served. The cost is $20 and tables can be rented on site for $10.
 
Send an email to [email protected] to reserve a space in advance.
 
Source:  Ben Stone, executive director of the Station North Arts and Entertainment District.
Writer: Alexandra Wilding, [email protected]
 
 
 

Maryland may once again roll out the red carpet for Hollywood productions.

State legislators are weighing a bill that would dramatically raise the amount of rebates Maryland offers film crews from $1 million to $15 million.

That would make the state more competitive for silver screen productions, after losing film business to other states. Maryland has cut its incentives over the last few years from a high of $7 million in 2007 to $1 million this year.

Sponsored by Democratic Sen. Edward J. Kasemeyer, Senate Bill 672 would raise the film incentives' budget to $15 million. Kasemeyer represents Baltimore and Howard Counties. Del. Melony G. Griffith, D-Prince George's County, has sponsored the corresponding House Bill.

The Senate bill passed the Budget and Taxation committee. House Bill 1148 is being heard by the Ways and Means committee. Under the incentive program, film crews that spend at least $500,000 receive up to a 25 percent rebate on their expenses incurred in the state.

The money would get Maryland back on a level playing field with other states, says Jed Dietz, director of the Maryland Film Festival.

"It would make a huge difference in this industry," Dietz says.

Film advocates decry losing out on "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." The $150 million budget movie starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett was set to shoot in Baltimore, but filmmakers rewrote the script and chose Louisiana, which has no cap on the amount of money it spends annually on film crews.

Though the state is staring at a massive deficit, growing the film incentive program will reward the state financially by bringing jobs and spending, Dietz says.

According to Sage Policy Group, film crews generated $158 million in economic impact in Maryland in fiscal year 2006 when funding was at its highest.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Sources: Maryland legislature; Jed Dietz, Maryland Film Festival