Mount Vernon residents and workers will have a new joint for their morning cup of Joe come this March.
Renovation work is underway at
Dooby’s Coffee at 800 North Charles St. And the owner says he might sign a lease for a retail business at the property, the site of a five-alarm fire in 2010.
The fire forced local favorite restaurants
Indigma,
Donna’s and
My Thai to close. Indigma has since opened across the street and it’s old space will get filled with Dooby’s. My Thai will open soon next to Heavy Seas Alehouse in the Tack Factory in Little Italy.
Donna's is not reopening in the building. It has locations in the Village of Cross Keys and Charles Village. Its Columbia location closed in May.
Owner Phil Han says the coffee house will feature his four favorite things. If “we can excel in coffee, in-house pastries, sandwiches, and craft beers, then we’re perfectly happy,” he says. A hearing date for Dooby's liquor license has not yet been scheduled.
The 2,500-square-foot location will have seating for 75 inside and an additional 22 seats outside. It will feature clean lines and natural colors.
Han says it took more than a year to settle on the perfect name for the coffeehouse. “Dooby” is Han’s childhood nickname and comes from a Korean word.
Han says many Korean-Americans like himself are in the food service business, but he says a Korean-American owned coffeehouse was an unfilled niche. So, as a gift to the Korean-American community, he decided to jump in.
He first searched for a space in Howard County, home to many Korean-owned businesses. When he couldn’t find what he was looking for, he turned to the city’s Mount Vernon neighborhood.
“It was like a no-brainer spot for me. This is such an awesome place, with colleges, young professionals. The amount of art and creativity that surrounds us is just amazing.”
Han says he believes the neighborhood is looking forward to having a new coffee house in the now-renovated block. Many area residents have taken pictures and asked him when he is opening.
Source: Phil Han, owner, Dooby’s Coffee
Writer: Amy Landsman.
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