Seawall Development announced its plan to develop R. House, a new style of food hall in Baltimore City with a focus on incubating creative, chef-driven concepts. Located on the first floor of a 50,000-square-foot historic automobile showroom and garage in Remington, the $12 million food and drink emporium will be a launch pad for 10 of Baltimore’s most exciting chefs and their culinary concepts. R. House was conceived in partnership with chefs who asked Seawall for an easier way to launch new restaurant ideas.
Plans for R. House include 15-foot windows, roll-up garage doors, and 12,000-square feet of wide-open seating—sofas, high tops, low tops, communal tables, booths, patio seats, and bar stools—all under one roof. Ten plug-and-play kitchens that honor each chef, with an additional kitchen reserved for rotating pop-up concepts, will surround the interior’s perimeter. Although oversubscribed, applications for flexible lease terms are still being accepted by Seawall but no chefs have been announced at this time.
“R. House will stretch people’s ideas of how dining and living can be experienced. It redefines the traditional concept of food hall,” says Peter DiPrinzio, general manager of R. House. “We listened to all of the chefs who wanted to come into Remington but who were getting stuck on the high start-up costs and operating challenges of opening a restaurant. With direction from a core group of chefs, our team spent months scouring the country, examining other food halls and markets to gain inspiration for this project. We have taken what we think are the best features of all of them to create a space that has never before existed in this region—a cozy environment with amazing food served up by an exceptional group of creative chefs.”
In addition to the food hall space, R. House will include a 4,000-square-foot yoga studio and 20,000 square feet of office space leased to mission-driven companies. The building will be the second phase of Seawall’s $80,000,000 Remington Row project.
When fully operational in fall 2016, the venue also will offer open space for events such as private parties and bike-in movies. Seawall says once completed, the renovated building will be LEED Silver certified.
“We’re building R. House the same way we do all of our projects: as a collaborative endeavor with the end-users driving the process,” DiPrinzio adds. “Our design concept has been led through community focus groups, working with chefs, and Remington neighbors. Remington is a diverse and varied neighborhood where people take pride in their work and their community. We believe R. House will complement the creative energy and entrepreneurial spirit of the area.”
