Moe's Fights Against Downtown Chipotle Location

Lawyers for both sides sparred at the Board of Appeals meeting in Annapolis on Tuesday.

Downtown Annapolis' burrito war heated up on Tuesday night as attorneys for Chipotle and Moe's Southwest Grill argued over whether the former should be allowed to open a location at 36 Market Space. "I state the obvious when I tell you that this is simply a competitor that doesn’t want to see a competitive business come to town," Chipotle attorney Alan Hyatt said. "I think we are entitled to the special exception, and this is a pretty flimsy opposition." Chipotle is asking the Board of Appeals for permission to take over the location's current special exception, owned by Hard Bean Coffee and Booksellers, to be a standard restaurant that serves alcohol. The national burrito chain wants the board to approve two major modifications to that …

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Market Space Repaving Starts Monday

Parking on Market Space will be limited or non existent during the week of Oct. 22 as Annapolis workers repave the street.

City to Close Parking, Repave Market Space

Annapolis is going to mill and repave Market Space during the week of Oct. 22.

Parking on Market Space will be limited or non existent during the week of Oct. 22 because Annapolis workers are repaving the street. "We cannot tell you in advance what parking or loading zones may be available," stated a notice delivered to downtown residents on Monday. "It may be possible that there will be no parking or loading/unloading available at certain times during construction." The noticed called the repaving a "continually moving operation" and stated that access to Market Space could change on an hourly basis.  Vendors who service area businesses will have a new, designated space on Dock Street to load and unload their goods from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. each day during construction. Flagmen will also be out directing traffic. The …

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Factors Row Restaurant Anticipates December Opening

The restaurant that's under construction at 26 Market Space could be open as early as Dec. 1.

Downtown Annapolis could finally see the re-opening of 26 Market Space as a restaurant called Factors Row. "If there is no outside interference, I imagine we will be open the first week of December," restaurant owner Bruce Gardner said. The Eastport resident received his long awaited building permit from the city on Aug. 31, and construction of the restaurant's interior has been humming along. He previously told Patch that once the building permit was secured, it would take his construction crew about three months to convert the empty space into the new restaurant. Gardner was cautiously optimistic, but he added that "if for some reason we have to stop work, that’s going to change that date." Concerns over the structural safety of the …

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Factors Row Gets Extension on Repairs

The Historic Preservation Commission voted unanimously to not issue citations after the Sept. 4 deadline for repairs if the owner agrees to continue work on a laundry list of improvements.

The Annapolis Historic Preservation Committee voted to allow the owner of the Factors Row property more time to stabilize the historic building if he promised to continue making repairs. "What I’m most interested in is getting the property owner to accept these suggestions," said committee Chairman Sharon Kennedy. "This is the laundry list, and you need to agree to the laundry list, and then we have can a conversation about the timing of the laundry list." The laundry list of suggestions is based on a letter sent by Mayor Josh Cohen on May 8 notifying Dana Florestano, the owner of 26 Market Space, that the building was in violation of the demolition by neglect provision of the Annapolis historic district zoning ordinance. The letter stated…

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City Deems Factors Row Restaurant Building Unsafe, Closes Side Street

Owner cites last summer's earthquake as cause of structural issues.

UPDATE (1:50 p.m.)—A year ago, Bruce Gardner said he hoped his new restaurant, Factors Row, would open in 2011. Now a year later and still not open, the downtown building has been deemed unsafe and an adjacent street has been closed.   The city of Annapolis confirmed on Monday afternoon that Fleet Street was open to pedestrian traffic as of Saturday evening. The confirmation came from Maria Broadbent, director of the city's Department of Neighborhood and Environmental Programs. According to a recent press release, issued by the city of Annapolis, "Due to recently-identified structural problems at 26 Market Space, formerly Riordon’s [sic] Restaurant, vehicle and pedestrian traffic is prohibited between Market Space and the intersection of …

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