Ostrowski’s sausage shop to become rowhouses
Space at Washington Street in process of transforming
into two homes; Clark Burger opening second location
Four years after the Ostrowski’s Polish Homemade Sausage shop changed hands from the family that owned it for nearly a century, its days as a sausage house are coming to a close.
Delaware-based Treasure Protection Management Inc. bought the building at 524 S. Washington St. in December and is in the process of transforming it into two rowhouses. Michael Daley, the firm’s president, said he’s working with the city’s Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation to honor the shop’s legacy.
The Fells Point sausage shop opened in 1919 and was owned by the Ostrowski family until it was sold to John Reusing in 2013. Reusing also owned Bad Decisions, a bar that until last summer was located next door to the sausage shop, at the corner of Fleet and Washington streets. Bad Decisions closed last month after relocating in August.
Reusing kept many of the original Polish sausage recipes and added some of his own when he took over Ostrowki’s, but the shop closed last year.
Much of the original equipment was still intact in the space when Treasure Protection Management bought it, including a smoker, refrigerator and other remnants of its sausage-making days.
“We’re trying to as much as possible retain the history of the place,” Daley said, adding that he wants to give the homes “a sausage kind of design.”
A separate sausage shop in Fells Point, Ostrowski’s of Bank Street, is still in business. It opened at 1801 Bank St. in 1976 following an Ostrowski family dispute.
In brief
Clark Burger, the burgers and poutine eatery that got its start next to the Senator Theatre, is opening a second location in the Fallsway Spring & Equipment Co. building at 415 S. Central Ave. The space previously housed Tortilleria Sinaloa, which closed earlier this year (the original tortilleria on Eastern Avenue is still open).
Clark Burger, which opened its first location in 2015, serves burgers with a variety of toppings; fries with dipping sauces; and several spins on poutine — fries with gravy and cheese curds. The menu at the new location will be largely similar to the original, owner James Clark said. The kitchen at the Central Avenue space is slightly bigger, which will give Clark’s team more room to experiment and offer more specials, he said.
He hopes to have the new location open in about two months.
Atlas Restaurant Group, the parent company of Harbor East restaurants including Ouzo Bay, Azumi and Loch Bar, has named Salvatore Feli its new chief operating officer.
Feli was most recently vice president of operations for Fig & Olive, a restaurant with eight locations in New York, Washington, D.C., California and Chicago. He previously served as vice president of operations for the One Group — whose primary brand is the steakhouse and lounge STK — and general manager for the Tao Group, which has clubs and restaurants in New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Sydney, Australia.
Atlas owner Alex Smith said in a statement that Feli’s experience will help his group grow nationally. In addition to its Baltimore restaurants, Atlas has an Ouzo Bay location in Boca Raton, Fla.
Locally, Atlas is in the process of renovating and rebranding Fleet Street Kitchen and Ten Ten American Bistro in Harbor East. Fleet Street Kitchen is being transformed into Tagliata, an Italian chop house, which is slated to open this summer.
Dining dates
Mark your calendar for these upcoming foodie events.
Friday: Vegan potluck; 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Thrive Baltimore (6 E. Lafayette St.); no cost (bring a dish to share for six to eight people).
Saturday: B Scene brewery tour, including stops at Diamondback Brewing Co., Key Brewing Co. and Oliver Brewing Co.; 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. starting at Canton Waterfront Park (3001 Boston St.); $75.
Tuesday: Three-course Guinness dinner by Chef Pedro Flores; 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the James Joyce Irish Pub & Restaurant (616 President St.); $39.95.
smeehan@baltsun.com
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