Charm City Meadworks is temporarily closed, but will brew again, owner says

James Boicourt, owner of Charm City Meadworks, said the brewery has temporarily suspended operations for financial reasons, but will reopen in a new location in March. STAFf file

The Baltimore brewery has temporarily suspended operations after financial problems caused it to fall behind on paying rent.

But Charm City Meadworks owner James Boicourt said the company will resume manufacturing and selling its fermented beverages in March under a new partnership with Peabody Heights Brewery.

“We’re a really well-known Baltimore company, and we’re going through some changes,” said Boicourt, who founded the brewery in 2014 with former partner Andrew Geffken. “Our taproom has permanently closed. But, we’re transitioning to a partnership with the Peabody Heights Brewery that we think will help us grow and thrive.”

Meanwhile, attorney Robert L. Hanley, Jr., who represents the brewery’s landlord, said Monday that he’s working with the Baltimore City Sheriff’s Office to schedule an eviction date after obtaining a court order Jan. 21 authorizing the ouster from the Johnston Square building.

Hanley said that the brewery owes its landlord, Travaju LLC, “in the mid-to-high five figures” in rent dating back to last summer, a total that Boicourt disputes.

Boicourt said he has been working with the landlord and attempting to find a new tenant to take over Meadworks’ lease. Though Boicourt acknowledges that he owes Travaju a significant sum in back rent, he said that he has been attempting to chip away at his debt by making partial payments totaling several thousand dollars.

The fate of the local institution, a popular space for weddings and baby showers, has been in question since Boicourt’s staff updated its listing on Apple and Google Maps on Friday to list it as permanently closed, resulting in a flurry of speculation on Reddit before Boicourt could issue a news release announcing the planned move.

Boicourt and Geffken began selling mead at farmers’ markets and local liquor stores and restaurants during the summer of 2014.

Boicourt told a Sun reporter at the time that he had been keeping bees for about 10 years — mead is made by fermenting honey — and that the two men quickly became friends and began “scheming about businesses to invest in.”

About a year later, they opened the taproom to the public. Geffken left the business in 2018, Boicourt said.

Like other hospitality businesses nationwide, Meadworks had problems recovering the business it had enjoyed pre-pandemic.

Boicourt said two factors led to the business’ struggles, young adults in the United States drink less than their predecessors, and when they do drink, they are increasingly likely to imbibe inside their own four walls.

“It has gotten very hard to get people out of their own homes these days,” he said.

“You have to have a very active event schedule to pull people out. I’m 42 and I’ve got two toddlers, and people in my cohort are going out a lot less these days because we’ve got larger career and health and life things to worry about.”

Boicourt said that, except a wedding reception in April, he has been able to cancel all events that were prebooked at the Meadworks through the spring. “I’m still trying to sort that one event out,” he said.

But he remains optimistic about his business’ future. “It’s a lot to give up our taproom,” he said.

“We’ve been there for 11 years. We share a lot of the same fan base as Peabody Heights, and they are the right scale for us to go into a partnership with. Our mead will be featured in their taproom.

“We’re excited about what this partnership could mean for the growth of our brand.”

Have a news tip? Contact Mary Carole McCauley at [e-mail] and 410-332-6704.