Farewell to Banditos, The Charles and SoBo Market. Hello to Ditos, The Perch and The Grateful Fed.

Change is in the air in Federal Hill, where several bars have switched it up since the summer, changing their name, their vibe and, in some cases, ownership.

They all have one thing in common: an eagerness to welcome football fans. Game day is a huge driver of business for the neighborhood just a few blocks from M&T Bank Stadium. Following a recent fatal shooting a block from Cross Street Market, bar owners are also hoping safety concerns won’t be a deterrent to Fed Hill’s nightlife legions.

I take a look at the rebrands — and the reasons behind them — in this week’s column, which also has news of a Federal Hill bakery that’s expanding northward.

Ch-ch-changes

Sam Sunderland took over SoBo Market in August 2023. Almost exactly a year later, he unveiled The Grateful Fed, a “hippie-leaning deli” serving sandwiches, salads and appetizers like grapefruit guacamole and short rib-stuffed puff pastries, alongside a menu of beers, shots and cocktails.

The psychology major turned bartender drew inspiration from Dead & Company shows, where traveling fans sell grilled cheeses and veggie burritos outside the concert venue to raise money for their next ticket.

“I always fixated on the idea that there’s something there,” Sunderland said. “I wanted to do elevated versions of those lot staples. Instead of Kraft singles, we’ll have a tri-cheese blend.”

SoBo Market sold for $400,000 last year, according to state property records. But Sunderland and his business partner, Don’t Know Tavernowner John Leonard, didn’t want to rush the new concept. They needed time to make some interior repairs and design changes, like adding a mural with the bar’s logo: an owl holding a beer in one hand and a sandwich in the other, and hitching a ride atop a Volkswagen van.

Like many of the best-laid plans, the changes took longer than originally anticipated. “Life gets in the way,” said Sunderland.

They were, however, working with one deadline in mind: the start of football season.

Bar business in the neighborhood runs “football season to football season,” Sunderland said, so they wanted to make sure the Grateful Fed was ready in time to accommodate Ravens fans. The start of a new football season is likely one reason these bar rebrandings seem to be happening all at once, he posited.

Ray Gayhardt, the general manager at The Perch, agreed.

“We had been discussing this for a while, and it just worked out that the timeframe we wanted to get it done was before our second football season in that building,” he said of the bar’s transition from The Charles. Summertime, he added, “is the best time to do it because it’s slower.”

The Charles became The Perch at the end of July. The bar, previously run by River Partners Hospitality, was known for its nightlife crowd.

“We just wanted to go in a different direction,” Gayhardt said. “The Charles had the reputation of being a late-night spot, and we wanted to make it a place that’s good for happy hour.”

A recently installed skylight drills home the new focus. “When you step in the door, you can tell it’s lighter,” said Gayhardt. “It makes a world of difference.” A revamped menu is aimed at encouraging customers to come for a bite and stay for drinks.

One thing that hasn’t changed is the bar’s embrace of sports fans. The Perch, named in reference to the city’s bird-themed teams, has 14 televisions and a projector for screening games.

Ditos — the recently rebranded Banditos — is also angling to be a gameday go-to. On Instagram, the taco spot plugged drink specials and giveaways when the Ravens played the Cowboys on Sept. 22.

Owner Sean White did not answer a request for more information about the rebranding. The bar shut down briefly in late July for a facelift, according to Instagram, before reopening as Ditos.

Sunderland said he was briefly worried all the changes to the neighborhood’s bar scene might steal some of The Grateful Fed’s shine, but decided that more buzz for Federal Hill will be good for everyone.

“It’s definitely tough to do a rebrand and see other places doing a rebrand as well,” he said, “but when the neighborhood does well, we all do well.”

More Just Dezzerts

When Jennifer and Adrian Goldszmidt first envisioned opening a cafe and bakery for their daughter, Zoe, they had their sights set on Mt. Vernon. But the building they bought at 807 N. Calvert St. needed renovations and inspections that dragged on for more than a year.

In the meantime, they opened Zoe’s Just Dezzerts on Charles Street in Federal Hill. Nearly a year after that store’s launch, they’re finally ready to open what was supposed to be the original bakery.

On Oct. 4, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Zoe’s will mark the grand opening of its second location with a ribbon cutting, karaoke and lots of free samples. Goldszmidt hopes it will be an opportunity to plug into a new neighborhood after building connections in South Baltimore over the past year.

The Federal Hill bakery is now a regular host to meetings and events for groups like Autism on the Go and the Down Syndrome Association of Maryland. It’s also been a home for three neurotypical workers and seven employees on the autism spectrum, including 22-year-old Zoe, who delights in asking customers’ names and filling their orders.

“She says hello to everybody, goodbye to everybody,” Goldszmidt said. “She’s like an ambassador.”

The Mount Vernon location has a kitchen, filling a big need for the bakery, which has been turning out cupcakes and cookies from a commercial kitchen in Columbia for the past year.

Goldszmidt hopes the second store will bring in more foot traffic, which has been slower than expected in Federal Hill. She plans to keep the bakery there open at least through the end of its lease, which expires next summer.

“We feel like we’ve learned a lot, but the cost is intense,” she said of the past year in South Baltimore. “We’re really hopeful for this new spot.”