Canton Arts and Entertainment is big and bizarre
When restaurants and bars try to do too many things at once, they often overreach themselves.
I think that's what is happening at the new Canton Arts and Entertainment.
It's a bar named My Generation, an oyster bar named the Black Pearl and a fancy restaurant named Gutman's, all under one roof.
After seeing the place last Saturday night, it looks like the Boston Street spot is having a bit of an identity crisis.
The outside of Canton Arts and Entertainment is painted gold, which is awesomely tacky, or, as I like to call it, Baltimore chic ...
When you walk in, a mini-directory greets you, with arrows pointing to the restaurant, oyster bar and bar. Our group was there for the bar. Even with the building split into distinct spaces, the bar area is still big.
The room itself has exposed brick, a long bar and high ceilings. The black leather couches and chairs in the middle of the bar appear to be the same ones that have been there since Huckas opened several years ago. Heck, they might even pre-date Huckas.
Odder still: The men's bathroom was small and shabby -- strange, considering how spacious the building is.
Oh, and there is a fountain. In the middle of the bar. Don't ask me what place a fountain has in the middle of a bar, but it was there.
The only other bar I can think of with a fountain is Carlos O'Charlies in Highlandtown, an equally bizarre (but more popular) spot.
Though it's been open for about a month, Canton Arts and Entertainment doesn't seem to have caught on yet. At 10:30 p.m. last Saturday, when our party of six rolled into My Generation, we immediately doubled the number of people there. That's including the staff.
Even with the noise from the flat screen TVs behind the bar, we could hear the fountain gurgling in the background. That's not a good sign. It's also kind of a shame, because Canton Arts and Entertainment had a decent drink selection.
The bar itself looked fully stocked with cold and hot drinks, and I counted at least 25 bottled beers and several quality drafts. I ordered a Magic Hat, which cost about $5 and tasted fresh.
The six of us sipped our beers and watched an MMA match on one of the TVs. When we finished our round, we split.
At this point, I wonder how long such a big restaurant and bar can sustain itself when it's that empty on a Saturday night. I don't like to make projections, but at this rate, I will be shocked if Canton Arts and Entertainment is still open a year from now.
(Photo by Shankman)
I've been The Baltimore Sun's nightlife and local entertainment reporter for a couple years, and it's surprising how much the scene has grown in that time. Most of Baltimore's bars and clubs are unpretentious places with fairly cheap drinks and plenty of character. I like dancing and think this city needs more clubs, but nothing beats having a cold, locally brewed beer with friends in a comfortably full corner bar.
Comments
I went there a few weeks ago - it is indeed a strange place. My Generation is supposed to be a coffee bar as well - if you look on the far wall, they have a ton of coffee drinks listed...but I just don't see anyone ordering those. I think they would attract more people if they had 3 distinct entrances for each of the places - rather than calling it Canton Arts & Entertainment (that makes me think there is an art gallery inside or something)
Posted by: Geoff | November 11, 2009 12:12 PM
I kept looking for the ball pit, but I couldn't find it.
Posted by: Sam Sessa | November 11, 2009 12:17 PM
When are people who open bars going to learn that trying to please everyone pleases no one.
Posted by: scottbbfm | November 11, 2009 12:42 PM
They painted the entire building using ladders and gold spray paint. No joke. They are right by my office and I watched it happen. Six cases of gold spray paint.
Posted by: Russell | November 11, 2009 12:42 PM
The building should be renovated into office space - or a parking garage for the red line - either of which would certainly be more profitable than another empty bar on Boston Street.
Posted by: Ed | November 11, 2009 12:47 PM
Small men's room + large fountain in bar ... survey says ...
Gold? Like Ukrainian church roof gold?
Sounds like a failure on all levels so far. The design sounds like something we would have come up with in college on beanbag chairs while passing the homemade bong:
so like we're gonna have sofas, yeah, leather and like three totally different places in the same place
Whooa, dude. And a fountain, let's get a fountain, bro-ham.
And a classy name like Xtreme Cilantro, no the Awesome Zone, no, hey we'll let the accountant come up with a name.
And paint the place in gold like an Aztec palace.
And a kickass web site. Anybody know how to do that? No? Eh, nobody will notice.
Hey, Weed-dog didn't your girlfriend take a pubic relations class or something? She can do our PR
Yeah, yeah and one of those flashing OPEN signs.
And a phone. We should totally get one of those phones that they attach to the building.
Hey, who drank all the Drank?
Posted by: VoodooPork ■|:o) | November 11, 2009 1:22 PM
pure class
Posted by: Evan | November 11, 2009 1:26 PM
As long as it's not a chocolate fountain.
Posted by: Laura Lee | November 11, 2009 1:51 PM
I remember when this place used to be the Grille, and then the GrilleWater. What a waste of space. Sam, did you even get to go upstairs? They used to have a huge bar on the second level.
Posted by: Joker | November 11, 2009 1:57 PM
They painted the entire building using ladders and gold spray paint.
Sounds like that mica student who put up the gold chain-link fence around Mt. Vernon has found a career for himself.
Posted by: Gabriel Oak | November 11, 2009 1:57 PM
I think, for starters, some signage with facades perpendicular to the building front would do them some good. How about a chalkboard with specials? It is easy for someone not to realize what the place is until it is already behind them.
My favorite CA&E memory is from the day of the Baltimore Marathon. A friend and I were watching the race go down Boston Street, past CA&E. They setup a, surely non-sanctioned, water stop, handing out water to runners in small plastic Miller Light cups. When they stopped handing out water and a bunch of the cups still littered the street, for a while it seemed that every other runner who came by made a comment about just missing the beer stop.
Posted by: Daaaaan | November 11, 2009 3:05 PM
the words on the tv read: sludge it's only funny when it happens to somebody else. I think that speaks true to the Canton's A&E scene. although it is funny when it happens to you too
Posted by: Shankman | November 11, 2009 10:45 PM
Sam-
I think you're forgetting the waterfall staircase at FuL.
Posted by: bryanintowson | November 12, 2009 12:33 PM
There is a scathing review of Gutbuckets, I mean the restaurant Gutpunch, ur, Gutman's and CA&E in the City Paper. Grim.
http://www.citypaper.com/eat/review.asp?rid=15487
Posted by: VoodooPork ■|:o) | November 18, 2009 5:10 PM