Little Italy has a new wine bar called Amedeo's
Little Italy has a new wine bar at Exeter and Fawn Streets called Amedeo's.
The bar has been open for four months, but it's so under the radar it doesn't even come up on Google yet. Yelp hasn't even had a chance to review it.
Amedeo's replaces Pepino's Tavern, which new owner Ahmad Ebrahimpour bought in March. Property records show he paid $200,000 for the place. When Pepino's bought it in 2003, then owners paid $55,000.
Ebrahimpour's invested an additional $175,000 in renovations, he said.
If the owner's name doesn't sound Italian, it's because it isn't. Ebrahimpour is Iranian-born, but he spent five years in Italy as a college student and has lived in the neighborhood for the last 30. He's fluent in Italian.
Amedeo is a play on his first name.
Amedeo's building - three stories, and 2,000 square feet in all - was originally built in 1900, according to property records. Ebrahimpour is using only the first floor as a bar that seats around 30 people.
There's a smaller quiet room that sits an additional 20. Prices for Amedeo's are comparable for the area. The cheapest glass of wine starts at $5, and the cheapest domestic is $3.The bar has 8-10 wines by the glass, several domestics, as well as Italian beers like Birra Moretti. Food consists of paninis and cold cuts, like prosciutto and mozzarella.
Ebrahimpour is a former real estate agent who's dabbled in restaurants before. He said he owned some food markets in the 90s and was part owner in another neighborhood restaurant, but declined to say which one. When he was younger he studied in Emilia-Romagna in Northern Italy, where his sister still lives, he said.
He found out the former owners were selling the space on Exeter because he lives a block away.
Amedeo's attracts a crowd in its 30s, and upwards. They're usually on dates, grabbing a drink before heading to the restaurants in the area, or just getting out of work.
"It's an easy atmosphere," Ebrahimpour said. "The attitude here is: have a glass of wine, relax, and go home."
Find: More wine bars in Baltimore
Photo: Maza
Erik Maza is a features reporter at the Baltimore Sun. He writes for several sections of the Sun paper and contributes weekly columns on music and nightlife. He also writes and edits the Midnight Sun blog. He often covers entertainment, business, and the business of entertainment. Occasionally, he writes about Four Loko, The Block, the liquor board, and those who practice "
Comments
If you are looking for a wine bar, this is NOT the place! The wines they carry are all undrinkable.
Posted by: Fells Pointer | October 8, 2010 8:22 AM
Decent post, but with all the numbers in there, it's hard to trust they are all accurate.
Posted by: Anonymous | October 8, 2010 8:45 AM
incredulous @anonymous: figures come from SDAT, as the post notes.
Posted by: Maza | October 8, 2010 9:12 AM
yep
Posted by: Anonymous | October 8, 2010 9:16 AM
yep
Posted by: Anonymous | October 8, 2010 9:28 AM
I stop by on occasion but I don't speak wine outside of the obvious and wine conversations aren't what I want to talk about at a bar
Posted by: Tif | October 8, 2010 9:57 AM
Wow. They were asking (demanding) 600k, then 575k then 400k. You should've taken the 300k, when you had the chance. If it's still a 6 day license, good luck to you sir.
Posted by: Rube Goldberg | October 8, 2010 10:19 AM
it's amEdeo, no?
Posted by: ryan97ou | October 8, 2010 12:46 PM
If you are looking for a wine bar, this is NOT the place! The wines they carry are all undrinkable.
Harbor East is that a way, Snooty Von Hatepants.
Slander, thy name is Fells Pointer. All undrinkable? Your hyperbole shows you to be silly and unbelievable.
I think the wines change regularly and when I visited they had a selection that had some of the same ones offered in nicer Little Italy restaurants.
It's so sad that Americans keep trying to make wine drinking inaccessible to the average person with that sort of elitist hyperbole.
The wines that my friends and I had were all quite drinkable. Don't be evil. It's a charming place.
Posted by: Elmo Sez Whuck | October 8, 2010 1:20 PM
As long as they have White Zinfadel, I'm in!
Posted by: Sparky | October 8, 2010 1:42 PM
Ugh, good catch, ryan97ou. I just looked at the sign on the building and it's:
Osteria Da Amedeo
I know I've been spelling it wrong this week. I also think that calling it a wine bar is misleading, since people expect a more extravagant focus on wine. I think Osteria is a better name since I'm not sure what it means.
AmEdeo's is a cool little place that focusses more on wine than beer or liquor. It's less a place for oenophiles than chillaxophiles.
They also have excellent panini. Oh, a glass of wine and a hot panini with quality Italian ingredients ... that's a beautiful thing to me.
Posted by: Owl Meat Gravy | October 8, 2010 1:42 PM
As long as they have White Zinfandel, I'm in!
Posted by: Sparky | October 8, 2010 1:43 PM
and Coors Light on tap
Posted by: Sparky | October 8, 2010 1:44 PM
Sparky, if you're thinking of getting your signature drink there, the Lady Bomb (Jaegar & white zin), you might be out of luck.
Posted by: B>) | October 8, 2010 2:10 PM
Sparky, I think "osteria" means no meathead zone in Italian. So no buckets of Bohs, glow sticks or Axe body spray.
Posted by: B>) | October 8, 2010 2:14 PM
OMG isn't it still change one letter in a restaurant week. Oh wait wrong blog
Posted by: Tif | October 8, 2010 2:28 PM
spelling on Amedeo was fixed this afternoon
Posted by: Maza | October 8, 2010 10:18 PM
Thanks. We stopped by or an after dinner drink last night. Very nice place. A nice way to decompress after the hubbub of dinner.
Posted by: Steakforbreakast | October 9, 2010 9:57 AM
The wines are alright but I went to a grappa and amaro tasting with Owl Meat Gravy there. Damn, I didn't know artichokes could make you drunk. Cool place.
Posted by: :0) VoodooPork | October 10, 2010 10:31 PM
This man has is known for his excellent taste in wines and cheese and compliments the neighborhood bringing the taste of Italy to Baltimore.
Posted by: Pamela Clementoni | March 22, 2011 2:04 PM