Meet Tameeka Randall and her father Tony. They are behind the first food hall in West Baltimore. The father-daughter duo will open the food hall called The Mill on North next year with the help of six other local businesses. Randall and her dad came up with the idea after running out of options when it came to sit-down restaurants in Southwest and West Baltimore.
The Mill on North, a 7,800-square-foot food hall at Walbrook Mill at West North and Braddish avenues, will provide various types of food from local vendors connected to West Baltimore and are best aligned with the community, according to Baltimore Magazine.
The vendor roster includes Next Phaze’s soul food, a baked potato project called Dancing Potatoes, a burger joint called The Blissful Burger Bar, sandwich purveyor D&B Deli, baked confections from Cupsey Cakesy, seafood specialist Dream St. Cuisine, and Caribbean-style brunch from 3 Chefs, plus a yet-to-be-named full-service bar, the magazine added.
Construction of the food hall started in June and is expected to finish in the spring, with development partners including Coppin Heights Community Development Corporation, Timonium’s Osprey Property Co., and the nonprofit Neighborhood Housing Services, Baltimore Magazine said.
“You’re going to have the intersection of the college community with Coppin State University students and faculty being a part of it,” said the Executive Director of Coppin Heights CDC Gary Rodwell.
“You’re going to have a unique food hall situated in an African-American community, and you’re going to have a neighborhood institution that has the flavor of the [project’s] leadership and West North Avenue in it. It isn’t replicated throughout Baltimore City, those three dynamics.”
Vendors were assembled through community outreach, April Richardson, a management consultant who formerly operated Savor food hall in Prince George’s County, told Baltimore Magazine. “It wasn’t a short vetting process. We met with them, interviewed them, tasted their food, listened to their story to figure out if they were a fit,” she said.
Randall’s father Tony said he looks forward to not just offering food but being part of something to improve the economic state of the community. “This project offers that, and we’re just blessed to be a part of it,” he said.
