Chopped winner Sammy Davis Jr. plans South Baltimore brunch spot

South Baltimore’s 2 E. Wells Street is set for another brunch concept, this time from a chef with national TV recognition. Chopped winner Sammy Davis Jr. is partnering with Miskiri Hospitality Group on Sunday Social, a restaurant the partners hope to open in mid-July in the former Papi Cuisine space.

The address matters because the 3,600-square-foot site sits in a busy South Baltimore corridor where restaurant openings and closures are closely watched by neighbors and regulars. Papi Cuisine opened there in 2021 and built a following for crab cake egg rolls and Afro-Latin fusion dishes before relocating its menu, chefs and reservations to Proper Cuisine at 206 E. Redwood St. downtown. Co-owner Alex Perez cited maintenance, plumbing, electrical and refrigeration problems in explaining the move, leaving Sunday Social to step into a space with an established dining history and a customer base already familiar with the block.

For residents and competing small businesses, the change reflects how quickly the city’s restaurant map keeps shifting. A brunch spot can carry real weekend weight in a walkable neighborhood like Federal Hill, where operators compete for both local repeat business and visitors looking for a destination meal. Sunday Social will arrive with more name recognition than a typical neighborhood opening, thanks to Davis’s Food Network win and his ties to Baltimore’s Yebo Kitchen as well as the Milk & Honey restaurant brand in the D.C. area.

Miskiri Hospitality Group brings another layer to the project. The company describes itself as a Black, family- and woman-owned hospitality collective in the Washington, D.C. metro area, and founder Jeffeary Miskiri has said he was raised in Takoma Park and began cooking at a young age. The group says it operates multiple restaurants, suggesting Sunday Social is part of a broader regional expansion rather than a one-off Baltimore bet.

That mix of a recognizable chef, an experienced operator and a proven South Baltimore address is exactly the kind of formula many restaurant owners are chasing as the post-pandemic market settles into a new pattern. Empty storefronts still turn over quickly, but the concepts most likely to stick are the ones that can convert local curiosity into steady weekend traffic. Sunday Social will test whether South Baltimore is still rewarding that kind of dining investment.