Dimples Bar & Grill opening second location in Fells Point

A vacant Thames Street storefront that once housed Riptide is set to become a second Dimples Bar & Grill, a sign that Mary and Armand Miles think Fells Point still has room for another late-night draw.

The couple’s expansion to 1718 Thames St. is expected to open by the end of summer 2026, extending a brand they revived in Baltimore after earlier setbacks. Dimples first opened in North East, Maryland, before a fire forced that location to close, and the Mileses later brought the concept back with a Locust Point restaurant that opened late last year.

The new Fells Point location will lean into the couple’s Philadelphia roots. Mary Miles and Armand Miles, both Philadelphia natives, plan to serve cheesesteaks built around Amoroso rolls, along with Philadelphia hoagies, wings and smashburgers. The business is also aiming to function as more than a lunch counter or takeout shop. Live entertainment, DJs, business happy hours and ladies’ night events are part of the plan, suggesting Dimples wants a share of Fells Point’s evening crowd as well as daytime foot traffic.

That strategy matters in a neighborhood where restaurant turnover has become a marker of broader economic pressure. Riptide closed on Jan. 15, 2025, after six years in business, and its shutdown was publicly linked to financial strain. Local reporting has pointed to a tougher operating environment for restaurants in Fells Point, including the end of pandemic-era subsidies and higher interest rates, forces that have made expansion riskier and vacancy more visible along the waterfront.

Dimples is betting that the district’s dense mix of bars, restaurants and visitors can still support a concept with a clear identity and built-in draw. Replacing a closed restaurant with a recognizable cheesesteak brand gives the corridor an immediate tenant and gives the Mileses a second Baltimore outpost in a part of the city where evening traffic can make or break a business. In that sense, the move is as much a test of Fells Point’s staying power as it is a family expansion story.

The project is not fully complete. A liquor license application is still expected in the coming weeks, but the direction is clear: after re-establishing Dimples in Locust Point, the Mileses are now pushing into one of Baltimore’s most closely watched commercial corridors, where every new opening is also a measure of how much the neighborhood is recovering.