Former Grand Central site in Mount Vernon to become nail salon

The former Grand Central corner in Mount Vernon is heading toward a different kind of daily traffic than neighbors once expected: a nail salon, not the full-service restaurant and wine bar first planned for the site. Delivery trucks were parked outside the soon-to-open Bliss Nail Bar, a visible sign that the long-running redevelopment at 1001-1003 N. Charles Street is moving toward occupancy.

That shift matters because the property has long been pitched as more than a simple storefront. Landmark Partners bought the nearly 15,000-square-foot site from Don Davis in February 2019 for $1.4 million, below the original $1.85 million asking price, and publicly described plans for City House Charles as an eight-story mixed-use office-and-retail project. Baltimore City later issued an interior demolition permit in late July 2020, and Grand Central closed permanently in September 2020 after more than 30 years in business.

The project that emerged from that sale was supposed to add more than just a single tenant. Development materials described City House Charles as a 38,000-square-foot Class A office and retail building, while architectural sources said the final design preserved two historic buildings dating to the 1840s and added a new eight-story structure behind and above them. Landmark Partners won preservation approval for the plan in 2019, underscoring how closely the city and preservation interests were watching what happened on one of Mount Vernon’s most visible corners.

Food and beverage uses once looked like the cornerstone of the ground floor. Developers announced in May 2023 that Allora would open as a 2,500-square-foot full-service restaurant and wine bar, and Roggenart Bakery & Café opened on the ground floor in April 2024. Replacing that mix with a nail salon points to a more routine commercial use, one that may still generate steady daytime foot traffic but is less likely to extend the block’s evening activity in the way a restaurant might have.

The change is notable in Mount Vernon because the neighborhood is Baltimore’s only National Register Historic District and the Charles Street corridor remains one of the city’s most important commercial and cultural arteries. On blocks where museums, offices, apartments and bars sit close together, the type of tenant at street level can influence how active the sidewalks feel. A nail salon will not deliver the same dining destination effect that City House Charles once promised, but it could still help keep one of Mount Vernon’s most watched corners occupied and drawing customers.