A familiar face in Fells Point is about to pour the neighborhood a new drink. Longtime record-store owner Bryan Burkert is opening Wonderland, a two-story bar on Aliceanna Street. The first floor is set to welcome customers this weekend, with an upstairs space expected to follow in the coming months, adding one more fresh stop to a stretch of new restaurants and nightlife spots reshaping the waterfront district.
Where and when
According to the Baltimore Business Journal, Wonderland will debut on Aliceanna Street with its ground floor opening this weekend and a second-story room joining the mix later on. The plan is to get the downstairs bar operating right away while the team finishes building out the upstairs. At the time of reporting, exact hours and specific programming were still being finalized.
Who’s behind it
The project comes from Burkert, the longtime owner of The Sound Garden record shop, who has a track record of turning Fells Point storefronts into bars and music venues. Baltimore Magazine and other local coverage trace his projects back decades, including neighborhood staples like Fletcher’s, The Get Down, and Sir Duke. WBAL-TV has also profiled his restaurant ventures in the area, highlighting how closely his name is tied to the Fells Point scene.
Neighborhood context
Fells Point’s nightlife strip has long been a mix of veteran dives and ever-changing concepts, and new spots like Wonderland tend to draw both neighborhood regulars and bar-hopping visitors. The Sound Garden, Burkert’s record store at 1616 Thames Street, has been cited as a neighborhood anchor and even featured on lists of local destinations for cheap vinyl records. Nearby, The Baltimore Banner has tracked turnover at Bond Street addresses in recent years, underscoring how frequently concepts come and go. For locals who keep an eye on the block, Burkert’s involvement usually signals a venue with a strong music and community focus rather than a purely tourist play.
What to expect first
The ground floor of Wonderland is expected to operate as a casual bar once it opens this weekend, with the upstairs space to be completed and unveiled in the months ahead, per a report in Baltimore Business Journal. Specifics on hours, menus and whether the second level will host regular music nights had not been set at the time of reporting. Look to ongoing local coverage for updates as the build-out wraps and Burkert announces the full slate of programming.
