Workers were seen loading chairs and tables onto moving trucks outside 2206 Boston St. in Canton this week, signaling the end for Midlina, the ambitious global-fusion restaurant that opened there just a year and a half ago. The closure comes after its landlord sued the business alleging it had stopped paying rent, and the restaurant is now listed as permanently closed on Google.
Sharon Tserkis, who owns the building, filed a lawsuit against Midlina for failing to pay rent, according to online records cited by The Baltimore Banner, with the case filed in Baltimore City Circuit Court in July. Abraham Hurdle alleged that Midlina had not paid rent since May and was shutting down, and said his understanding was that the restaurant was ceasing operations entirely. Owner Karim Kiriakos had opened Midlina in January 2025 as his first solo venture after more than two decades in the local restaurant industry, including a stint as a server and manager for Baltimore's Atlas Restaurant Group.
The building itself carries its own local history. Sharon Tserkis is the widow of the late Pantelis “Pete the Greek” Tserkis, a longtime Baltimore business owner who died in June 2022 at age 70 and whose family once operated Castaways Bar & Grill and Captain James Restaurant, according to an obituary from the Connelly Funeral Home of Dundalk. The 2206 Boston St. space had sat vacant for years after Castaways closed, before Midlina moved in.
A Global Menu With National Buzz
Midlina drew outside attention almost immediately. The Washington Post reviewed the restaurant in 2025, with critic Tom Sietsema noting decor that included metal helmets collected by Kiriakos, a neon sign reading “the world is yours,” and a small-plates menu built around global flavors in a neighborhood more known for pizza and wings. The restaurant's name itself referenced the mid-Atlantic ridge, the bridge spanning a rift between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates.
To run the kitchen, Kiriakos brought on veteran Baltimore chef Cyrus Keefer, previously of Fork & Wrench, Birroteca, and The Red Star, who helped design an eclectic menu spanning escargot tacos, tandoori octopus, vegetable tagine, and gambas a la plancha, according to Baltimore Magazine. The restaurant also featured a Mediterranean-influenced menu with global flourishes, and in May 2025, Keefer represented Midlina at Baltimore's Artscape festival as part of its Flavor Lab culinary lineup, per Baltimore Fishbowl.
Upstairs, A Hidden Speakeasy
Beyond the main dining room, Midlina featured an upstairs speakeasy called Poe's Tower, which customers entered through a moving bookshelf. Real estate marketing materials for the property described a layout with dining and kitchen facilities on the first floor, a secondary bar and seating area on the second floor for the speakeasy, and administrative offices on the third, allowing separate floor usages for dining and nightlife. The three-level building spans between 4,725 and 5,120 square feet with a legal capacity of 275 people and a 7-day 2 a.m. liquor license, according to commercial real estate records from RLAH @properties.
The restaurant positioned itself at the higher end of the Canton waterfront's dining scene, with main entrees priced from $32 to $60, appetizers from $19 to $28, and a $60 multi-course prix-fixe option, per Baltimore Magazine's review. The venue also offered live music three nights a week at Poe's Tower. Despite the ambition, The Washington Post's review said Midlina needed more ups and fewer downs, and other diners similarly found the restaurant inconsistent in execution — though some praised inventive plates, including a dessert featuring a tree made of sour cotton candy.
Part Of A Broader Wave Of Closures
Under Maryland commercial lease law, specifically Real Property § 8-401, landlords facing unpaid rent must pursue summary ejectment proceedings through District Court to regain possession, since self-help measures like changing locks are prohibited; executing a court eviction order also requires a sheriff's office Warrant of Restitution, according to the Maryland People's Law Library. It remains unclear whether that formal process played out at Midlina, but the visible move-out and Google's permanently closed listing point to an ending regardless.
Midlina's closure in mid-August coincided with a wave of sudden Baltimore restaurant closures the same week, including Midtown-Belvedere taproom The Brass Tap and local cafe Baby's on Fire, the Banner reported. The pattern reflects broader economic headwinds facing independent dining establishments across the city, even ones that opened with the kind of national buzz Midlina generated. The closure follows other recent shifts in Canton's dining scene, including Simply Marie's final breakfast service and the July opening of Sip & Sizz nearby.
