The Brass Tap, a craft beer bar tucked beneath The Fitzgerald apartments in Mid-Town Belvedere, is pouring its final round on August 31, ending nearly a decade of trivia nights and jazz brunches in the neighborhood. Co-owners Barry and Michael Lowenthal made the call after failing to reach an agreement on a new lease with the building's property manager.
According to WMAR 2 News, the bar said the closure decision did not come easily and that it wanted customers to hear the news directly from the business rather than through rumor. The taphouse has just under a week remaining before shutting its doors, and it plans to send off regulars with one last happy hour and a final jazz brunch on August 30.
A Decade Serving Mid-Town Belvedere
The Brass Tap originally opened at 1205 W. Mount Royal Avenue on January 9, 2017, under franchise owners Barry, Michael, and Pauline Lowenthal, according to the Bolton Hill Community Association. The franchise debuted with 60 local and regional craft beers on tap, quickly becoming a fixture for students and residents near the Maryland Institute College of Art and the University of Baltimore.
The bar operates beneath The Fitzgerald, a 275-unit luxury apartment building completed in 2010 as a $77 million mixed-use project featuring a 1,250-space parking garage and nearly 25,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, per LoopNet. Baltimore-based MCB Real Estate acquired the property in 2022 and is the landlord with which the Lowenthals were unable to finalize new lease terms. WMAR 2 News reported it reached out to MCB Real Estate for comment on the pending closure.
Another Empty Storefront at The Fitzgerald
The Brass Tap's exit leaves yet another prominent storefront vacant at The Fitzgerald, joining a 19,808-square-foot multi-level space once occupied by Barnes & Noble Booksellers, according to LoopNet. That vacancy has proven difficult to fill despite MCB Real Estate's efforts; the company partnered with Midtown Baltimore and Bloom Arts Strategy in late 2024 to launch The Fitzgerald Activation, a 12-month program that turned empty storefronts into an arts and performance hub running from September 2024 through August 2025, as detailed by the Baltimore Fishbowl.
Not every retail gap in the building has stayed open for long, though. In November 2024, family-owned Angeli's Pizzeria Bar signed a lease for the former Noona's restaurant space at The Fitzgerald to open its fifth Baltimore location, according to The Daily Record. Whether MCB Real Estate can find a similarly quick replacement for the Brass Tap's roughly 3,100-square-foot bar footprint remains an open question.
A Neighborhood Already Feeling the Loss
The Brass Tap's own closure follows a community fundraiser the bar hosted, donating a portion of sales to help workers affected by the abrupt 2026 closure of nearby Mount Vernon craft brewery fixture The Brewer's Art, which shut down after nearly 30 years in business. The gesture reflected the taphouse's ties to a neighborhood hospitality scene that has taken repeated hits this year.
The Brass Tap's closure fits into a broader pattern of sudden Baltimore restaurant shutdowns in August 2026, including Canton waterfront restaurant Midlina, which Midlina's rent lawsuit closure detailed alongside Baby's on Fire in earlier Hoodline coverage. Rising overhead and operational costs continue to pressure commercial tenants across the city's hospitality sector.
The Brand Lives On Elsewhere
While the Baltimore location is closing, The Brass Tap brand continues to expand nationally under Tampa-based franchisor FSC Franchise Co., which also operates Beef 'O' Brady's and Newk's Eatery. FSC Franchise Co. requires prospective franchisees to invest between $790,000 and $1.3 million to open a location featuring 40 to 60 rotating craft beer handles. New Brass Tap locations have recently opened in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, and in Brentwood, Tennessee, showing the concept still has room to grow even as its original Baltimore outpost calls last call.
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