J. Alexander's at Annapolis Town Center appears to have shut its doors for good, with no public announcement explaining why. The upscale restaurant chain's official Facebook page now lists the location as permanently closed, and a state filing shows 45 employees losing their jobs as layoffs took effect this week.
The closure was reported by Eye On Annapolis, which noted the restaurant at 1906 Towne Centre Boulevard has also vanished from J. Alexander's corporate location directory, and that Google now lists it as permanently closed as well. The outlet reported that online reservations and ordering have been disabled, even though the location's individual webpage is still live.
A Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filing from J. Alexander's Restaurant, LLC confirms the scale of the fallout. Per the filing, cited by layoffiq.com, the company notified the state on October 23 that 45 workers in Annapolis would be affected, with the layoffs scheduled to take effect this past Monday. The notice describes the move as a closure of the location, though it offers no explanation for the decision.
A Fire, Then a Reopening, Then Silence
The timeline raises more questions than it answers. The restaurant's apparent closure follows an exhaust-system fire on September 25, but per the same account from Eye On Annapolis, J. Alexander's reopened shortly after that fire and kept operating for weeks afterward. No formal announcement explaining the eventual shutdown has surfaced, and the exact date the restaurant stopped serving customers remains unclear.
J. Alexander's opened at Annapolis Town Center on October 2, 2023, replacing sister company Gordon Biersch, which had closed earlier that year on February 6. The brand's run in Annapolis lasted just three years before joining the growing list of closures at the shopping center.
New Ownership, Shifting Storefronts
The closure lands amid a broader shakeup at Annapolis Town Center following its sale. Federal Realty Investment Trust completed its acquisition of the property on October 10, 2025, and announced the deal on October 13, according to a release from Federal Realty Investment Trust. The firm said the property presented near- and long-term opportunities to drive performance through operational improvements, active merchandising, and capital investment.
Tenant changes followed almost immediately. Eye On Annapolis reported that the new ownership moved to reposition the center's merchandising mix through active leasing, and within weeks, Baltimore Coffee & Tea said it was instructed to close on October 23, 2025, citing new management and overlap with Tatte Bakery & Café. Stardust Deluxe announced around the same time that it would leave the Town Center by October 22, 2025, and reopen on Maryland Avenue instead.
Restaurant turnover has continued into this year. Capital Gazette reported that RegionAle closed its sandwich shop at the center in early February.
A Pattern of Short-Lived Restaurants
A Pattern of Short-Lived Restaurants A Pattern of Short-Lived Restaurants J. Alexander's isn't the only higher-end restaurant to struggle at the shopping center. Cavalli, an Italian restaurant that had opened in June 2025, closed abruptly, according to the Baltimore Sun.
Whether parking, ownership changes, or something else entirely played a role in J. Alexander's departure remains unknown, and the future of its former space at 1906 Towne Centre Boulevard has not been disclosed. For now, the closure adds one more vacant storefront to a shopping center still working out what its next chapter looks like under new ownership.
