On Dock Street, two storefronts sit side by side, and both are serving something new this fall. At 132 Dock Street, the space many people still call Armadillo's is now Mavericks, a country bar run by the same owners. It is open Wednesday through Sunday for lunch, dinner and late-night food, and it is still looking for country and rock bands, DJs and line dancing instructors. Next door at 130 Dock Street, Storm Bros. Ice Cream Factory now pours coffee. Owner Sveinn Storm opened Storm's a Brewing to make up for sales lost during City Dock construction, according to Naptown Scoop's October 12 roundup.
Neither address went dark. One got a new name and the other added a second business. Most of this year's Annapolis restaurant headlines followed that same pattern, even though they read like a string of losses as they came out. Go through the familiar places one at a time and the picture is steadier than the headlines suggested. Owners changed, names changed, and one steakhouse is changing ZIP codes. Very few dining rooms actually stopped serving.
The Sales That Kept the Room Intact
The biggest story of the year started in Eastport in January. Atlas Restaurant Group, the Baltimore company behind a long list of upscale restaurants, agreed to buy a majority stake in Boatyard Bar & Grill at 400 Fourth Street. Naptown Scoop reported at the time that the deal would close in February and that longtime owner Dick Franyo planned to stay involved. In announcing the partnership, Franyo said Atlas would become majority partner effective mid-February and that he would stay in daily operations, with the goal of keeping the restaurant's established experience, as PropTalk reported.
Eight months later, that is roughly what you find. The Boatyard's own site still carries the Boatyard Bar & Grill name and still features crab cakes and Chesapeake seafood, with hours that started April 3, 2026, and weekend brunch.
West Street had the same kind of handoff later in the summer. Myriam Osorio McCormick, owner of McCormick Bakery & Chocolate Factory, bought 49 West Coffeehouse, Winebar & Gallery from Brian and Sarah Cahalan, effective September 1, 2026, Eye On Annapolis reported. The live music room stays open, the current staff stays on, and most of the menu favorites stay too. The new piece is a sweets counter with McCormick chocolates, pastries and desserts. Naptown Scoop's account of the sale adds fresh paint and bathroom updates to the planned changes. By late September, the 49 West site still described breakfast, lunch, dinner and nightly live music. The sweets counter is the change to look for at your next coffee there. It was announced, but no launch date has been given.
So two of the year's most-discussed sales left two well-known rooms looking and feeling largely the same.
Atlas Now Runs Five Annapolis Restaurants
The Boatyard purchase drew attention partly because of what came next. On July 16, Atlas opened two more restaurants inside the Annapolis Waterfront Hotel at 80 Compromise Street. The Banner reported that they replaced the former Pusser's Caribbean Grille space. Marmo is an Italian chophouse serving house-made pasta, charcuterie and steaks. Armada is a dockside cantina with tacos and a deep tequila and agave list. The hotel's dining page describes both as officially open.
Those openings brought Atlas to five restaurants in Annapolis. Four of them sit on the water in the historic downtown.
- The Choptank, on the water, opened in 2022 as the group's first Annapolis restaurant
- The Admiral's Cup, a full-service bar at the corner of Dock and Randall Streets
- Boatyard Bar & Grill, 400 Fourth Street in Eastport
- Marmo, 80 Compromise Street
- Armada, 80 Compromise Street
That concentration explains why other closings this summer got pulled into the Atlas conversation. When O'Learys Seafood announced it had lost its lease, some social media commenters wondered whether Atlas was involved, or whether it would buy the West Street building that houses Tsu. Atlas spokesperson Erin Black told The Banner that "Atlas is neither interested nor pursuing any of these properties."
The two hotel restaurants are where the year's turnover added seats on the waterfront. The empty storefronts on this list are elsewhere.
The Fence Changed Menus, Not Addresses
That brings things back to Dock Street, where the pressure looks different. City Dock construction has reshaped the walk along the harbor, and the businesses facing it changed what they serve instead of leaving.
Storm's a Brewing is the clearest example. Naptown Scoop described the coffee shop as the Storm family's response to the construction sales slump. It serves coffee, breakfast sandwiches, bagels and muffins, with eggs from Storm's own Eastern Shore farm. The timing lined up with a nearby closing. Bitty & Beau's, a coffee shop close by, had just closed, and Storm hired some of its former employees. So when one morning coffee counter on the harbor closed, another opened a few doors away, with some of the same staff behind it.
Mavericks followed a similar path two doors down. An August preview put the opening in September, and by the October 12 roundup the bar was open. The owners, the corner and the late-night hours are all the same. The playlist now leans country.
The Ones Moving or Weighing a Move
Two familiar names are in a different spot. Both are still serving, but their futures are less settled.
Ruth's Chris Steak House is leaving 301 Severn Avenue in Eastport for Annapolis Town Center. It will take a 10,150-square-foot space with a ground-level entrance and a second-floor dining room overlooking the entertainment green. That space has been empty since the Chop House left, Eye On Annapolis reported in April. The announced target is late fall 2026. As of mid-October, the restaurant's Annapolis page still lists the Severn Avenue address and current dining hours, so reservations still point to Eastport for now. No plan has been announced for the two-story Eastport building. The Banner reported that the neighborhood's alderman hoped a future opportunity would fill it.
Tsu, which opened as Tsunami in 1999, is still serving sushi, seafood and craft cocktails at 51 West Street. Its kitchen is open seven days and its bar stays open late. In July, the four-story, five-unit building it occupies went up for sale along with the restaurant, at an asking price between $3.5 million and $4 million, The Banner reported. The listing allows several outcomes. A buyer could keep Tsu, keep leasing space to it, or bring in a new concept. Co-owner Gavin Buckley told the paper the restaurant would stay open during the sale.
"We have to look at everything. You have to be open to everything. But it's kind of our baby."
He also said that if a sale ever led to Tsu closing at 51 West, the owners would consider a smaller version, or another restaurant, at a development they are working on at 161 West Street. No sale had been reported as of this writing.
The One Room With No Next Chapter Yet
O'Learys Seafood is the clear exception to the year's pattern. The Eastport restaurant opened in 1983 and scheduled its final service for August 2 after losing its lease. Owner Wil Peterson wrote online that "this was not my decision, and it is not the ending I ever imagined or hoped for." The Banner reported that the post drew hundreds of comments from people sharing memories of first dates and engagements. Frank Thorp, the alderman who represents Eastport, called it an institution in the neighborhood. "We're going to miss it tremendously," he said.
No successor has been named for the space. Eastport is also the neighborhood with the most open questions heading into winter. O'Learys has closed, Ruth's Chris is preparing to leave, and the Boatyard has new majority owners, though it is still very much the Boatyard.
Where Each Familiar Spot Stands This Fall
| Restaurant | Address | What changed in 2026 | Status this October |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boatyard Bar & Grill | 400 Fourth St. | Atlas became majority partner; Dick Franyo stays involved | Open, same name and menu style |
| 49 West Coffeehouse, Winebar & Gallery | 49 West St. | Sold to Myriam Osorio McCormick, effective Sept. 1 | Open; sweets counter announced, launch date not given |
| Marmo and Armada | 80 Compromise St. | New Atlas concepts in the former Pusser's space | Open since July 16 |
| Mavericks | 132 Dock St. | Armadillo's became a country bar under the same owners | Open Wednesday through Sunday |
| Storm's a Brewing | 130 Dock St. | Coffee shop added inside Storm Bros. | Open |
| Tsu | 51 West St. | Building and restaurant listed for sale in July | Open during sale process |
| Ruth's Chris Steak House | 301 Severn Ave. | Moving to Annapolis Town Center | Still at Severn Ave.; move targeted for late fall |
| O'Learys Seafood | Eastport | Lost its lease after 43 years | Closed; no successor named |
Of the eight spots above, seven are serving food this fall. The Eye On Annapolis piece on 49 West also mentions an off-market sale of a second-generation restaurant that has not been named yet. The next headline could come from that sale, from a tenant for O'Learys, or from whoever takes over 301 Severn Avenue after Ruth's Chris moves.
Keeping up with which corners of town are changing, and why, is part of how we follow this community year-round. If you have questions about Eastport, Dock Street or the West Street corridor as these spaces turn over, Jeannine Wayson is always glad to talk through what's happening on the streets you know best. Let's Connect and Schedule a Free Consultation.
