Greater Lauraville

The Stories Behind Lauraville

A Multimedia Project by Josh Flynn

Lauraville is one of many growing communities in Baltimore that is making a lot of progress in turning the area into a thriving business district with values and emphasis on local families and the neighborhood. About 5 miles outside of downtown Baltimore, Lauraville is quickly becoming an enticing area for dining and drinks as well as a meeting place for people from the community and beyond.

View Greater Lauraville's Places to Visit in a larger map with a list of all the places; some are not shown in this view of the map.

Lauraville may be out of the way for a lot of Baltimoreans, but is definitely a neighborhood many city-dwellers are beginning to visit more often. What was once a magnet for crime on Harford Road is becoming a colorful, activity filled block with locally owned small businesses that connect with each other to encourage success in the still-recovering economy.

One of the first restaurants to come to the area was The Chameleon Café which head chef Jeff Smith opened for business in 2001 following his dreams of cooking in his own restaurant, and it has quietly become one of the area’s prime dining locations. It is a converted row home that has deceivingly gourmet food inspired by Smith’s appreciation for historical cooking techniques and a locally sourced menu that incorporates Maryland’s history with its cuisine.

Smith lived above the restaurant for the first 6 years he was in business, until his family outgrew the space above Chameleon and they moved into a nearby house you can see from the restaurant. Around the time that Smith was moving into his house, Zeke’s Coffee was moving in right behind Chameleon Café, and has become a mainstay in nearly all of the local cafés and restaurants and is gaining recognition outside of greater Lauraville. Following the vision of Lauraville resident and owner Thomas Rhodes, Zeke’s opened its doors in April of 2006, and without much advertising has become an easily recognizable community symbol and their “Fueled by Zeke’s” bumper stickers can be seen far outside of greater Lauraville.

Zeke's Coffee attends a lot of local markets, helps sponsor public radio, and tries to provide Baltimore with quality locally roasted coffee. One of the markets that Zeke’s attends is right across the street at the Hamilton/Lauraville Tuesday Market Connection, a gathering of local art, food and community every Tuesday on Harford Road. Almost all of the vendors share the same attitude that comes with the local community, a do-it-yourself mantra that drives the market’s appeal. At the site of the market, which was formerly an abandoned gas station, there are a variety of food vendors and small businesses with some interesting stories behind their development and vision. Michael Clark displays t-shirts designed by him and his west coast partner for their company Common Seed, which operates partly out of the Hamilton Arts Collective. Ellen Reich displays her fair-trade handcrafted bags and accessories from foreign countries through her company Three Stone Steps. Hula-hoops are made and demonstrated by Danielle Weissman, as children at the festival join in the hooping festivities with her.

As more vacant commercial spaces are filled with local businesses in the heart of Lauraville, the area is improved aesthetically and financially, revitalizing the area and in turn also making it safer by driving out crime and replacing it with positive activity. There is a lot more going on than meets the eye in the relatively small community with lots of pride and neighborhood enthusiasm.