Jimmy’s Breakfast Bar & Grill diner, Fat Tuesday to open in Fells Point

Diner-style breakfasts and New Orleans-inspired food and drinks are coming to spaces near the Fells Point waterfront this summer.

Jimmy’s Breakfast Bar & Grill and Fat Tuesday expect to hold grand openings in the coming months, with the former already serving patrons on some weekdays. Jimmy’s staff called it an extended soft opening until they can hire at least another four people to help manage the weekend rushes.

“All the neighborhood people are coming in for the nostalgia,” said Walter Rhee, a consultant and chef for owner Prashraya Neupane and his partner, Binod Uprety, who also owns Harbor Tandoor. The 801 S. Broadway location is the pair’s first foray into breakfast.

Neither Neupane nor Robert George, owner of the Fat Tuesday location at 718 S. Broadway, responded to requests for comment Wednesday.

Jimmy’s Breakfast Bar & Grill

The space once known as Jimmy’s Restaurant is now a breakfast bar and grill, but the resemblance to the original eatery is strong.

Griddle and counter space still sit in view of customers, separated from a backroom kitchen. Furniture is laid out in a similar floor plan with one black table preserved from the original Jimmy’s nestled in the center of the storefront window. Rhee said they had the table embossed with the name “Jimmy’s” to excite guests returning to the familiar haunt.

“They’re happy we’re doing straightforward breakfast because that’s what they missed,” he said.

Over the decades, Jimmy’s Restaurant became a go-to spot for former mayors, state politicians and other noteworthy Baltimoreans to dine and sip on steaming mugs of drip coffee.

The new eatery hopes to establish itself as a micro-diner, meaning they can’t stay open 24 hours or serve breakfast all day, but can still offer a diner-like experience that patrons say they’re missing in Fells Point, according to Rhee. On weekdays, the eatery sits nearly empty, but weekends bring in crowds, he said.

They’re hesitant to declare the restaurant open until kinks in operations are worked out and more staff are brought on board. There are still “skeletons that come out of the closet” he said of managing the old building and preparing for service.

But next week, they will be testing a new lunch and dinner menu. Rhee also teased plans to get the beer tap working again and offering more alcoholic options, including mimosas on weekends.

Fat Tuesday

In the place of the former Greene Turtle and Barley’s Backyard, Fat Tuesday hopes to make an impression. Frozen drinks modeled after the boozy slushies that populate the French Quarter, including hurricanes and margaritas, will be available, as well as a variety of food offerings.

The 4,000-square-foot facility is fitted with a fryer and pizza oven, according to filings with the Board of Liquor License Commissioners for the City of Baltimore. The space is large enough to serve 75 people and is being outfitted with booths, benches, barstools and a custom-built wooden bar, the filing said.

Also on the menu are bucket-sized liquor offerings, described as five bottles or cans of a customer’s choice. Starters like mozzarella sticks and fried pickles will be on the menu, as well as a smashburger entree.

This is the first Baltimore location for the Fat Tuesday chain, which has operated across the country since opening its first spot in New Orleans in 1984. On Thursday, the business will go before the city’s board of commissioners for a liquor license.