Pride Month is a celebration, but support for businesses with LGBTQ+ owners should not disappear when the rainbow merch comes down. In honor of Pride, I wanted to shout out a few spots I love that are owned and operated by members of the LGBTQ+ community around Baltimore, from longtime neighborhood staples to newer arrivals. This is not meant to be a complete list, just a starting point for places worth celebrating all year. This tea belongs to everyone — if I missed one, drop it in the comments.
Bmore Licks
- 901 Light St., Baltimore
Bmore Licks is my favorite ice cream shop in the city. That’s especially dangerous because the Federal Hill location is a short walk from my apartment, making for a heated rivalry between me and self-control. The line to order from the outdoor window often goes down the block, but pro tip: going inside usually moves faster. My go-to hand-dipped flavor is Cookie Monster, their most popular flavor for good reason: it’s blue vanilla ice cream packed with Oreos, baked chocolate chip cookies and two kinds of chocolate chip cookie dough. For soft serve, I recommend the orange dreamsicle Dole Whip twist, which is bright, creamy, citrusy and very much a yasss from me. There are plenty of other options, too, since Bmore Licks, which has another location in Patterson Park, also has more than 100 soft serve flavors and sundaes, too.
Tark’s Grill
- 2360 W. Joppa Road #116, Timonium
Tark’s Grill is a contemporary American restaurant at Green Spring Station with a courtyard patio that makes it one of the easiest warm-weather picks north of the city. The menu leans into regional classics and comfort food, including fried green tomatoes with crab, crab cakes and the blackened salmon B.A.L.T., made with pan-seared salmon, roasted garlic aioli, bacon, avocado, lettuce and tomato on potato toast. The Chicken Fun Salad is also worth noting, not just because it mixes greens, oranges, peppers, chow mein, almonds, wasabi peas, potstickers, carrots and soy ginger vinaigrette, but also because the dish originated at City Cafe, a Mount Vernon gayborhood staple tied to many Baltimore Pride memories.
The Peggy
- 4725 Walther Ave., Baltimore
The Peggy at Walther Gardens, billed as the oldest snowball stand in the nation, dates back to 1922, making it more iconic than a perfectly timed death drop. Located in the gardens of The Margaret Cleveland, the stand serves gourmet snowballs made with real ingredients and pure cane sugar, including the original egg custard flavor — still made from scratch the way it was more than 100 years ago. Order the organic marshmallow creme, richer and silkier than the typical marshmallow topping you’ll find at most stands, if you want the full nostalgic Baltimore experience.
Common Ground
- 3543 Chestnut Ave., Baltimore
Common Ground is an LGBTQ+ worker-owned cafe in Hampden built around something Pride has always needed: real places where people can gather and feel at home. As the cafe puts it on their website, “We believe in creating a third space, a home away from home, where our customers can be themselves and part of a great local community.” After the former Common Ground Bakery Cafe suddenly closed in 2023, employees brought it back under collective ownership within months, keeping a longtime neighborhood staple alive. The sweet and salty That’s My Jam gets 10s across the board here, made with a buttermilk biscuit, two eggs, bacon, cheddar cheese and strawberry jam.
Thread Coffee Roasters
- 1812 Greenmount Ave. #102, Baltimore
Thread Coffee Roasters is a women- and queer-owned worker cooperative coffee company founded in 2012, proving that coffee can do more than get you through your inbox. Thread works directly with farmers, pays higher prices than fair trade minimums, builds long-term relationships and supports practices that protect the environment and culture. It describes its work as “revolution through coffee,” which sounds intense until you remember most revolutions probably started with someone saying, “I need coffee first.” To try the coffee locally, head to partner location Baltimore Brew House or Red Emma’s.
Red Emma’s Bookstore Coffeehouse
- 3128 Greenmount Ave., Baltimore
Red Emma’s is a worker cooperative bookstore, cafe and community events space that has been part of Baltimore since 2004. The food is 100% plant-based, with falafel, Middle Eastern favorites, vegan comfort food classics and house-baked vegan treats on offer, as well as a full-service coffee bar serving Thread Coffee and a bar with beer, wine and cocktails. The space is also a regular home for community events, including Trans/Action, Trans Maryland’s monthly gathering focused on policy, organizing and issues affecting trans Marylanders. This month’s event, taking place on June 18, features Rahne Alexander, a writer, rock star, multimedia artist and longtime voice of trans experience. Come for the books and coffee, stay for the grub and actual community work.
Sports Balls at The Canton Local
- 801 S. Decker Ave., Baltimore
Sports Balls at The Canton Local is a queer sports pub in Canton built for people (like me) who may or may not know what inning, quarter or period we are in. The menu covers comfort and bar food, including Brussels sprouts with bacon, bang bang shrimp, fish and chips, cheesesteaks, and more. The spot, which airs live games, also hosts Beer Bust Sundays with $7 pitchers of Natty Light and Miller High Life. The biggest draw, though, is the setup: a neighborhood pub where queer sports fans, sports-adjacent friends and people mostly there for the food and drinks can all watch the game without needing to explain the plot.
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