Residents of Fells Point, Federal Hill and Pigtown protested multiple popular eateries’ ability to sell alcohol at a hearing of the Baltimore City Liquor Board of Commissioners on Thursday.

Atlas Restaurant Group’s two Thames Street properties appeared before the board to defend themselves against noise complaints; a Pigtown eatery faced criticism for unsanitary conditions and serving overly intoxicated patrons; and a Federal Hill bar’s crowd was accused of contributing to violence along the Cross Street corridor.

Without a liquor license, businesses lose a critical tool for driving foot traffic and generating revenue in an industry in which margins are slim.

Losing one “can kill a business,” liquor board Chairman Granville Templeton III said.

While he and the rest of the commissioners did not stop any of the establishments from renewing their licenses, the ongoing neighborhood frustrations highlighted a continuing disconnect between some of Baltimore’s bustling businesses and the communities they serve.

The Undefeated and the Waterfront Hotel

• 1704 Thames St. and 1710 Thames St.

The Undefeated and The Waterfront Hotel each received 26 signatures from Fells Point residents who asked the board not to renew their liquor licenses over noise concerns.

Community Law Center’s Amy Petkovsek, who represented the Fells Point Residents Association, said The Undefeated has “become a courtyard for drinking” since opening in February 2025. The cocktail bar and its hotel neighbor are playing music loud enough to shake the residences of neighbors, she said. Fells Point resident Mark Scheitler said he filed a complaint to 311 in March.

The concerns over noise are not new and were a topic of conversation at hearings last year. Atlas Restaurant Group attorney Rachel Mech said the citations and violations penalizing the Waterfront Hotel for noise had been addressed and that the 311 complaints made against the Undefeated have been unfounded.

Due to tensions between the restaurant group and the neighborhood, Mech said, the company would not entertain a memorandum of understanding — laying out terms for how the business should operate within the neighborhood — for The Undefeated. She said it felt as if prior agreements with Atlas businesses were being “weaponized” by the residents group, instead of being used as a cooperative framework.

“[It’s] an attempt to convert a neighborhood association into an enforcement agency,” Mech said during the hearing.

Mug Shots

• 31 E. Cross St.

The Federal Hill Neighborhood Association alleged the Cross Street bar and the crowd it attracts are contributing to physical altercations and recent shootings in the community.

The group’s public safety chair, Jen Covino, said the organization wants Mug Shots to serve alcohol more responsibly, citing employees standing on bars and pouring alcohol into customers’ mouths and buy-one, get-one-free deals. She attributed a November 2025 fatal shooting of a woman celebrating her birthday in the 1000 block of South Charles Street to a juvenile who left Mug Shots intoxicated. The bar’s response to the shooting was disrespectful, according to Covino, who said the business promoted its alcohol offerings instead of acknowledging the loss to the community.

“The city’s made remarkable progress bringing down homicides while we’ve been an anomaly for the last 18 months,” she said of Federal Hill in the hearing.

Covino also alleged an employee bit a customer’s finger in November and said other altercations outside the bar were hurting neighboring businesses financially.

Andrew Saller, an attorney for Mug Shots, said the business has made strides toward bolstering public safety, including hiring security for its bathrooms to keep out illicit drugs and alcohol. He said the business has a presence at community meetings and helped with hiring private security for the neighborhood, which started after the Federal Hill residents group called on businesses to help police the entertainment district.

The bar currently has no violations or code citations.

Commissioner Taueret Thomas said she was concerned the issues Covino reported were being attributed only to Mug Shots. “How can we concretely say this is being only attributed to this licensee?”

Covino played a video of bar staff pouring alcohol into customers’ mouths and said the group wants to see employees measuring drinks and taking more responsibility for intoxicated patrons.

“We’ve been trying hard for the last year now to see some action taking place,” she said.

El Bar

• 737 Carroll St.

Several Pigtown neighbors protested the operation of a Carroll Street bar, which has violated multiple safety and sanitary rules set by the Baltimore City Liquor Board in the last year.

Lillian Gonzalez, a property owner and resident, said the business posed a “public health and safety risk,” citing property damage, an excess of trash, noise and violence as ongoing concerns. However, business owner Francisco Maldonado said changes to the bar’s operating hours, management and an ongoing temporary closure prove the business is attempting to better its relationship with the community.

In the last year, the bar has incurred fines for multiple violations of liquor board rules, including for operating beyond the stipulated hours, unsanitary conditions and general community welfare.

Maldonado’s attorney, Stephan Fogleman, said the owner placed a longtime childhood friend in charge of the bar and didn’t realize the business “was run like a nightclub instead of the community neighborhood bar he’d envisioned.”

Fogleman said only three of the 30 calls made to police about the bar were founded and required service. Over the last two months, the bar shuttered to reevaluate its practices and staff, which the commissioners felt was a sign of good faith.

But some residents weren’t convinced.

“This is a repeated pattern that’s affected multiple households over nine months,” Gonzalez said. “The burden should not fall on the community.”