Midlina in Canton appears to close, allegedly missed rent

Midlina, a splashy global fusion restaurant in Canton, appears to have closed after its landlord sued the restaurant for allegedly failing to pay rent.

Owner Karim Kiriakos could not be reached Tuesday to comment on or confirm the closure. The building’s owner, Sharon Tserkis, filed a lawsuit against Midlina in Baltimore City Circuit Court on July 1 for failing to pay rent, according to online records. Tserkis’ attorney, Abraham Hurdle, alleged that the business hadn’t paid rent since May and was shutting down.

“My understanding is the business is ceasing operations,” Hurdle said. Simon Penning, listed in online records as an attorney for Kiriakos, could not be reached for comment.

Moving trucks were spotted outside the building Monday as workers loaded chairs and tables from Midlina onto them, and the eatery is listed as permanently closed on Google.

The restaurant opened in January 2025 as Kiriakos’ first solo venture after years as a server and then manager with Baltimore’s Atlas Restaurant Group. The location, 2206 Boston St., had been vacant for years after the closure of Castaways Bar & Grill.

Named Midlina for the bridge that spans a rift between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates, the restaurant featured a Mediterranean-influenced menu with other global flourishes. The eatery also featured an upstairs speakeasy called Poe’s Tower, which customers could enter via a moving bookshelf.

While some diners praised inventive plates like a dessert that featured a “tree” made of sour cotton candy, others found it inconsistent in execution. A Washington Post review last year said the place needed “more ups and fewer downs.”

Banner reporter Wesley Case contributed to this story.