While there were more Little Taverns built in Washington DC than in Baltimore, the rapid development in the District claimed many of those over the years, and the chain , especially in its later years, came to be closely tied to the cultural identity of Baltimore.
As the complete list of Little Tavern locations has grown, it has also become somewhat more convoluted. I have broken it down into regions and added some more short-lived locations that I’ve recently found. As always, this is a work in progress, so if you have any further insight or photos, give me a shout!
No. 1
1/2 East Mount Royal Ave., Baltimore, MD
Originally built in castle style, remodeled into tudor cottage style
Opened June 2, 1930, lost Lease April 1981
Demolished early 1980s
c.1964 Little Tavern company photo. Collection of Larry Collier
No. 2
433 Merryman Lane, Baltimore, MD (Greenmount Ave, 32nd St.)
Still standing
Photo by Doug Hansen, used with permission
No 3.
908 W. 36th St. Baltimore MD
Opened Jan 29, 1931, no longer a Little Tavern by the 1960s
The first Little Tavern to be built in tudor style
Still standing
Photo (C) Michael G. Stewart/ dinerhunter.com
No. 4
506 E 25th St, Baltimore, MD
Opened March 21, 1931, Closed 1932 due to lease problem
Bought c.1932 by Joshua Thomas Gillelan and remodeled. Has been operating as the Stone Tavern since the 1930s
Photo (C) Michael G. Stewart/ dinerhunter.com
No. 5
523 Conkling Street, Baltimore, MD
Opened August 1, 1931. Closed early 1990s.
Demolished in 2003
c.1964 Little Tavern company photo. Collection of Larry Collier
The Baltimore Grill / Little Tavern Tap Room
Opened Jan 13, 1934. Lasted at least until 1937.
Served liquor, opened shortly after repeal of prohibition. Possibly a store front location
No. 6
208 N. Eutaw St., Baltimore, MD.
Opened Jan 2, 1936
No. 7
519 East 25th Street, Baltimore MD
Opened April 11, 1936
Filming location for “Dawn Davenport, Career Girl” scene of the John Waters movie, “Female Trouble”
Still standing.
c.1964 Little Tavern company photo. Collection of Larry Collier
No. 8
923 West North Ave, Baltimore, MD
Opened March 9, 1937
Closed 1988. Entire area has been demolished and redeveloped
c.1964 Little Tavern company photo. Collection of Larry Collier
No. 9
3200 W. Belvedere Ave. Baltimore, MD
Opened late 1937
Across from Pimlico race track. Harry F. Duncan, founder of Little Tavern, was a major fan of horse racing and opened shops both here and down from the Laurel race track. After a day of losing big at the horse track in May of 1954 with his friends J. Edgar Hoover, Clyde Tolson and Theodore McKeldin, Duncan had his limo stop at this location and told the Baltimore offices to “leave the pickles off the hamburgers for a few days until I get even”.
Dismantled around 2014
c.1964 Little Tavern company photo. Collection of Larry Collier
No. 10
2002 Harford Rd. Baltimore, MD
Opened early 1938
googlemaps, 2016
35 East North Avenue, Baltimore, MD
Photo courtesy Rick Smith
2001 East Monument St, Baltimore, MD
Opened 1941. Partially demolished/converted to a Burger King in 2007
Photo collection of Spencer Stewart
115 West Baltimore St. Baltimore MD
Property purchased Dec 21, 1939
10 Park Ave Baltimore, MD
Opened 1965. At the time of its opening, it was the 17th operating in Maryland. The numbering gets a little funny as things go on, as locations went out of business. After the 1930s, Little Tavern stopped putting the shop numbers on the signs, and only occasionally referred to them when opening new locations, though they didn’t maintain the original chronology.
Sold to the owners of the Lighthouse Restaurant in 1987
Photo courtesy the Baltimore Museum of Industry
400 block of East Baltimore St., Baltimore MD
Storefront location. Closed after 1993
c.1964 Little Tavern company photo. Collection of Larry Collier
100 block Back River Neck Road, Essex, MD
Opened before 1980, closed after 1990.
10300 Little Patuxent Pkwy, Columbia, MD
The Mall in Columbia
Opened Sept 20, 1982
6414 Holabird Ave Baltimore, MD 21224
Exiting building, formerly a sandwich shop
At the time of its opening, it was the 13th operating in the Baltimore area.
Opened April 1983. Closed 2008, the last operating Little Tavern.
2002. Creative Commons license. Photo by wikipedia user Munch10
201 E Pratt St, Baltimore, MD
Light Street Pavilion, second floor, Harborplace, Inner Harbor.
Opened 1984
2419 Frederick Ave., Baltimore MD
Westside Shopping Center
Opened 1985
3515 Eastern Ave Baltimore, MD
Storefront location, formerly a White Coffee Pot restaurant, going back to the 1930s.
Opened as a Little Tavern in the late ’70s- early 1980s, closed 2007
Google maps streetview, 2007
The two locations in Towson, two locations in Annapolis, the location in Laurel, the one in Columbia, the one in Essex and the location in Glen Burnie fell under the management of the Baltimore office, while the two locations in Silver Spring, the one in Wheaton and the ones in Virginia fell under the management of Washington. I’m including the ones geographically closer to Baltimore in this list.
516 York Road, Towson, MD
Closed c.1987
c.1964 Little Tavern company photo. Collection of Larry Collier
1517 Joppa Road, Towson, MD
Opened between 1961 and 1964. Without any other images to confirm, I’m still not 100% sure this is the correct photo for this location. If so, this was Little Tavern’s first and only foray into more modern architecture.
c.1964 Little Tavern company photo. Collection of Larry Collier
24 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd, Glen Burnie, MD
Storefront location, uniquely adapted to match company architecture
Opened 1952, demolished in 1981 for urban renewal project
Little Tavern company photo. Collection of Spencer Stewart
Just the best, man.
Sent from my iPhone
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