Upscale restaurant reserves space in heart of Towson

An upscale restaurant is set open in downtown Towson next year, cheering the hearts and bellies of merchants and residents alike.

Vine is scheduled to open in April after a $3 million renovation of a 6,200-square-foot space at the Towson Circle retail project, according to the Cordish Co., the Baltimore-based co-developer of Towson Circle. Decor will include dark wood, fireplaces, and luxurious seating, the company said. Vine will also have a private party room capable of holding up to 20 people.

Business associations and some community activists have been hoping for an upscale restaurant to land in the heart of Towson, the Baltimore County seat. Business leaders envision the restaurant helping to boost commerce, and residential activists see it as a step toward converting the downtown into a village much like Bethesda.

Some have become disgruntled as the area has begun to resemble a college town with Towson University students eating in fast-food restaurants by day and drinking by night.

Yes, it's exciting, said J. Stephen Adams, president of the Towson Retail & Restaurant Association, a group formed in June to recruit merchants and boost commerce in the downtown. Adams is also the owner of Furniture Safari, a York Road business just yards away from Towson Circle.

Christopher Paternotte, a graduate of the French Culinary Institute and former executive chef at Kali's Court and Meze, will oversee Vine. Paternotte, who will be serving American cuisine with a Southern European influence, is regarded as a culinary innovator, Cordish said.

Vine brings together a world-class chef, a stunningly beautiful yet comfortable room establishment, and an absolute commitment to quality, Reed S. Cordish, vice president at the development company, said in a news release. We are proud to bring Vine to Towson.

The restaurant will serve lunch and dinner and operate seven days a week. A wine list is planned that will allow customers to sample up to 24 varieties by the glass including rare and expensive vintages. The bar and lounge will offer club service cocktails and an extensive martini menu, the developer said.

Cordish's Towson Circle partner, Heritage Properties Inc., rankled some residents when it proposed putting university students in a later phase of the project known as Towson Circle III. The plan withered this summer when Towson University rejected proposals put forward by Heritage.

With Vine coming online activists may be in the mood to forgive and forget.

I'm looking forward to the opening with great anticipation, said Judy Gregory, president of the Greater Towson Council of Community Associations Inc., an organization that represents about 50,000 residents in 30 community associations. Jake Miller, an executive at Cordish Co., was due to brief organization members at a meeting last night.

It's going to be a good thing, Gregory said. We haven't had a really good restaurant around here for a while.

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