OCEAN CITY – Two restaurants will soon occupy vacant commercial space located in front of the Gateway Grand condominium complex.
Brian and Lisa Bolter, owners of Red Red Wine Bar and Dry 85 in downtown Annapolis, will open Ocean City locations at the corner of Coastal Highway and 48th Street this fall.
Brian Bolter said each restaurant will occupy roughly half of the 4,660-square-foot property. Dry 85, which serves whiskeys, bourbons, ryes, craft beers and a selection of gourmet comfort food, will be located in the front portion of the building closest to Coastal Highway and Red Red Wine Bar, which serves coastal cuisine, hand-tossed pizzas and an assortment of wines, will be located closest to the Gateway Grand.
“We are excited,” he said. “It has been a long time coming.”
Brian Bolter explained that he and his wife set their sights on the 48th Street property more than five years ago, but said reluctant sellers delayed the process.
Though they looked at other properties, Brian Bolter said he and his wife had ultimately decided to wait patiently for the 48th Street space.
The owner said he and his family have spent the last 15 years in and around Ocean City and decided to pursue two new restaurant locations in the midtown area. He explained that the resort’s ever-growing, year-round attraction and midtown’s ideal demographic made it an attractive endeavor.
“We had a lot of opportunity to expand the restaurants around Maryland, but we wanted to be judicious,” he said.
The couple opened the Red Red Wine Bar in 2011 and Dry 85 in 2013 and have spent recent years creating a niche in the downtown Annapolis area, where white tablecloth restaurants and pubs are abundant but casual restaurants with elevated cuisine are not.
“We are looking to bring what we do well to the beach,” he said.
Brian Bolter said construction at the 48th Street property will begin in the coming weeks.
“We hope to start breaking ground on Monday,” he said.
Similar to its Annapolis locations, the owner explained that Red Red Wine Bar will offer an eclectic bohemian atmosphere while Dry 85 will imitate an industrial loft with a coastal twist. The biggest priority is to finish the space by Nov. 1.
“We are cautiously optimistic,” he said.
