[10/31/23: Editor’s Note: Bertha’s held its final night of service on Monday, October 30, 2023. There’s no word yet on what will become of the space, but we will be reporting updates in the coming days.]
Standing in the sunshine on the narrow, brick-paved corner next to Bertha’s on South Broadway, Andy Norris takes a moment to reflect.
Last week, the owner of the Fells Point institution announced that the landmark bar, restaurant, and music venue that his parents, Tony and Laura Norris, founded 50 years ago would be going up for auction on Nov. 15.
“I’ve been talking to some of my employees and customers, reminiscing on some of the things that have happened at Bertha’s and where we are now,” Andy says. “We’re not looking at the [closure] as a negative. We’re looking at it as a celebration of our part in this community over the past 50 years.”
Addressing the reasons behind the closure, Andy says, “It was just time,” reiterating that his family is satisfied with Berthas’ lasting tenure in the community. “I think we feel fulfilled, and now we’re able to pursue some other things we want to do. Change is good.”
The news is yet another stark reminder of the changing landscape of Fells Point, which, in recent years, has welcomed many modern food and beverage concepts and seen major redevelopment around Broadway Square.
Since the announcement, local fans have flocked to Bertha’s to pay their respects.
“It’s actually been a wonderful week,” says Laura, who passed the torch to her son 17 years ago. “Hearing people share how they had a first date there, or how they proposed there, or celebrated graduations—we’ve just been surrounded by all these great stories and affection. It’s kind of like being alive and reading your own obituary.”
Last Friday afternoon, patrons seated at the bar talked about the things they’ll miss the most. Just outside the loud and densely populated space—where local trinkets line the walls, old brass instruments hang from the ceiling, and cover music blares—Jenn Forbes, a Bertha’s manager of 12 years, caught up with a regular, Garry Cowin. She extended an arm to hug the older gentleman, who smiled.
“I don’t know what I’ll do without seeing Garry every day of my life,” Forbes said, tearing up. “I don’t think it’s totally hit me yet. All my family’s here. And by family, I mean the family that I’ve made. I know everyone’s birthday, I know everyone’s life story. We celebrate birthdays of neighbors and friends. We all give Christmas gifts and celebrate holidays together here. It’s just a really special place.”
Cowin, who came to live in Baltimore from Liverpool, England in 1984, can’t think of any bar in Baltimore as great as Bertha’s. “I’m going back to Liverpool when this closes,” he said, with a laugh. “There’s nothin’ like it. I’ve met so many nice people here.”
Throughout the years, the fixture’s charm has transcended generations.
“When I hung out in Fells Point in the mid ‘90s, we would come here,” said Tommy DeRemigis, a father of two. “And my kids, who are now 33 and 36 years old, both lived in Fells Point at one time. What I’ll miss the most is probably those times with them, having nice meals here.”
“It kind of brings tears to my eyes,” remarked Brooke Johnson, whose daughter learned to play the mandolin from Laura—a musician herself. “It’s always had this great vibe. It’s a mood. It’s a feeling. We’ve got to keep these joints in Fells Point to keep the love alive.”
Andy, taking a break from the constant phone calls and chats with regulars outside, is clearly overwhelmed with all the love that Bertha’s is receiving.
“It’s been nice, you know, I’m 46 and I was born and raised here—this has always been my home,” he says, attributing the businesses’ success and—in part—the neighborhood’s survival, to the efforts of his parents. “Without people like them, Fells Point just wouldn’t exist.”
He means that literally. Both seasoned classical musicians—Laura was a violinist, and Tony played guitar—Andy’s parents opened Berthas in 1972 as a hub for live music in Baltimore. But they faced their share of obstacles, including zoning issues that denied the use of music in establishments with liquor licenses. Even more concerning, before they even opened, Bertha’s was set to be swept up in the potential demolition of Fells Point, which proposed that the neighborhood be replaced by a highway.
“We came in at the tail end of that fight,” says Laura of the community’s movement to “Stop the Road,” led in part by then-senator Barbara Mikulski. In the end, the Norrises worked alongside fellow business owners, local residents, and historians to help preserve the neighborhood as a national historic district, which it became in 1969. That designation is now celebrated every year at the Fells Point Fun Festival (returning next weekend) where Bertha’s staff shuck oysters and sell their signature T-shirts and bumper stickers on the sidewalk.
Throughout the years, Bertha’s would indeed become a stalwart of the Baltimore music scene, with local bands performing in the front corner on most nights of the week. It helped define Fells Point as a destination for such entertainment—with frequent performances by Tony Bennet’s bass player, Paul Langosch, and Paul Wingo, the Baltimore guitarist who played at Bertha’s every Tuesday night until his passing in 2014.
“There are moments I remember playing there with friends like Eric Kennedy, Alex Norris, Russell Kirk, and Todd Marcus,” says acoustic bassist Jeff Reed, who regularly jammed at Bertha’s over the past two decades. “I would close my eyes and be like ‘This is some of the best music I’ve played in my entire life.’ They never told us what we had to do. [That] allowed us to reach a place where we were playing something that was meaningful—to us and everybody that was listening.”
Another regular musician, folk artist John Roberts, was so moved by the venue that he even wrote a tune fittingly titled “Eat Bertha’s Mussels”—after the spot’s iconic bumper sticker.
“It’s pretty well-known among sea shanty people,” explains Tony, who invented the slogan. After which, “we were pretty much committed to selling mussels for the rest of our lives.”
This eclectic mix of sounds that one could expect to hear at Bertha’s on any given night is just part of what will make the institution sorely missed when it shuts down sometime around the end of the year. (The exact date is still being determined.) Of course, patrons will also miss pints at the bar, as well as the restaurant’s seafood-heavy menu known for its paella and the namesake mussels.
Although they will be saying goodbye to the bar, thankfully, the Norrises won’t be leaving the neighborhood they worked so hard to preserve. Once the sale is final, Laura says she plans to focus on her musical program, Mando for Kids—which provides mandolin lessons to local children.
As for Andy—who had plans to take up photojournalism before Bertha’s ownership became his calling—he’s still plotting out his next chapter in life, which will undoubtedly include some one-on-one time with his 16-year-old son and parents, who he calls “incredible.”
“Our house took Tony about 11 years to totally restore,” Laura says of her Ann Street home, which they purchased from Senator Mikulski. “We’ll be here until we’re taken out feet-first.”