While strolling around his neighborhood one summer afternoon in 2014, Andre Mazelin serendipitously came across the Mt. Vernon space that he would later transform into his own cafe.
“It kind of just happened when I wasn’t looking,” says Mazelin. “I saw the for-rent sign, which encouraged me to start looking into it, and then another day I walked by and saw the landlord in there working and just fell in love with the bones of it—I could really see the potential.”
Now, nearly two years later, the space has been converted into The Room—a cozy cafe and bar that soft-launched last week.
Mazelin, former operations director for the Creative Alliance, is a native of Jamaica who bounced around the country a bit before moving to Baltimore 10 years ago. He says that, although it had always been a dream of his to open a small lounge, he didn’t have any plans in the works until he stumbled upon the vacant, subterranean space at 800 St. Paul St.—which formerly housed Red Emma’s bookstore before it relocated to Station North in 2013.
The restaurant serves an array of panini options (think apple, cheddar, red onion, and sweet-hot mustard), pastries, salads, and locally sourced cheese plates with hummus and house-pickled vegetables. Its beverage program features cappuccino, Americano, and latte varieties along with four local beer and wine options on tap.
In developing the interior, Mazelin brought on local designers Kuo Pao Lian and Pavlina Ilieva of PI.KL Studio, whom he met back in 2009 when the duo was hired to work on Creative Alliance’s Marquee Lounge redesign. Lian says that, upon taking his first tour, he was inspired by the building’s versatility.
“My wife and I traveled to Spain a few years back, and I was very fond of all of the little cafes that would sporadically pop up in and the most obscure places,” he says. “There were all of these places that would function as a cafe in the morning and then come nighttime they would become these bustling little bars. The space reminded me of that a lot.”
Lian designed The Room with this concept in mind, maintaining the building’s existing features (terrazzo floor, exposed steel, and foundation stone) while adding ample counter and window seating as well as a lounge area with sofas.
At just under 1,000 square feet, the 36-seat cafe boasts two walnut bars and exterior signage made by local furniture makers Majer Metal Works, and custom lighting from local interior designers Cedar & Cotton.
In addition to incorporating local builders, the space also highlights work from Baltimore artists. One wall showcases a silk screen portrait of Mt. Vernon by multimedia artist Matt Muirhead, and Mazelin consulted local painter Wendell “Solely Supreme” Shannon to create a colorful ceiling mural using his signature geometric aesthetic.
“I gave Supreme some pretty loose parameters and put him in there at 9 in the morning, and at 4:30 the next morning he was done,” Mazelin says. “It definitely adds this humongous splash of color and it becomes something to identify the space.”
The Room’s official grand opening date is set for Wednesday, May 18.
“In Mt. Vernon, there are a lot of places where you feel restricted when you walk in, like you don’t want to touch anything,” Lian says, “Here, there’s a sense of freedom. It’s amazing how, for a space three feet down into the ground, it still feels so bright and airy.”