There’s a new-ish place to cool off and grab some drinks and some bites in town.
Michael’s Café, a family-owned and operated restaurant, has moved to their second location in White Marsh. The new local haunt has been open since late last year, but finally cut the ribbon on a grand opening last Thursday.
The ribbon-cutting was an affair to remember, with business and civic leaders present as well as live music. Bart Kennedy attended on behalf of Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD); Ashley Myer attended on behalf of Congressman C.A Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD); former Dundalk Eagle employee Brad Kroner attended from the office of Baltimore County Executive, Johnny Olszewski Jr. The executive director of the Chesapeake Gateway Chamber of Commerce Sharon Kihn was also on hand for the photo-op and fun, as was Jim Allen, a representative from Councilwomen Cathy Bevins’s office (D-6).
“Business has been great,” owner Steve Dellis explained. “It took us a while to pick a location, but White Marsh proved to be the most interesting and up and coming location.”
The new restaurant set up shop in the recently developed business center Greenleigh at Crossroads, found off of Interstate 95 and Route 43. Normally a quiet and upscale area, the same block was shut down two weeks ago with police, fire and armored car presence.
The new eatery is peacefully housed in a 9,000 square foot building which boasts a large 40 seat bar section, a community farm table, conference-style rooms and dining areas. Filled to capacity, the area can accommodate up to 210 guests.
The exterior patio space includes 900 square feet of outdoor dining and lounge area.
As with many restaurants near the Bay, Michael’s is best known for their homemade crab cakes. At the new location, Chef Vecchiolla continues to bring his unique, hard hitting menu creations to patrons, including USDA Prime grade hand-selected steaks, a raw bar and steamer selections.
His specialty menu items include seasonal and local ingredients paired with the center of the plate item, and the chef regularly adjusts the men to highlight local vendors and regional farmers.
The new summer menu was available at the grand opening, and features some of the chef’s favorites — including mouth-watering bites of backyard barbecue, flatbreads, pasta alla vonghole, Korean short ribs, and Southern favorite shrimp and grits.
“Our goal is to bring the same quality food service we have brought for 35 years,” Dellis said. “We’re extremely food focused and we’re here for the long run.”
In 1984, The Dellis family opened the doors to their first establishment in Timonium, where the quality of the food, service and atmosphere made it an award-winning restaurant. Dellis said their legendary crab cakes are crafted from a secret family recipe that dates back over four generations.
In 2016, the restaurant completed its fourth major renovation with its newly updated kitchen at the Timonium location and expanded in 2018 to its current White Marsh satellite.
“We are looking forward to working with the community,” Dellis said.
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