Eight months after Joe Squared closed its pizza restaurant and entertainment venue in Station North, a new restaurateur has emerged to take its place.
Baltimore’s liquor board has set a hearing for Aug. 8 to consider an application from a Baltimore businessman who is seeking a Class ‘B’ Beer, Wine and Liquor license for a restaurant at 33 W. North Avenue, where Joe Squared closed at the end of 2023 after operating for many years.
The applicant is Merve Pizza LLC, and its principal is Mehmet Guclu, who would own 100 percent of the shares of the entity holding the liquor license. Abraham Hurdle is his attorney.
A liquor board sign is taped to the door at 33 W. North Ave., location of the former Joe Squared pizza restaurant in Station North. Photo by Ed Gunts.
Guclu has not disclosed a name for his business and there is no sample menu posted online with the application, but the company name is a sign that it will specialize in pizza. According to his profile on LinkedIn, Guclu has experience as a manager at HomeSlyce, a pizza restaurant chain with multiple locations in the Baltimore area.
As part of his application, Guclu is seeking approval to provide live entertainment, outdoor table service and delivery of alcoholic beverages.
For a new Class ‘B’ license, the board requires a capital investment of at least $200,000 for “restaurant fixtures and facilities” and seating for at least 75 people.
Floor plans included with the application indicate the business would seat 100 patrons on the main level and a lower level, and would have two bars with seating for another 20 patrons.
Merve Pizza’s application is part of a docket that will be heard beginning at 10:30 a.m. on Aug. 8 in Room 215 of City Hall, 100 N. Holliday Street.