Hampden's Dogwood Restaurant Closed, Owners Confirm
The restaurant, located on the Avenue, closed Mar. 17.
A mainstay on 36th Street has closed its doors for good.
Dogwood Restaurant, formerly located at 911 W. 36th Street, has been shuttered since Sunday, the Baltimore Sun reports.
Owner Galen Sampson posted to the business' Facebook page early Monday morning confirming the closure.
"The Dogwood Restaurant is grateful to the Baltimore Community for its tremendous support over the past seven years. At The Dogwood, we tried to do something innovative and risky, and the city and its people have always supported us. We are very grateful to you," Sampson wrote on the business' Facebook page. "Unfortunately, we had to close the doors of the restaurant today, Saint Patrick's Day, Sunday March 17th 2013 because the business can no longer support itself."
The Baltimore Sun reported Monday that the business will be able to pay employees the wages they are due.
The restaurant, which was founded in 2007, has reopened twice after extended closings, the Sun reports.
This time though, it looks like they're gone for good.
Sampson wrote on Facebook that he will be working on an organic farm outside Charlottesville, VA for the coming growing season and his wife Bridgette, who hasn't been involved in Dogwood for nearly a year, will focus on writing fiction.
Did you dine at Dogwood? Will you miss the restaurant now that it's gone? Share your thoughts and your memories in the comments below.
The full text of Sampson's post on Facebook is below:
The Dogwood Restaurant closes March 17th 2013
The Dogwood Restaurant is grateful to the Baltimore Community for its tremendous support over the past seven years. At The Dogwood, we tried to do something innovative and risky, and the city and its people have always supported us. We are very grateful to you. Unfortunately, we had to close the doors of the restaurant today, Saint Patrick's Day, Sunday March 17th 2013 because the business can no longer support itself.
We have had the best staff in the world, and we tried to keep going for as long as we could for them and for their uncompromising commitment to quality and to hospitality. We love them all very much and are extremely thankful for their support, their loyalty, and their friendship. We wish we could have kept it going for them forever.
Special thanks to Jack Elsby, General Manager and friend extraordinaire, Margaret Konstantas, Office Manager, calm and strong, always dependable and kind presence, and Dusty Sullivan, our talented Kitchen Manager. Hats off to our whole staff who have become like family to us. We will miss being together.
We also must thank our investors and all of those who have supported our mission. We hope that the good work accomplished at The Dogwood will someday and in someway reward them all.
My wife, Bridget, has not been involved with the restaurant for nearly a year. She is focusing on her love: fiction writing, and I will be working on Bellair Farm, an organic farm outside of Charlottesville for this growing season.
However, nothing will ever bring us the joy and the heartache, the fun and the challenge that The Dogwood did. The restaurant and all who supported it will remain in our hearts. The Dogwood pursued the ideal of being a good restaurant that also helped people who were trying to change their lives.
We believe that the individuals who transformed their lives with The Dogwood's help and the moments of profound community we shared with all of you celebrating food and wine are among the greatest successes one can experience in life.
Many thanks to all of you,
Galen Sampson
gino
11:58 pm on Monday, March 18, 2013
It was a great pleasure to meet Galen and Bridget, their menu' and wine list was top notch,unfortunately there are too many eateries and not enough population to support all of them.There are fifteen more restaurants in the area since Dogwood opened its doors and more are coming.Are more tourist coming ? Does Hampden offer enough attractions to lure visitors ? hoops I forgot about the two festivals that bring in big crowds and bring absolutely no revenue to local businesses, because the crowds arrive to buy funnel cakes, chicken wings and spiral fries from outside vendors who are allowed to rent space and compete once again for a piece of the business pie. The future looks bleak for many
Alex Nastetsky
12:39 am on Tuesday, March 19, 2013
My first time there was with my girlfriend (now wife) for Valentine's day. John Waters was there too. It was a memorable experience. The Dogwood will be missed.
Anne-Margaret
8:16 am on Tuesday, March 19, 2013
I just ate there for the first time this past Saturday night. I chose the restaurant based on the great YELP reviews. I was just about to go in to YELP to give The Dogwood a great review so that others could enjoy the restaurant. How sad. Best wishes to everyone at The Dogwood!!
Able Baker
10:08 am on Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Dogwood was great, and relatively cheap for the quality of the food and service.
David G Meyers
10:11 am on Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Well, my daughter purchased a Dogwood gift certificate #2794 for $150.00
last Monday, so as Galen pays off his employees I trust he will also refund unused gift certificates that perhaps should not have been offered for sale so close to the restaurant's closing date, for surely Galen must have known of his decision to close down at that time, especially when he has already found work elsewhere!
Wouldn't that be the ethical thing to do? David G Meyers
Mike Moran
7:39 pm on Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Sad to see it go. As a former employee, Bridget and Galen were always good to me.
FreddieS
12:44 pm on Wednesday, March 20, 2013
I too will miss the Dogwood. Great food, great staff, terrific restaurant.
Mt. Washington-North
11:31 am on Thursday, March 21, 2013
I had them cater a baby shower. It was awful and costs $800. Also the catering manager gave us very thin trays and everything burnt. Not a good experience from my end. This was less than a year ago.
Carol
6:06 pm on Thursday, March 21, 2013
We had my daughter's wedding reception at the Dogwood two years ago. The staff did a very good job. We had a tasting evening well before the wedding to decide on the menu and the wines. The groom and his mother have celiac and one guest has a sensitivity to onions. The staff made sure that they accommodated these individuals. The restaurant did a good job serving and made a great effort to make everyone feel welcome. One elderly relative decided that she did not want anything on the menu and insisted that she wanted a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Waitstaff, on their own, went down the street to get the ingredients for a PB&J even though that was definitely not on the menu and they did not have to do it. Some of my son in law's younger relatives decided that while the band played the hora, they would lift the couple on chairs and parade them around the floor. We had not planned for that, and the chairs were a little unstable. The staff looked a little nervous but all went well. I heard later that they would have made sure to point us to different chairs if they had known that people were going to do the Jewish chair dance. We have always enjoyed eating at the Dogwood. If I had known that they were closing, I would have gone there more often recently.