Brass Elephant to be auctioned 

Posted: 7:08 pm Wed, July 14, 2010
By Melody Simmons
Daily Record Business Writer

The Brass Elephant, once one of Baltimore’s most elegant restaurants, is on the auction block.

PNC Bank has foreclosed on the celebrated Mt. Vernon property located in the 900 block of North Charles Street and scheduled an Aug. 3 sale by Alex Cooper Auctioneers beginning at 2 p.m.

Brass Elephant owner Randy Stahl, who also owns The King’s Contrivance in Columbia, The Milton Inn in Sparks and Ramomos in the Arundel Mills mall, could not be reached for comment on Wednesday. A worker at Ramomos said he had a family emergency and was unreachable.

Martin Kibbe, the Realtor who listed the restaurant property in mid-May at an asking price of $995,900, said he was unaware of the foreclosure or scheduled auction.

“This is news to me,” Kibbe said Wednesday afternoon. “I know nothing about it. I have showed the restaurant to many people and have had lots of nibbles.”

The Brass Elephant is located in a four-story brick townhouse that was built in 1870. The restaurant, which featured American and French cuisine, served on white starched table cloths by waiters in tuxedos, closed last August, a victim of the recession and household cutbacks on eating out.

Stahl told The Baltimore Sun in an Aug. 28, 2009, blog post, “It’s a little difficult to continue to prepare food and have it sitting there when you have no reservations. It’s almost impossible.”

Records from the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation show the 8,244 square-foot Brass Elephant property was valued at $541,500 as of July 1. There is no indication of how much Stahl owes to PNC, which forced the foreclosure. Stahl purchased the Brass Elephant in 1980 with a partner, Jack Elsby.

“We just started the process,” said Paul Cooper, the auctioneer, on Wednesday. “It’s unfortunate. I’ve eaten there and had really good food. It’s been a landmark in Baltimore and it is unfortunate to see these types of properties and institutions go through these tough economic times.”

Kibbe said last month that the Brass Elephant had become an economic drain on its owners, which prompted them to list it with his ReMax Studio agency. The sale was to include the property and all of its contents, including a bakery in the basement, china, silverware, linens and the chic Tusk Lounge, located on the second floor.

The auction excludes all furniture, fixtures and equipment as well as the liquor license, Cooper said. The building is a Victorian treasure, decorated with antiques including stained glass windows, elaborate stairways, carved fireplaces and a greenhouse.

Kibbe said the downtown location may have ultimately hurt the Brass Elephant’s bottom line. At one point, Realtor Kemp Byrnes said in an interview with The Daily Record earlier this year, the restaurant earned more than $2 million a year. But revenue fell to $1 million before the institution was shuttered.

“They have larger scale, suburban mega-restaurants,” Kibbe said, of Stahl’s other enterprises. “This one, an urban restaurant, they outgrew.”

The restaurant was originally listed at $1.8 million, and in late March, Stahl announced he had a contract of sale. But that transaction fell through, Kibbe said.

The Brass Elephant had been a celebrated city landmark, and was mentioned in a book by filmmaker Barry Levinson as such. It was also the location of many local wedding receptions.

“The building is in good shape,” Kibbe said. “But it does need some tender loving care.”