The 818 Market, a gourmet grocer and food market in Catonsville, had to deal with a 100-year flood in 2018 and now the COVID-19 pandemic, but it’s bound to become a popular spot.

The open-concept market features a grocery, bakery, flower mart, café, restaurant, cheese shop, restaurant, sushi and seafood counter, butcher and a deli. There is a walkup takeout area featuring breakfast sandwiches available starting at 6 a.m.

The restaurant features an open kitchen, and there’s a room for private parties along with a small outdoor deck for use in warmer weather.

The 18,000-square-foot building, located at 818 Frederick Road, utilized materials from a prior building on the spot. It features a lot of local flair and influence and is owned by longtime Baltimore County residents Patrick Baldwin and Dan Zakai.

Both told The Baltimore Sun that they found themselves driving to stores like Wegmans or Trader Joes and markets like Belvedere Square or R. House in Baltimore when they had the idea to purchase the 83-year-old building in 2017. A flood in 2018 set them back as the first floor had about 4 feet of water.

The restaurant is staffed by chef Matt Milani, Maryland’s Restaurateur of the Year in 2012, who also served as Gov. Larry Hogan’s chef in the Governor’s Mansion for two years. He and his wife owned the Rumor Mill Fusion Bar and Restaurant in Ellicot City, which was destroyed by the 2016 flood.