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Gino Palma is the embodiment of the American dream. The Pozzuoli-born restaurateur emigrated without any family to the United States at the age of 19. He had almost no money and spoke very little English, but he knew he could find employment in foodservice. He worked 15- to 17-hour days at Italian restaurants throughout Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland, doing everything from washing dishes to bussing tables. Slowly, he began to work his way into the kitchen with an eye on entrepreneurship.

Now 48, Palma opened his third Facci in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor in March 2024 after successful launches in Laurel and Ellicott City. Palma, in a recent sit-down interview with the Beverage Journal, said, “I love looking for a location, finding the location, negotiating the lease, and seeing the completion of the vision in my mind. After that, after this baby has come to life, I loveit when people walk in, and their mouths open, and they look around for the first time and say, ‘Wow! Look at this! Look at that!’”

There are some people who treat beer drinking like it’s a religious experience. The Ministry of Brewing in Baltimore has taken that to a whole other level. The brewery’s operations are based in the former St. Michael’s Church, which dates back to 1857. The combination of beer, food, and historical ambiance provides one of the most unique drinking and eating experiences around.

The Ministry is also the latest to be featured in our series of articles on funny or quirky-named bars, taverns, brewpubs, and beverage establishments in and around Maryland and Washington, D.C. Co-owner Ernst Valery is still tickled remembering back to the Ministry’s creation six-plus years ago when he and co-owners Mike Powell and David Wendell came up with the name.

In this the second in our new series of articles on funny or quirky-named bars, restaurants, pubs and taverns in and around Maryland and Washington, D.C., we picked Baltimore’s Easy Like Sunday for two reasons. One, this article’s author loves his drinks in the morning with breakfast or brunch. Two, this article’s author loves the Commodores and Lionel Richie.

“Easy Like Sunday Morning” was one of the smoothest R&B ballads of the 1970s. Written by Richie, the song expresses a man’s relief as a relationship comes to an end. Instead of being sad and depressed about the break-up, he asserts throughout that he is instead “easy . . . easy like Sunday morning.”

Usually, I interview owners, operators, and managers of bars, pubs, taverns, and restaurants before or between busy periods at their establishments. In the case of One-Eyed Mike’s owner Akbar Vaiya, I got him to sit down and chat right after he finished playing golf. Fresh off the driving range, we laughed and agreed that he would need to be careful not to throw in too many golf metaphors and references when answering my questions.

After all, it would be so easy to say that this bar and restaurant in Baltimore’s historic Fells Point neighborhood boasts customer service that’s so consistent, you might say it’s “always on par.” Or, there’s nothing like Happy Hour at One-Eyed Mike’s when “it’s in full swing.” But Vaiya was focused throughout, and he was a great interviewee to kick off this new series of articles on restaurants, bars, pubs, and taverns throughout Maryland and Washington, D.C., with funny or quirky names. 

Almost 40 Years in, AND Selling More Crabcakes and Cocktails Than Ever

John and Joanna Kocovinos opened Koco’s Pub in 1985. Everyone knew John as “Mr. Koco,” so it made sense to endear his new business on Harford Road in Baltimore to the masses with the nickname on the sign out front. The couple’s dream was a modest one: operate Koco’s as a little, neighborhood “hole in the wall” pub that served Joanna’s food, specifically her crabcakes.

A Beverage Biz Look Ahead at the Maryland 2025

Each December, I write up a legislative preview for readers of the Beverage Journal that typically begins with a look back at the wins and losses the Maryland State Licensed Beverage Association (MSLBA) saw in Annapolis over the past year. But as our three interviewees pointed out, sometimes a victory is not a bill being passed or a restriction lifted.