Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. At Harborplace Closes, Citing COVID-19, Building Maintenance
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.'s location at Harborplace has closed.
According to the Baltimore City Health Department's website, the restaurant was closed by the city on Feb. 10 for operating without a license.
Landry's Inc., the Houston-based owner of Bubba Gump and other nationwide chains such as Morton's The Steakhouse, Rainforest Cafe and The Palm, said the location was operated by a third-party licensee.
The restaurant "has closed due to COVID-19's impact on the restaurant industry as well as the landlord's failure to uphold the building's maintenance," said Keith Beitler, executive vice president and COO of Landry's.
The Baltimore Business Journal first reported the restaurant's closure.
In 2019, the Harborplace pavilions, once a major tourist attraction that drew thousands band to the Inner Harbor, were placed in receivership, taking the properties out of the hands of the New York-based Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation.
Ashkenazy bought Harborplace in 2012.
As WJZ reported at the time, Urban Outfitters, M&S Grill, Five Guys and the Fudgery had all recently departed the shopping pavilions.
Per the Baltimore Business Journal, Bubba Gump won a $1.13 million judgment against Ashkenazy in 2018 for failing to maintain common areas in the Light Street pavilion and to "police and protect the shopping center."
The ruling was partially reversed on appeal, the paper reported.
Inspired by the 1995 Oscar winner "Forrest Gump," Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. opened in the Light Street Pavilion in 2012, taking over the former site of Phillips Seafood., which moved to the Power Plant.
Then-Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake was joined by a Forrest Gump look-alike to celebrate the restaurant's opening, as WJZ reported at the time.
"It represents jobs for Baltimore, and enhancement in the tourism industry," she said.
