It’s no secret: People are drinking less alcohol, putting the onus on bar owners to offer compelling reasons to get off the couch.

Enter Meander Art Bar, which fuses crafts and a sophisticated cocktail program inside a warm, inviting setting in Upper Fells Point. The result is a new bar where drinking for drinking’s sake isn’t the point — though you can do that, too.

Founder and co-owner Martha Robichaud has yearned for this kind of bar concept for years.

“I wanted a space for myself where I could go and get together with some friends and just get my hands dirty with some art supplies,” said the Baltimore native, seated on Meander’s plush corner couch on a recent weekday.

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“We didn’t have anything that hit that sweet spot of being a relaxed bar atmosphere where you could get food and drink and you could also be creative,” she said.

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Inside the bar at 1801 E. Lombard St. that previously housed Bar 1801, patrons can rent art kits ($10 to $25) curated by Robichaud, a first-time bar owner with a master’s degree from Towson University in interdisciplinary arts infusion. “Basically,” she explained, “it’s an applied theory of ‘How can we integrate the arts into our everyday living to promote learning and promote joy?’ ”

The kits include charcoal drawing, watercolor painting, air-dry clay, beading and coloring books. But, Robichaud stresses, visitors don’t have to be a budding Matisse to enjoy the activities. She’s intentionally set the bar low to try to avoid any whiff of intimidation.

Martha Robichaud, owner of Meander Art Bar, offers guidance as Baltimore Banner reporter Wesley Case makes a bead bracelet inside Upper Fells Point bar in Baltimore, Md. on February 10, 2025.
Martha Robichaud, co-owner of Meander Art Bar. (Ulysses Muñoz / The Baltimore Banner)
The interior of Meander Art Bar in the Upper Fells Point neighborhood of Baltimore, Md. on February 10, 2025.
Patrons of Meander Art Bar can imbibe while surrounded by paintings from local artists and vintage instruments. (Ulysses Muñoz / The Baltimore Banner)

“I think art is for everyone and that everybody is creative,” Robichaud said. “I want people to feel welcome in this space to just focus on the act of creation — like the process of it — and not be so concerned with the outcome.”

As someone whose stick drawings would offend a kindergarten teacher, I figured I’d put this approach to the test.

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Surrounded by paintings by local artists and vintage instruments, I settled on beading — about as low stress as it gets, and hey, I wanted a bracelet to take home. After cutting some string and grabbing a couple handfuls of beads, the assortment of which ran the rainbow gamut, I saddled up to a table where Robichaud and I continued our chat.

As a jazz record spun in the low-lit room, I slowly felt my shoulders drop and my smile widen. Dropping each bead on the string in the midst of our conversation began to take on an almost meditative quality. A light bulb in my head flickered: The introduction of a craft made this a refreshing experience, which is not something you can always say about a trip to the bar.

Giving my hands something to do also made me consume slower, providing an opportunity to savor my cheeseburger and Pom Punch mocktail, made with housemade pomegranate syrup, lemon, lime and club soda.

Matthew Steinberg, one of the co-owners of Meander Art Bar, crafts a cocktail behind the bar in the Upper Fells Point neighborhood of Baltimore, Md. on February 10, 2025.
Matthew Steinberg, one of the co-owners of Meander Art Bar, crafts a cocktail behind the bar. (Ulysses Muñoz / The Baltimore Banner)
Charcoal drawing materials available for customers’ use inside Meander Art Bar in the Upper Fells Point neighborhood of Baltimore, Md. on February 10, 2025.
Charcoal drawing materials are one of several art-based entry points available for customers’ use. (Ulysses Muñoz / The Baltimore Banner)
A chess set ready for players inside Meander Art Bar in the Upper Fells Point neighborhood of Baltimore, Md. on February 10, 2025.
A chess set ready for players. (Ulysses Muñoz / The Baltimore Banner)

“I love a good drink,” Robichaud said. “But I also understand that sometimes you want to go out, you want to be social and you want to do something that isn’t just centered around drinking or eating.” Meander partner Michael Cohn knows this approach well as co-owner of No Land Beyond, the board game bar in Old Goucher. He’s also Robichaud’s husband.

Those simply in search of a good drink are still in luck, however. Matthew Steinberg, Meander’s third owner and formerly of the much-missed Kenwood Tavern in Canton, helms the bar program. It offers both classic cocktails and rotating new takes like February’s cactus cooler, a tequila and prosecco drink boosted by passion fruit and pineapple juices.

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For Robichaud, offering a range of reasons to step through the door is how Meander can cultivate a community, the bar’s true purpose. They’ve already hosted trivia and bingo, and held a valentine-making event, while March’s calendar includes a calligraphy workshop and Stitch Night for the knitters and crocheters. Patrons can buy the locally made art on the walls, too.

Baltimore Banner reporter Wesley Case makes a bead bracelet at Meander Art Bar. (Ulysses Muñoz / The Baltimore Banner)

The current state of the world has Robichaud thinking a lot about the need to bring people together. Meander, she hopes, will be a space where people connect with one another.

“Even though it feels small in the grand scheme of things, I think if we’re all doing that, that’s truly how we make the world a better place,” she said.