Baltimore transplants Cheolsoo “Charles” Lee and Min Kim are set on creating a space that feels like home with their new Remington eatery.

Unlike their small Café Dear Leon shop in Canton, known for its long lines and wait times, the hope for La Maison is to serve as a public gathering space for people to hang out, work and dine.

Kim, who is general manager, said despite the exciting businesses that have moved to the area, Remington was craving more “third places” for residents to linger and connect between home and work.

Walking into the space, guests are greeted by a table of pastries that will be familiar to Café Dear Leon admirers, from the tarts, danishes and twice-baked brown butter chocolate chip “crookie” to their Japanese-inspired egg sandwiches, otherwise known as tamago sandos.

A coffee bar around the corner from the counter prompts guests to walk through the high-ceilinged dining area to pick up their drinks, such as baklava lattes and cappuccinos with sprinkled nutmeg, which are also similar to Café Dear Leon’s.

Kim said the layout is intended to bring customers who’d usually grab their pastries and leave to sit and connect with others. He said these meeting spaces are critical for the many Baltimoreans moving here for school or work, which he did with Lee after attending the Culinary Institute of America in New York. Many community meeting spots disappeared nationwide during the pandemic or, in recent years, transformed as more people transitioned to remote work.

“I think what we’ve done really well at Café [Dear Leon] is giving them a new ritual to help them feel at home in Canton,” Kim said of the customers picking up food from the O’Donnell Street shop, which is nearly a quarter of the size of La Maison’s space at 2600 N. Howard St.

“Everyone who’s coming here [to La Maison], we want to welcome them as if this is their home,” he said.

The site used to be home to JBGB’s restaurant, which suddenly shuttered early last year. The 11,000-square-foot space and former auto body repair shop prompted Kim and Lee to hire their largest staff yet — just over 20 people and growing.

Kim says the space is about 40% completed in terms of what the overall look and decorations will be once La Maison finds its footing. They welcomed customers for a “soft opening” recently to better understand demand, including when people venture out for coffee or lunch.

Lee — who will balance his time between La Maison and the team’s other two eateries, including newer Italian restaurant Love, Pomelo — said the mood of La Maison’s space evolves throughout the day as people’s priorities shift from working to socializing.

The eatery’s hours are 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, with a bake schedule that mimics Café Dear Leon’s, with the current exception of breakfast sandwiches as it adapts to a new kitchen. Once the bakery becomes more comfortable, Lee and Kim said, they’ll be adding dinner service.

The owners previously presented the possibility of putting pizza on the menu by using the expansive brick oven purchased from the former tenant. Kim emphasized there’s still intent on finding a use for the oven, but Lee said that could be pizza or flatbreads or oven-roasted chicken. Regardless, they’re not expecting those changes for another year.

And don’t expect another launch soon. The team does not have plans to expand further than Remington or open another eatery in the near future. “We’re already managing more than we expected,” Kim said.

They’re focused on making the name La Maison, or “the house,” feel relevant to the neighborhood. It’s not Café Dear Leon 2, Kim said, but the Remington eatery’s large dining area offers people who’ve been unable to beat the lines in Canton the opportunity to stick around and get a similar taste.

La Maison’s arrival in Remington comes after Italian bakery Doppio Pasticceria moved in a few blocks away. Another cafe and tea shop, Equitea, is awaiting the build-out of a more permanent space after operating a successful pop-up in the neighborhood.

“It’s been this collaboration, not competition approach,” said Thibault Manekin, co-founder of Seawall, a development company that pitched the Café Dear Leon team on the space.

Manekin said filling the vacant eatery wasn’t easy: They needed someone who could make use of a large kitchen and dining space and had a proven creative concept to draw customers.

“I feel like everybody agrees, the longer the lines are outside Doppio and Equitea and La Maison, the better it is for the walkability of these communities,” he said.