Hey, Mount Vernon: Ashish Bhandari knows you’re frustrated.

The new operator of the Midtown neighborhood’s only grocery store, Eddie’s on 7 W. Eager St., expected to reopen the 5,000-square-foot space by last July. But more than six months later, Bhandari said they’re “praying” to get people in by early May.

“I think a grocery store is a dire need for this neighborhood,” Bhandari said. “I know it’s a little bit frustrating for everybody.”

Bhandari, whose family also owns the Nepal House restaurant in the neighborhood, said taking over Eddie’s has been three times the amount of work he expected. Out-of-date refrigeration, 30 years’ worth of compacted dirt, wires in the wall that needed to be fixed and holes that invited rats in all required more work and money than Bhandari anticipated.

“We had to clean the place to the bone,” he said. And that’s before addressing the promised renovations, including a larger produce section, new flooring, painting and outside lighting, among other features. Bhandari also teased technology upgrades to help with checkout and consumer experience.

The refrigeration piece remains a large holdup. Contractors are struggling to make the existing equipment work. As time ticks by, the strain on Bhandari’s budget grows. His lease began April 24, 2024, he said, and rent payments are underway despite the business remaining closed. The space’s landlord, developer and area resident Dennis Richter, has provided support as well as guidance on grant applications, Bhandari said, and a rent relief grant helped buoy the business through renovations last year.

Richter did not respond to requests for comment.

Jack Danna, president of the Mount Vernon-Belvedere Association, has also supported Bhandari in his takeover of the space. Danna said on Wednesday he’s grateful for Maryland’s investment and commitment to Eddie’s, including a $250,000 grant from an initiative under the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development.

In a previous community meeting, Danna referred to the store’s reopening as a model for how the state can prevent food deserts. When Eddie’s closed in June 2023, the community lost its only full-service grocer. The closest stores are a Safeway and Streets Market and Cafe, both on North Charles Street.

Bhandari said transferring ownership of the business’s liquor license will be an important asset to the store. His attorney, Stephan Fogleman, said they were planning on bringing the case before the Baltimore City liquor board in the coming month. A hearing has not yet been set.

Since 1939, the storefront — which was an Acme before it became Eddie’s — operated as one of the few grocers in Mount Vernon. In 2000, Dennis Zorn took over the neighborhood fixture. When the store closed, a search began for new operators. Bhandari was passionate about the store’s decades-long legacy and believed he could modernize the beloved community hub.

He has grown accustomed to the onslaught of feedback from neighbors and community leaders on how Eddie’s should be run. “Customers have a lot of opinions,” he said, adding that frustration over delays has come along with excitement for Eddie’s future. He assured community members that he’ll be working to “speed up” the store’s resurgence, citing time limits on sales tax and liquor licenses, along with required dates for inspections.

“We can’t afford another six months of a remodel,” he said. “I have hard deadlines.”

Correction: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Stephan Fogleman’s name.