Way above the Fells Point strip Saturday morning, a food trailer descended by crane into its new home.
Fuzzies, the smashburger business previously stationed at Peabody Heights Brewery, will serve its burgers from The Undefeated, a new Atlas Restaurant Group cocktail bar. Too large to fit through the gates to the bar’s courtyard, the trailer was lifted and lowered into the enclosed outdoor space.
Fuzzies opened as a pop-up in 2020, then added a food truck and a 24-foot concession trailer, which was eventually moved to Peabody Heights. Last year, it also opened a stand at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
However, the burger joint’s partnership with Peabody Heights ended suddenly last year. Fuzzies owner Josh Vecchiolla posted a pro-Donald Trump message on Instagram shortly after Trump won November’s presidential election, prompting complaints from Peabody customers.
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Peabody Heights said it was “ending its partnership” with the smashburger concept. Fuzzies said at the time the business was misrepresented, stating the burger shop respects everyone’s opinion and “does not endorse any political ideology.”
“We will miss our friends at Peabody and the vibrant community they created, but we look forward to finding a space where everyone is welcome,” Fuzzies said in November.
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Since then, Fuzzies has continued to operate two roaming food trucks, but Saturday it found a permanent spot for one of them.
Fuzzies and The Undefeated shared videos of the crane lowering the trailer on Saturday. “We are back Baltimore,” Fuzzies said in a post. Vecchiolla, the burger joint’s owner, referred questions to Atlas.
The Undefeated, which is a Key West and Ernest Hemingway-themed cocktail bar, opened in late January. It had offered a limited food menu, including charcuterie.
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The Atlas bar won the right to sell alcohol from Baltimore’s Board of Liquor License Commissioners in May over objections from neighbors. Some residents had organized a petition opposing the liquor license for the address.
The bar, located at 1704 Thames St., sits next door to Waterfront Hotel, another Atlas bar. The building was formerly the clothing store Trixies Palace. Property records indicate the building, owned by 1704 Thames Street LLC, last sold in 2018 for $1.1 million.
Erin Black, Atlas vice president for marketing and design, said Fuzzies’ hours will align with The Undefeated’s courtyard hours. It will not stay open as late as the bar’s indoor space. The Undefeated is closed Monday and Tuesday and opens at 5 p.m. on other days. It is open until midnight most days and until 1:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.
“We wanted to enhance our offerings by partnering with a top-tier food operator who excels in a specific category and has a strong following to drive traffic back into Fells Point. Fuzzies was the perfect match,” Black said in an email.
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