There are certain bars and restaurants Baltimoreans have never gotten over losing.

Chief among them is The Dizz, a corner pub in Remington that closed in 2019 after many years in business. Customers loved its food, its fireplace and the welcoming ambiance set by longtime owner Elaine Stevens.

So it was encouraging news last year when industry veterans and Dutch Courage owners Brendan Dorr and Eric Fooy announced they were buying the building at 300 W. 30th St.

“Eric and I are like one of those bands that put out an album every five years,” said Dorr, who studied opera at the Peabody Institute. He and Fooy, who also has a musical background, approach their business with an artist’s obsession for detail. “We want to make sure that the business runs right before we‘re on to the next thing.”

Charred cabbage at Pink Flamingo.

They hope that for customers, the wait will be worth it. This spring, six years after opening Dutch Courage in Old Goucher, they began welcoming customers to Pink Flamingo, a tropical rum tavern they hope will be as beloved in Baltimore as the lawn ornament for which it’s named.

Decor is kitschy but tasteful. An antique model ship on the massive stone fireplace was made by Dorr’s grandfather, an accomplished woodworker from Annapolis. A peach-pink colored papier-mâché flamingo sculpture that Dorr found while Christmas shopping for his wife in Hampden hangs on the wall of the new bar. Stevens, The Dizz owner who lives nearby, stopped by to check on the progress as they renovated. Local firm Artstar Custom Paintworks painted the two colorful murals downstairs.

“When you’re building spaces out, it’s a lot of fun,” Fooy said, “but the reward doesn’t come until you see people in the space and you realize what comes of it.”

Pink Flamingo’s crab dumplings.

At the bar, customers can select from 120 bottles of rum, either on their own or served in a variety of summery cocktails, including The Dizzy Flamingo, a daiquiri-style wink to The Dizz made with coconut juice. The Flaming O, obviously, comes in a flamingo-shaped mason jar and is set on fire.

Full food service began only a few weeks ago after a blaze in the kitchen delayed its debut. The short but inventive menu from chef Blaine Welsh, who previously worked in fine dining in Washington, D.C., draws inspiration from tropical locales around the globe.

Baltimore restaurants are obliged to feature at least one crab dish on the menu: at Pink Flamingo, Welsh borrowed from a Trinidadian recipe to create crab dumplings topped with a delicate curry sauce, a delectable combination. Charred cabbage splashed with a punchy orange dressing was as eye-catching as it was smoky and satisfying. And don’t miss the crunchy Spam chips served with homemade French onion dip, a surprisingly addictive combination.

Co-owner Brendan Dorr stands behind the bar at Pink Flamingo.

Dorr said he initially wanted to serve Spam musubi, but decided against it after finding it on the menu at The Duchess, in the former Cafe Hon space. An avid diner, Dorr, who founded the Baltimore Bartenders’ Guild, is quick to celebrate the city’s offerings and name-checks new favorites like Marta, Little Donna’s, Rooted Rotisserie and Mama Koko’s. He hates it when people complain about the lack of options here.

“That just means you don’t go out in the city,” he said.

Pink Flamingo, then, doesn’t feel like just a bar in isolation but a spot that speaks to the city’s larger dining scene.

There are also more traditional options available from the bar and kitchen, including pitchers of beer and $4 bottles of Miller High Life. Fifteen bucks can get you a pound of chicken wings. Plain cheeseburgers are available for a dollar more. In its nonjudgmental, something-for-everyone ethos, Pink Flamingo feels like the perfect fit for Baltimore diners who want a taste of something new without a lot of pretense.

The exterior of Pink Flamingo in Remington.

Still, taking over a beloved business always poses some challenges, and for some, a newcomer will never quite measure up. Dorr joked that he and Fooy are lucky not to be the first post-Dizz occupants in the building. The duo bought it from restaurateur Elan Kotz, who had planned to open his own concept there.

As part of his renovation, Kotz ripped out the antique wooden bar and painted the walls black, Dorr said, sounding perplexed. But Kotz never ended up opening up a business in the spot, instead renting out the space to a brunch concept that didn’t work out.

Now neighbors are eager to turn the page, said Remington resident Jim Burger, who has been going to the corner bar since the 1970s, when it was called Tony’s. Now, he stops by Pink Flamingo a few times, and thinks Remington is lucky to have Dorr and Fooy doing business there.

“I can tell it’s going to be here for a long time,” he said.