Baltimoreans looking to celebrate Black Tot Day this Thursday can raise a painkiller to history at the new Pusser’s Landing in Canton.

When the centuries-old practice of giving Royal Navy seamen a daily ration, or “tot,” of rum with lunch ended on July 31, 1970, British sailors marked the occasion by wearing black armbands and toasting the queen: the first Black Tot Day.

Just a few years later, a wealthy American entrepreneur named Charles Tobias convinced the Royal Navy to let him use its rum recipe to create his own brand. He called it Pusser’s, naming it for the pursers, or supply officers of ships, who were responsible for giving out everyone’s daily rum allowances.

Today, there are a handful of Pusser’s bars and restaurants scattered across the globe — a few in the British Virgin Islands, one in Florida and another in Munich, Germany. As of July, there’s one in Baltimore, too. All of them serve the painkiller, their signature cocktail made with pineapple and orange juices, cream of coconut, nutmeg and, of course, rum.

At the opening of Pusser’s Landing last Monday in Canton, patrons included a mix of residents from the neighborhood plus devotees of the restaurant’s previous location in Annapolis. Bartender Jackson Hill said there were even a few runners who came by after their evening workout.

Pusser’s Caribbean Grille closed in November 2023 after Baltimore’s Atlas Restaurant Group announced it was taking over the space on the ground floor of the Annapolis Waterfront Hotel. Atlas plans to open two new concepts there, Italian chophouse Marmo and tequila bar Armada, this summer.

After losing their Annapolis digs after 30 years in business, Pusser’s co-owner Jim Lepley said he and business partner Chris Townsend scoured the state for a new location, scoping out spots in Queen Anne’s and Anne Arundel counties. Their only requirement was that it be along the water.

Lepley said it was “love at first sight” when they saw the space in Canton, formerly home to Bo Brooks in the Lighthouse Point Marina. Diners can come by land or by sea: The eatery includes a dock bar where boaters can park their vessels.

They changed the name from Pusser’s Caribbean Grille to Pusser’s Landing, as it was originally called when it opened in the 1990s. The nearly 8,000-square-foot restaurant, significantly larger than the Annapolis outpost, is decorated with nautical paraphernalia and a vintage rum cask.

While the owners initially aimed to open in late spring of this year, the launch was delayed by the usual longer-than-expected buildout and permitting issues. To make the space feel like home, they moved the nearly 40-foot wooden bar from the Pusser’s in Annapolis to Canton, a process that took “two moving trucks, four days and a lot of guys,” Lepley said.

In addition to cocktails, Pusser’s Landing serves a menu that includes local staples like pit beef sandwiches and crab dip, as well as Caribbean-influenced dishes familiar to customers of the Annapolis location. Chef Jim Erikson, who has worked with the restaurant for three decades, is cooking in Baltimore, too.

Lepley hopes there will be one big difference between Annapolis and Baltimore: the months of operation. As a boating town, “Annapolis is a very seasonal property,” he said. In Baltimore, Lepley imagines customers will want to sit outdoors even in the chillier weather.

Drinks are priced in the $11-$12 range, which Lepley thinks makes it one of the more affordable cocktail menus in the area.

“We want to be a place that people can come three times a week, not three times a year,” Lepley said. Make your first visit this Black Tot Day and enjoy Pusser’s drink specials commemorating the July 31 holiday.