Foreman Wolf Opening Restaurant at Columbia's Lakefront

Two of the biggest names in the Baltimore dining scene will be opening their sixth restaurant at Columbia’s Lakefront.

Cindy Wolf and Tony Foreman—who operate Baltimore’s Pazo, Petit Louis Bistro, and Charleston—announced Monday they reached a 10-year agreement with Howard Hughes Corp. to open a restaurant at the former location of the Red Pearl.

"We've done everything in Baltimore and we're really excited to branch out," said Foreman, about opening a Howard County restaurant.

He said their restaurants in Baltimore have a large contingent of Howard County customers, who have asked them to open a county location, and they've decided now is the right time.

"Howard Hughes has a commitment to building a more complete picture of the area," said Foreman. "That's really going to bring the real energy."

The concept for the restaurant has not been released, but Foreman said they hope to open later this year.

Foreman said the group's restaurants are "enormously diverse in concept and price points, but we try really hard to make sure we do beautiful food in a beautiful setting and provide beautiful service."

Foreman and Wolf’s current five restaurants vary in concept, but focus on service and quality of food. For example, Petit Louis Bistro is an upscale French Café that offers dishes such as duck breast with endive and strawberry ($23). The duo’s newest restaurant Johnny’s in Roland Park is more casual with a large breakfast menu and sandwiches such as The Chicken and The Egg—chicken sausage with a fried egg, roasted tomato on sweet potato bread ($11.50). 

“[Foreman and Wolf] have built their brand on wonderful dining experiences for their customers,” said County Executive Ken Ulman, in a statement. “I’m excited that they have chosen to expand their operation to Howard County.”

Foreman said Ulman "doggedly" pursued them to open a location in the county.

Monday’s announcement isn’t such a big surprise, given that local food blog HowChow floated a rumor about Wolf and Foreman leasing the space back in April. At the time, the local food blogger welcomed the idea, praising their restaurants Charleston and Petit Louis.

“A Foreman-Wolf restaurant would be great fun in Columbia,” wrote HowChow. “That Red Pearl space was big for a Chinese restaurant, but I assume it could handle a higher-end space.” 

This is just the latest in a series of headlines that have been emerging from Downtown Columbia. Recently, renderings of the crescent development were displayed, Clyde’s re-opened after $5 million in renovations, and the mall’s expansion is on schedule with stores scheduled to open in November.