A vacant restaurant space in Mid-Town Belvedere will soon be home to a new restaurant, inspired by the Jewish-style diners and delicatessens that populate New York.
Little T’s New York Deli is scheduled to open at 58 W. Biddle St. this summer, according to owner Daniel Rumanos. The restaurateur, who originally hails from Baltimore’s Greektown and previously worked as an entertainer and an editor in New York City, hopes to offer guests a taste of “authentic New York-style diner” culture, something that Rumanos described as “lacking a bit” in Baltimore
“I thought it would be interesting to bring that back to Baltimore, and also to do so with a kind of modern aesthetic that would appeal to different demographics,” he said in an interview with The Baltimore Sun.
At Little T’s, dishes will include matzo ball and split pea soups (the latter of which will boast rye crackers), as well as “overstuffed sandwiches” of pastrami, corned beef and garlic-infused beef salami on seeded rye. Rumanos said the menu is rooted in the Eastern European cuisine that many associate with “Jewish food” in the United States.
Another draw of the deli, Rumanos said, will be its location, at the corner of Cathedral Street. With proximity to the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, the Lyric Baltimore and the Maryland Institute College of Art, he hopes that the restaurant will “bring in people that wouldn’t traditionally pay as much attention to an old-style deli.”
“I think when they do pay attention, they’ll find out it has some great food,” Rumanos added.
The team behind the location’s previous restaurant tenant, plant-forward taqueria Chihuahua Brothers, also praised the West Biddle St. storefront — owner Kevyn Matthews said last spring that he “was obsessed with the space” when touring. However, after a series of soft openings, the restaurant abruptly shuttered when Matthews and his wife, Meredith Brown, alleged that the building’s landlord changed the locks and stole their personal property. In an interview with The Baltimore Sun last month, landlord David Shapiro declined to comment on the co-owners’ specific accusations. But he said the decision to cut ties was due to not receiving rent payments from the lease’s commencement in August 2025 through December 2025. He acknowledged, however, that the terms of the lease allowed the tenants to forgo rent from August 2025 through October 2025.
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