Chef will convert former restaurant into a new concept
Michael Smith, the James Beard Award-winning chef behind Farina and Extra Virgin, has a new plan in the works.
In 2018, Smith changed the name of his eponymous restaurant to Farina and moved it a few doors down, to 1901 Baltimore. Since then, Smith’s other restaurant, Extra Virgin, at 1900 Main St., has used the former Michael Smith space for overflow seating.
“But that space has a completely different color scheme as Extra Virgin — it has tablecloths and kind of looks like it’s from 1985,” Smith said. “It was good during COVID when you needed six feet of separation, but as the years have worn on, it’s felt like we needed to do something different over there.”
His team is now in the process of dividing up the old Michael Smith. About three-quarters will serve as extended seating for Extra Virgin, but redesigned to match the Mediterranean tapas aesthetic of that restaurant.
The rest of the space, which has a door facing Main Street, will become EV Grab & Go, a carryout shop selling certain menu items from his restaurants alongside dry goods and other home ingredients.
“We still have the kitchen in there, so we’ll have a chef working every day making daily salads and sandwiches for the lunch crowd,” Smith said. “You’ll be able to get the fattoush salad and cucumber salad that we serve at Extra Virgin, plus our baba ghanoush and hummus and lamb skewers. The duck meatballs and the marinated olives we serve at Farina. It’ll just be certain items — not everything belongs in a to-go box.”
EV Grab & Go will also sell pasta and pasta sauces served at Farina, as well as a variety of vinegars and olive oils. A small freezer section will be stocked with soups, cocktail ice, and ribeyes and sirloin steaks. Smith also mentioned almonds, anchovies, capers, cheese and fresh herbs.
“I have this thing about herbs — I think Americans don’t buy them because you go to the store and they’re in this little plastic container that costs $4 or $5,” he said. “I’m going to sell my herbs for $1.50 because I can. I really want more people to cook with fresh herbs. It just makes such a difference.”
Smith expects to open EV Grab & Go in late
June or early July, with hours likely to be 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. six days a week (closed Sundays).
“It’s a tiny little space, but we’re going to stuff it to the gills,” he said.