Angeli’s Pizzeria Bar to open fifth Baltimore location at Noona's

The vacant Noona's restaurant space in Midtown will reopen in December as Angeli's Pizzeria Bar, part of a fast-growing chain run by a family-owned group based in Baltimore.

Representatives for Angeli's and MCB Real Estate, the owner of the Fitzgerald mixed-use building where Noona's ceased operations Nov. 1, announced on Tuesday that Angeli's has taken over the former Noona's space at 1203 West Mount Royal Avenue and plans to reopen it as a pizzeria.

It will be the fifth location in Baltimore and the second in the MCB Real Estate portfolio for Angeli's, headed by brothers Juniet and Mert Ozturk. The Fitzgerald, at 1201 W. Mount Royal Ave., includes 275 apartments, 25,000 square feet of street-level commercial space, and a 1,250-space garage. It's close to Bolton Hill, Mount Vernon, Penn Station, and the Maryland Institute College of Art and University of Baltimore campuses. Noona's had been a tenant since December of 2018.

According to Juniet Ozturk, he and his brother purchased the lease from Noona's because they "recognized the outstanding opportunity to establish a new location within a high-profile residential community and expand the brand further in Baltimore City." He mentioned The Fitzgerald's dedicated audience of in-place residents and its proximity to two colleges as major factors in the decision.

Angeli's Pizzeria Bar ( www.angelispizzeria.com ) also has locations in Little Italy, Federal Hill and Govans, and it operates a pop-up and event space at Harborplace, another MCB Real Estate property.

Angeli's is known for its "build-your-own" New York-style pizza, including varieties topped with chicken pesto or marinated chicken breast, as well as house-marinated wings, calzones, and salads. It also offers meatball, Italian, chicken, grilled cheese, and portabella mushroom sandwiches. Family members Erdi and Aybike Tasbas are also involved in its ownership and management.

"In essence, we purchased the operations of Noona's and view this as the chance to provide a new and well-established restaurant option to the local community, rather than terming this a restaurant closure," Juniet Ozturk said. "We have an incredible and loyal consumer following, a tremendous relationship with MCB Real Estate due to our location in Harborplace, and are proceeding with this new location with full confidence. Bolton Hill is extremely well-known throughout the Baltimore area and beyond, and the nearby demographics and steady stream of visitors and college students are more than enough to sustain us."

"Angeli's Pizzeria Bar has an impressive track record of success and its entrepreneurial ownership team understands the value of working hard and establishing a presence with the community," said MCB Real Estate's Managing Director Lou J. Kousouris, III, in a statement.

"A local pizza offering is important to the fabric of a local community as they tend to become the gathering place to meet, linger and exchange ideas," Kousouris said. "This is especially true for a long-standing operator such as Angeli's Pizzeria Bar, which brings incredibly strong ties to the community. We expect a seamless and quick transition to this new format given the former restaurant use, and immediate and long-term success for the new operators."