[Chat] "Business as usual at Pete’s"

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http://www.mddailyrecord.com/archives/5_190_wednesday/businessnews/165089-1.html

Volume: 5   Number: 190_wednesday
February 16, 2005

Business as usual at Pete’s

New owner says no changes in store for diner

By KARA KRIDLER
Daily Record Business Writer

Pete’s Grille, pictured above, has been a mainstay in North Baltimore’s 
Waverly neighborhood for 25 years. Its new owner, who bought the business last 
year, said little will change at the breakfast hotspot. Photo by Max Franz

It’s been called a regular place where everyone is welcome, a plate of three 
pancakes and bacon is $5, a couple hundred regulars are called by their first 
names, and most recently where Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps got his 
3,000-plus calorie breakfast while training.

But for the first time in 13 years, Pete’s Grille, a mainstay in the Waverly 
neighborhood of North Baltimore, doesn’t have Lou and Char Sharkey as 
fixtures.

The Sharkeys gave up 3:30 a.m. wake-up calls late last month and handed over 
their spatulas, grills and waffle iron to new owners David Stahl and Darlene 
Castle.

Stahl and Castle, long-time friends, officially bought Pete’s in August, but 
the Sharkeys stayed around until a few weeks ago.

“Pete’s had a good feel when I came in here,” said Stahl. “It seemed like a 
place that I would enjoy, and in fact, I really do. I think it is all about 
the people who come in.”

Stahl was never a customer at Pete’s, located at 3130 Greenmount Ave., before 
buying the eatery. He said he stumbled across it in his search for a new 
business to buy. He did not disclose the sales price.

Neither Stahl nor Castle has previous experience running a restaurant — not 
even a snack bar.

Stahl was an information technology consultant for the past seven years. 
Prior to that, he owned an executive search firm. Castle was a mortgage banker.

“I have always had my own business. … But the only cooking experience I have 
gotten was at [Pete’s]. Lou worked with me for the past [several] months,” 
Stahl said.

Aside from losing Lou Sharkey, Pete’s head cook, Stahl has kept the exact 
same staff.

“The only difference is that now I am a cook,” he said. Stahl is accompanied 
by another cook who worked for the Sharkeys.

Stahl said Pete’s has been “business as usual” since the Sharkeys left. “
And this is our objective,” he said.

Stahl plans to keep the same hours, same menu, same prices and the same 
overall feel at Pete’s.

“No changes are planned. This is a formula that works and I don’t want to 
tweak it at all,” Stahl said. Even the annual pancake-eating contest is still 
scheduled for the fall.

Customers have been very responsive to the way Pete’s is run, Stahl said. 
This is one of the reasons Stahl asked the Sharkeys to stay on for six months 
after the sale.

“This is a place with a strong relationship between the customers and the 
owners, which is very important,” Stahl said. “I wanted [the Sharkeys] to help 
transition those relationships — and it worked. We haven’t missed a beat.”

Stahl said he has even gotten used to rising before 4 a.m. “It’s really no 
problem at all. I thought it would be tough, but it’s not,” he said.

The Sharkeys wanted to find an owner who would do a good job with the 
restaurant, said Winkie Campbell-Notar, manager of the Waverly Main Street, an 
initiative to revitalize the urban commercial district in the area where Pete’s is 
located.

“Pete’s Grille is one of our destination businesses in Waverly,” 
Campbell-Notar said. “It’s a great restaurant that brings in folks from all over the 
city, county and even farther.” 
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