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The Urban Oyster Operating Out Of Hotel Revival Rent Free Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Something's sizzling at Hotel Revival in Baltimore.

Bay burgers topped with caramelized onions and seafood stacks made up of crab cakes, grilled shrimp and bacon on toasted bread.

The Urban Oyster is now open at a pop-up space inside the hotel.

"We wanted to give them a space for free to operate their business," Jason Bass, Director of Culture and Impact at Hotel Revival, said.

It's part of the hotel's pop-up and pick-up effort to help restaurants struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic

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"We have the space and we have a team that would be willing to support you as you're going through that tough time," Bass said.

Tough times have fallen on businesses like The Urban Oyster, who used to have a restaurant in Locust Point.

"Unfortunately, due to COVID, we had to shut it down this past summer in July," Jasmine Norton, of The Urban Oyster, said.

Then, Hotel Revival invited them to use their space, rent-free.

"It's a chance for me to kind of recoup from having such a high overhead," Norton said.

"We're going to support each other as we go through this rough season, that's what community people do," Bass said.

A community eager to help, unwilling to see Norton's business go.

"Us being a Black-owned, female-owned oyster bar is historic," Norton said. "It's very important to Baltimore that it's not something that we lose."

The Urban Oyster is open Thursdays through Sundays offering curbside pickup and delivery.

"If you haven't had The Urban Oyster, this is the time to get it," Bass said.

For the latest information on coronavirus go to the Maryland Health Department's website or call 211. You can find all of WJZ's coverage on coronavirus in Maryland here.

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