Easy Like Sunday, a restaurant specializing in breakfast and lunch, will be coming to the Village of Cross Keys by next spring.
Caves Valley Partners, owner and developer of the retail, residential and office complex in North Baltimore, said Wednesday it signed a lease with the restaurant owners for the 2,700-square-foot space where Village Square Cafe recently closed.
Easy Like Sunday is one of six leases recently signed, including a handful of soon-to-be-announced office tenants, said Arsh Mirmiran, who is leading redevelopment for Caves Valley. The developer also is negotiating with several other restaurants and plans to bring in a 3,000- to- 5,000-square-foot gourmet market.
Easy Like Sunday plans to serve breakfast, lunch and brunch, with a focus on locally-sourced ingredients and gourmet coffees.
Sean MacCuish, 37, the restaurant’s owner with his wife Anna, 29, described the Cross Keys concept as “an elevated breakfast and brunch space, focused on traditional breakfast cuisine with basic eggs, meat, potatoes, French toast, but elevated items.”
The owners, who also operate an Easy Like Sunday in Charlotte, North Carolina, expect the menu to include dishes such as shrimp and grits, blueberry ricotta lemon pancakes, fried chicken and cornmeal pancakes and craft mimosas and cocktails.
“We don’t like to get too far away from the classics, because every breakfast lover can appreciate the simplicity of pancakes and eggs — it’s the use of quality ingredients such as cage-free eggs and 100% maple syrup that makes all the difference,” MacCuish said, adding that the restaurant also will have a bit more emphasis on lunch and some Baltimore favorites, including seafood.
Anna MacCuish grew up in Baltimore, the daughter of owners of G&A Restaurant. The diner, known for its Coney Island hot dogs, started in a Highlandtown rowhouse in 1927 and after closing last summer relocated several weeks ago to Philadelphia Road in White Marsh.
Sean MacCuish, Easy Like Sunday’s head chef, comes from San Diego and has worked in the restaurant industry since he was 16, working his way up from dishwasher to kitchen and front-of-the-house jobs. Just before the pandemic hit in February 2020, he and his wife opened their first restaurant, the Easy Like Sunday concept in Charlotte, where they found an ideal location and had family nearby.
The restaurant caught on, winning a best new brunch spot award. When they were ready to expand, they looked to Baltimore to be closer to Anna MacCuish’s parents and other family.
With a team in place to run the Charlotte restaurant, the couple plans to relocate to and raise their family in Baltimore.
Sean MacCuish said he was impressed by ongoing redevelopment of Cross Keys, originally developed in 1965 by Jim Rouse and acquired in July 2020 by Caves Valley.
During a visit to Baltimore, “We went by and checked it out and fell in love with their vision,” Sean MacCuish said.
Caves Valley has been renovating and signing new office and retail tenants. A residential developer plans to begin construction of a 300-unit apartment building later this year or by early next year, Mirmiran said. The office space is about 90 percent occupied.
“The office leasing has been really, really steady, and we’re working on getting retail leasing caught up,” he said.
He said Easy Like Sunday will help continue Cross Keys’ long-standing tradition as a “power” breakfast and lunch meeting spot.
“Easy Like Sunday is a perfect fit for Cross Keys,” Mirmiran said in an announcement. “The vibe, the local roots, and the creative menu will draw customers from throughout Baltimore.”
