From the Woodberry Kitchen team, this retail market will expand access to regenerative food and support the growth of small farms and the regional food system.
Ecco Market LLC is a new venture from the team behind Woodberry Kitchen, Baltimore’s acclaimed restaurant known for its deep commitment to local food and local sourcing. For nearly two decades, Woodberry has worked in partnership with growers and watermen throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed, offering a model of hospitality rooted in environmental care and culinary integrity. Ecco Market will carry that legacy forward by establishing a combined production kitchen, trattoria, deli, and retail space within a renovated 5,000-square-foot industrial mill. This new hub will enable the team to scale up pasta, dairy, and baking operations while bringing thoughtfully sourced food to a wider, more diverse audience.
With production, distribution, and service all underpinned by values of ecological care and food equity, Ecco Market will have an undeniable impact on the Baltimore community and beyond—making good food more available, more approachable, and more embedded in everyday life.
Loan funds will be used to purchase furniture, fixtures, and equipment for the historic 5,000-square-foot mill building in Baltimore that will serve as the flagship space for Ecco Market. This space will function as an integrated culinary hub—home to a production kitchen, trattoria, bakery, deli, two bars, and a retail marketplace. The fit-out will provide the essential infrastructure required to launch and operate the market.
This loan represents the final capital needed to complete the project, enabling the procurement and installation of all core equipment and furnishings necessary to bring Ecco Market to life.
Ecco Market is a new Italian-inspired market, grocery store, and production kitchen from Spike Gjerde, a pioneer of Baltimore’s regional food movement. Ecco Market’s goal is to leverage the accessibility and deliciousness of Italian cuisine, to fuel the growth of the region’s regenerative producers. Ecco Market’s commitments include:
Ecco Market will spotlight producers and makers across the Mid‑Atlantic region, offering Baltimore residents year‑round access to locally sourced foods outside of the traditional farmers market. Its stewardship commitments include:
Ecological Stewardship
This loan will be made to Ecco Market LLC, a Maryland limited liability company. Ecco Market is a retail market which will expand access to locally grown, regenerative food in Baltimore, Maryland.
This loan will be used to finance leasehold improvements, equipment and initial inventory for the new venture. The total loan amount is $816,000.00.
This loan is secured by a first priority lien on all personal property held by Ecco Market LLC. In addition to the first priority lien, a leasehold mortgage and an assignment of the lease will be held by Steward for 3300 Clipper Mill Road, Baltimore, MD, the location in which Ecco Market will operate.
This loan is set at a 9% interest rate, and an 8.5% net interest rate for lenders. Interest only payments will begin one month after the origination of the loan and run through month twelve. After the initial interest only period, the loan will be paid monthly with principal and interest payments on a 10-year amortization schedule.
Get project announcements, farmer introductions, company updates, and more by subscribing to the Steward newsletter. Join our growing community of people who are making regenerative agriculture the foundation of our future.
Join a growing community of sustainably-minded lenders reaping the rewards from responsible farming