Two New Restaurants, Three Blocks Apart: What Changed On Washington Street This Summer
Washington Street gained two new restaurants by summer 2026, but the addresses tell a tighter story than the title suggests. Kooper’s Saloon is at 207–209 N. Washington Street, and Butcher on the Bay is at 226 N. Washington Street. Both are on the 200 block.
That correction matters because proximity is the real story. Two familiar restaurant spaces changed hands within about 12 weeks, bringing two very different dining options to one compact section of downtown Havre de Grace. Kooper’s formally arrived in April with burgers, seafood and cocktails. Butcher on the Bay opened July 15 with a steak-and-seafood concept inside one of the city’s most historically significant buildings.
I read this as more than a pair of openings. The 200 block now offers a clearer choice between a casual stop and a reservation-oriented dinner, all on a section of Washington Street that was physically rebuilt before the 2026 season began.
The restaurants did not open during the same week or even the same season. They arrived close enough together, however, to change the block within a single spring-to-summer stretch.
| Restaurant | Address | Previous restaurant | 2026 milestone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kooper’s Saloon | 207–209 N. Washington Street | Laurrapin Grille | Ribbon cutting April 22 |
| Butcher on the Bay | 226 N. Washington Street | Abbey Burger Bistro | Public opening July 15 |
The Havre de Grace Chamber of Commerce welcomed Kooper’s Saloon with an April 22 ribbon cutting. Butcher on the Bay followed about 12 weeks later, according to WMAR’s opening report.
So the accurate description is that two new restaurant anchors arrived on Washington Street by summer. Kooper’s opened in spring. Butcher on the Bay opened as summer was underway.
Kooper’s Saloon occupies the former Laurrapin Grille address. The restaurant expands a Baltimore-area operation whose other businesses include the original Kooper’s Tavern in Fells Point, Kooper’s North in Timonium and the Kooper’s Chowhound Burger Wagon.
The Havre de Grace location is positioned as a casual restaurant with burgers, seafood, sandwiches, appetizers, beer and cocktails. Its current online menu includes The Mouth Smashburger, local fish tacos, lobster bisque, fish and chips, fried pickles and a Susquehanna Spritz.
That range makes Kooper’s the more flexible of the two new options. It can work for a burger, a seafood dish or drinks before another downtown event. The published schedule also extends later on Friday and Saturday than it does during the week:
Restaurant hours and menu availability can change, especially during an opening season. Checking the restaurant’s ordering page before heading downtown is the practical move.
Kooper’s also has another Havre de Grace project in its plans. The group announced Sam’s Seafood Shack as a separate waterfront concept behind the saloon, with an outdoor bar, water views and a multilevel deck. Reporting on the expansion described it as a summer 2026 project.
A confirmed opening date was not available at publication. For now, Sam’s should be treated as a planned addition rather than an open stop on a downtown itinerary.
Across the same section of Washington Street, Butcher on the Bay has taken over the former Abbey Burger Bistro space at 226 N. Washington Street. Abbey Burger announced its Havre de Grace closure in August 2025 after operating there for about five years.
Butcher on the Bay is an offshoot of Butcher & Bay, the Kingsville specialty market associated with the family behind Geresbeck’s Food Market. Co-owner Justin Graham told The Baltimore Banner that the restaurant idea developed after the Kingsville market opened.
Preopening reporting identified chef Ricky Foxwell as the kitchen lead. The planned menu was expected to emphasize beef, including meat from Roseda Farm in Monkton, alongside Chesapeake-influenced dishes featuring crabs, blue catfish and snakehead.
Because the restaurant opened July 15, those details are best read as the direction established before opening, not a guarantee that every reported dish will be available on every visit. A new restaurant’s menu and service rhythm can take time to settle.
That distinction does not weaken the broader point. Butcher on the Bay is designed for a different use than Kooper’s Saloon. One offers a casual tavern format with burgers, seafood and cocktails. The other enters the block as a steak-and-seafood restaurant suited to a planned dinner.
The address at 226 N. Washington Street is the Elizabeth Rodgers House, generally dated to about 1785–1788. Local historical records say John and Elizabeth Rodgers operated an inn and tavern there. George Washington recorded dining with Rodgers in 1787.
The building was damaged during the British attack in May 1813 and later repaired. Architectural-history sources identify it as Havre de Grace’s only surviving 18th-century building.
Its uses have changed repeatedly. The property history includes Read’s Drug Store, Rodgers House Tavern, other commercial businesses and Abbey Burger. Butcher on the Bay adds another food-and-drink chapter to a property that served as an inn and tavern near the beginning of Havre de Grace’s history.
That is a meaningful contrast within the block. Kooper’s brings an established regional tavern brand into a familiar restaurant space. Butcher on the Bay pairs a new local concept with a building whose hospitality history reaches back more than two centuries.
The openings make more sense when placed against the work completed downtown in 2025.
Havre de Grace celebrated completion of its Downtown Restoration Project in October 2025. According to the Chamber’s project summary, the work included expanded sidewalks, pedestrian-oriented design, infrastructure renewal, streetscape changes and parallel parking.
A sidewalk policy adopted in November 2025 then set rules specifically for the 100 and 200 blocks of North Washington Street. The policy creates a commerce zone where qualifying businesses can place items such as tables, chairs, signs and merchandise while maintaining a clear pedestrian corridor.
That sequence is the most useful explanation of what changed this summer:
There is no reliable evidence yet that these restaurants have increased property values, restaurant sales or downtown foot traffic. Claims like that would be premature. What can be observed is more direct: the rebuilt block now has two new dining anchors with different price points, menus and reasons to visit.
Washington Street already had an event schedule. The restaurants add choices around it.
First Friday runs from May through October in 2026. This year’s plan added a main stage at Pennington Avenue and Washington Street, a family activity area on the 100 block, and expanded storefronts, café seating and beer gardens on the 100 and 200 blocks. The remaining 2026 First Friday dates are August 7, September 4 and October 2.
The free Friday Night Summer Concert Series also continues at Millard Tydings Memorial Park on South Washington Street. That creates a straightforward local routine: choose a downtown dinner, then continue along Washington Street toward the waterfront programming.
Kooper’s can serve the casual end of that plan. Butcher on the Bay adds a more scheduled dinner option. First Friday brings activity directly onto the blocks surrounding both restaurants, while the concert series extends the evening toward the park.
The dining choices are new. The public events and waterfront connection are the established framework that makes those choices useful.
The short answer is not simply “two restaurants opened.”
A recently restored downtown block gained two contrasting restaurant concepts in familiar spaces. Kooper’s Saloon brought a regional tavern operation to the former Laurrapin address in April. Butcher on the Bay brought a new steak-and-seafood concept to the historic Elizabeth Rodgers House in July.
They are not three blocks apart. They are on the same block, which makes the shift more concentrated than the title suggests.
For residents, that concentration is the practical change. Washington Street now offers another casual dining choice, another planned-dinner choice and a possible future waterfront concept, all tied into an existing calendar of First Fridays and free summer concerts.
I follow details like these because neighborhood knowledge is built one address, opening and project timeline at a time. If a move, sale or investment is on your horizon, Rose Calderone + Co. can help you assess the property and the surrounding market with the same care.
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