ANNAPOLIS, Md. — “It’s been a dream of my husband and me,” said Sarah Cahalan, owner of 49 West Coffeehouse, Winebar & Gallery.
After working at a café in Chicago, Sarah and her husband dreamed of having a spot of their own. On December 27th, 1995, they opened the doors to 49 West in downtown Annapolis.
“Little did we know, a big snowstorm came through. People didn’t know who we were or that we were open, but we opened anyway and just invited anybody who noticed us,” said Cahalan.
The café is celebrating 30 years in business. Some locals consider it “Annapolis' Living Room.”
49 West features live music, art, and a variety of food. Their menu offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner options, including pastries and some Korean dishes.
“Our locals are what helped us get through all our hard times. They’re here daily and weekly. That includes all our musicians who play here. We have art shows, and almost seven nights a week, we have live music,” said Cahalan.
On any given night, you can walk into their listening room to enjoy jazz, American roots, folk, indie, bluegrass, bossa nova, and classical music.
“We have a lot of singer-songwriters and up-and-coming artists. We also have a songwriter’s open mic every second Thursday of the month,” said Cahalan.
It’s an intimate environment with dinner and a show. Some of the dishes at 49 West are inspired by Cahalan’s childhood, including Bulgogi, Bibimbap, and ‘Sarah’s All Day Bowl.’
“This is something I grew up eating when my parents weren’t home. My mom always had rice in the rice cooker, and we’d fry up some eggs. It was just a nice meal to get us through between coming home from school and dinner time,” said Cahalan.
49 West is one of 37 restaurants participating in Annapolis Restaurant Week. The café is offering 2-course and 3-course breakfast, lunch, and dinner specials ranging from $14 to $30.
Click here to see all of the restaurants.
