Why Max's Taphouse Owner Is Sounding the Alarm on Fells Point's Empty Storefronts

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Ron Furman opened Max's Taphouse in February 1986. Over nearly four decades, he turned a modest neighborhood bar into an internationally recognized craft beer institution boasting more than 100 draft lines and thousands of rare bottles. Furman survived recessions, the closure of maritime shipyards, and periods of urban unrest. He built his business on the bedrock belief that Fells Point's magnetic blend of maritime heritage, live music, and walkability made it impervious to long-term decline.

That conviction is facing its stiffest challenge yet. When Furman steps outside onto Broadway today, the density of foot traffic tells a cautionary story. Longtime neighbors have shut their doors, and prime retail storefronts remain empty for months, sometimes years, at a stretch.

For an anchor tenant like Max's Taphouse, empty storefronts represent more than an aesthetic blemish. Retail ecology depends on critical mass. A bustling clothing boutique, a vibrant art gallery, and a bustling corner bakery create the daytime foot traffic that feeds evening taverns. When retail spaces go dark, the street loses its casual browsers, leaving solitary bar owners to carry the financial weight of district vitality on their own.