Spike Gjerde has been a prominent part of Baltimore’s restaurant community since he opened Spike & Charlie’s with his brother in 1991. Along with his wife, Amy, Spike opened Woodberry Kitchen in 2007, expanding his commitment to local agriculture by working closely with over 60 different farmers and growers throughout the Chesapeake watershed. In doing so, it supplies the restaurant with meats, eggs, oysters, grains, fish & shellfish, cheeses, and produce. In July 2012, Spike and Amy opened Artifact Coffee, a coffee-driven destination featuring food and beverages that are fresh, local and made-to-order all day long. In October of 2013 the pair opened Shoo-fly, located in Belvedere Square, offering the same locally-sourced foods to families of the area incarnated as comfort food. During a period of relocation for Shoo-fly, the space serves as home for Canningshed, the canning operation that supplies Woodberry Kitchen, Artifact Coffee, Parts & Labor and now Grand Cru with preserved local produce year-round. In April of 2014, Parts & Labor was opened which focuses on locally-pastured meats butchered from whole animals in house and sold both in the retail shop as well as in a restaurant centered around an open hearth. Grand Cru, also located in Belvedere Square came under the group’s management in March 2015, and serves as both a wine bar and bottle shop, with a forward-thinking and neighborhood feel. Much like Woodberry Kitchen, all locations rely on Spike’s longstanding relationships with the growers of the Chesapeake and supports agriculture that respects the abundance and traditions of the region while helping to ensure its future.