A Stylish and Eclectic ‘Good Neighbor’ Moves onto Falls Road

8/13/20

By Julekha Dash, Baltimore Fishbowl

Walk into Hampden’s Good Neighbor café and shop and it feels like everything was meant to be photographed for Instagram — from the Japanese ceramics to the hand-painted mirrored entrance sign and obligatory selfie spot, to the stools and chairs by Danish brand Hem. Topped with edible flowers and other colorful ingredients, even the toasts on the food menu were made to sparkle on camera.

The store represents the culmination of a lifetime of design inspirations for co-owner Shawn Chopra picked up on his travels. Chopra, who opened Good Neighbor with his wife Anne Morgan in May, was first struck by Le Corbusier’s concrete brutalist buildings and rattan weavers in his mom’s hometown of Chandigarh, India. Patrons will find the same hard and soft edges in the cafe enveloped in concrete with rattan on the ceiling. Good Neighbor incorporates Baltimore businesses into its worldly aesthetic, including Bramble Baking Co. pastries, Jinji chocolates, Goodwood Design furniture and Personal Best Ceramics. An old-school record player, design and art books, spices and even some beer and wine round out the eclectic selection of items for sale in the former Sirkis Hardware store on Falls Road.

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