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To acknowledge women’s struggles, activism, and feminism, Congress recognized National Women’s History Month in 1987. Every March, we acknowledge the institutionalized and thus normalized sexist barriers that women experience. 

Therefore, March is a wonderful opportunity to shop small, women-owned businesses. Luckily in Baltimore, we have lots of female-owned businesses. Here are our top picks, all not too far from your home at Union Wharf: 

Tea Time

Emma Canoles

Emma’s Tea Spot | 5500 Harford Road, Baltimore, MD 21214

410.444.1718 | emmateaspot.com

A master gardener, reiki practitioner, executive chef, and activist, Emma Canoles has harbored a lifelong dream of connecting people to nature through food and tea. Her shop bursts with events such as classes, movie nights, and children’s activities. The menu boasts soups, salads, sandwiches, and, yes, tea, made from scratch using local ingredients. There are also British imported food and gifts and full high tea service with cream and scones. It has been voted Best of Baltimore and is looking for a larger venue to host events, such as weddings and baby showers.

Sunni Gilliam

Teavolve | 1401 Aliceanna Street, Baltimore, MD 21231

410.522.1907 | teavolve.com

Aiming to beat her espresso addiction, Sunni Gilliam embarked on a tea journey. Falling in love with the health benefits of tea, Gilliam aspired to share it with the world. Hence Teavolve’s beginnings in 2005. The menu explores traditional breakfast, brunch, and lunch options with egg dishes, waffles, paninis, and crepes. Teavolve even serves delicious sangrias and cocktails.

Food and Drink

Jesse Sandlin

Sally O’s | 3531 Gough Street, Baltimore, MD 21224

410.624.5631 | sallyos.com 

Former Top Chef contestant Jesse Sandlin is bringing her talents, skills, and passions to her own restaurant. Named after her grandmother, Sally O’s serves delectable drinks, eats, and desserts; there’s truly something for everyone. Sandlin innovates her dishes by adding a gourmet twist to traditional American cuisine. Besides the amazing food, Sally O’s is an aesthetically-pleasing eatery with hand-painted wallpaper, eclectic artwork, and furniture with layered textures and fabrics.

Nancy Longo

Pierpoint | 1822 Aliceanna Street, Baltimore, MD 21231

410.675.2080 | pierpointrestaurant.com

Featured on the Today Show, Nancy Longo has been recognized as a reputable chef and businesswoman. For twenty years, she has represented the Baltimore Ravens in the Superbowl’s Taste of the NFL event. 

With over thirty years of chef experience, Longo has crafted flavorful dishes and cuisine that melt in your mouth. From faux pho to shrimp and grits, the menu blends various international cuisines with Baltimorean staples. Sharing her passion for cooking, Pierpoint offers cooking classes and kids camps. 

Sarah Simington

Blue Moon Cafe | 1621 Aliceanna Street, Baltimore, MD 21231

410.522.3940 | bluemoonbaltimore.com

After years of watching her mother whip up some of the best breakfast foods, Sarah Simington developed a passion for cooking. In 1996, she translated this passion into her own diner, Blue Moon Cafe.

Blue Moon Cafe serves savory and sweet breakfast options from benedicts to fluffy french toasts. The diner has a rock-and-roll attitude with eclectic artwork and fun music.

Hair and Style

Krysta Embardino

Liz Godneck

Revelry Hair Studio | 130 North Bond Street, Suite 104, Bel Air, MD 21014 

410.598.7804 | 443.693.3355 | revelryhairstudio.com 

With a combined cosmetology background of more than 20 years, Krysta Embardino and Liz Gondeck of Revelry Hair Studio are proving it’s all about quality, not quantity. 

Revelry puts time, effort, and creativity into each client so they leave feeling beautiful on the outside, as well as the inside. The studio also offers opportunities to local high school students, donates to school fundraisers, and ran an event benefiting a local nonprofit organization to help build a better community and future.

Kelly Krohn Heuisler

Poppy & Stella | 728 South Broadway Street, Baltimore, MD 21241

410.522.1970 | poppyandstella.com

Fourteen years ago, Kelley Krohn Heuisler simply sold shoes at Poppy & Stella. Today, her business has bloomed into an empire with four fabulous storefronts that have expanded into Ellicott City and Cantonsville. 

Catering to the latest trends and fads, Poppy & Stella retails cute apparel, accessories, and shoes. From pastels to eclectic shades and patterns, Poppy & Stella is a one-stop-shop for a size small to a 3X.

Art and Props

Giulietta Pinna

Limonata Creative – Prop Up Shop | Baltimore, MD 21224

limonatacreative.com

A Fashion Institute of Technology graduate, Giulietta Pinna has translated her artistic vision and dream into prop styling. With a decade of experience working in fine art galleries, and dealing and trading artworks, Pinna expanded her skills for editorials and magazines like The Washington Post and Southern Living Magazine. The prop shop also caters to the everyday person with moodboard creations, prop rentals, and products. 

Health and Wellness

Theresa Cangialosi

SoBotanical | 48 East Cross Street, Baltimore, MD 21230

410.234.0333 | sobotanical.com

In 1987, Theresa Cangialosi opened the first apothecary bar in the U.S. By 2022, she has launched apothecary educational programs, and has worked with various hospitals on holistic health approaches. 

Aspiring to help those on their healing journeys, SoBotanical provides essential oils and natural remedies for insomnia, pain, stress, and aging. They also retail skincare and haircare products.

Happy Women’s History Month

Shop women-owned businesses this month and every month. Compared to their patriarchal counterparts, women-owned businesses are historically—and currently—disadvantaged. Women traditionally receive less bank funding and contract bids to start up their own businesses.

Combat inequality and injustice by shopping from women throughout Women’s History Month and beyond.