Lisa Ponzoli

Lisa Ponzoli moved back to Baltimore (she grew up in the county) in the fall of 2007 to open Babe, a boutique, in Baltimore's Federal Hill. Full of professional  young women curiously the neighborhood lacked clothing stores geared towards that demographic. Recognizing that gap, Babe was Lisa's attempt to fill that void with a moderately priced shop. Two years later, with Babe well established, Lisa is glad she took a chance and has now become a neighborhood fixture.

"I love living here," Lisa says. An occasional visitor to the neighborhood before launching Babe, Lisa is happy her store brought her to Federal Hill. Now she not only lives in the neighborhood that is home to her store, she's looking to buy a house.

Eat and Drink

"All of my friends are bartenders, which can be dangerous." Lisa says with a laugh, "I really just go four places, and that's just because I'm lazy and could go any of these four places by myself and feel comfortable."

Metropolitan, the coffee house and wine bar just a few doors down from Babe, is Lisa's pick for the chill place to go, where she doesn't have to worry about anything. The Cross Street bars No Way Jose's, Billabong, and MaGerks also make her top four. "And mostly because I'm friends with all the bartenders at MaGerks, and the same with Jose's."

Shopping

When asked if she shops for clothes in the neighborhood, Lisa laughs. "I don't shop for clothes. I get clothes for free. It's a business expense." But like many Federal Hill locals, Lisa tries to keep her money in the neighborhood when she does go shopping. Accessories and supplies for her dog, Betty, come from Doggie Style on Light Street. In order to keep her store running, Lisa says she goes to Ace Hardware almost every week.

"I buy all my gifts at Funky Beehive." The gift store is just two doors down from Babe, and the owners have become good friends. Lisa says that two of the people she considers best friends now have come into her life because of her location on Charles Street. "I'm happy that my business is here. I'm happy that my business is on this block." It was easy for Lisa to make friends in the neighborhood, though, just as it seems it would be easy for anyone.

"My favorite part of Federal Hill is that everyone's really cool. It's very friendly. Even after being here for three months I felt I had been here for three years. It's very community oriented."