Eddie Dopkin is expanding his empire of restaurants in the 400 and 500 blocks of Cold Spring Lane.

Dopkin already has the market virtually cornered with Loco Hombre, Miss Shirley's, Alonso's and S'ghetti Eddie's.

On Nov. 4, he bought the property that formerly housed Sam's Bagels. Now, he is busy making improvements including landscaping, painting and sidewalk repairs.

Dopkin plans to open a restaurant there in January serving sandwiches, breakfast items -- including bagels -- and a "very, very good coffee not available in Baltimore," he said, declining to elaborate.

There will be inside seating and carryout service, Dopkin said. Eventually, he hopes to start delivery service on weekends.

"We think it will be a natural for people that live in the neighborhood and students down the street at Loyola (College) as well," he said.

He has a name for the new restaurant, but won't say what it is.

Part of the building will be used as offices for all the his eateries on Cold Spring.

Dopkin said he bought the building partly because he was upset that it wasn't being kept up and reflected badly on the area.

"The condition that side of the block is kept (in) has been a thorn in my side for years," he said.

That won't be a problem now.

"We have a habit of maintaining our properties," Dopkin said.

Dopkin, who also owns Classic Catering People in Owings Mills and GlasZ Cafe in the Lake Falls Shopping Center, has been expanding his presence on Cold Spring steadily. In 2006, he moved Miss Shirley's from the former Hair Cuttery building to the old Big Sky Bread Company location across the street. Then he opened S'ghetti Eddie's where Miss Shirley's was.

Community leaders have praised Dopkin for almost single-handedly reinvigorating a commercial strip that was plagued by vacancies. He made a big splash in August 2006, when he announced he would spend as much as $500,000 to move Miss Shirley's and to open S'ghetti Eddie's.

Dopkin's name is known as far away as Harford County, where he was guest speaker at Baltimore-Harford Entrepreneurs Club luncheon in August 2007.

The Bare Hills resident, 56, is a partner in Classic Catering People with his sisters and a cousin, and president of Classic Catering Management and the Crazy Man Restaurant Group. Classic Catering People is one of the largest catering companies in Maryland.

Altogether, his restaurants and catering businesses employee about 500 people.

He has been considered a good business neighbor on Cold Spring, although there was some negotiating and concern before Roland Park and Keswick community leaders said they would support a liquor license at Miss Shirley's. Residents said last year they were concerned about parking and hours of operation at Miss Shirley's.

In a 2006 interview, Dopkin explained his rationale for opening so many eateries on one stretch of Cold Spring between Roland Avenue and Charles Street.

"There really isn't a lot of family-style eating between Falls Road and York Road, all the way up to Towson," he said then.

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