Anthony Lanasa was pressed for both time and money when he was laid off from his job as head chef at Peabody Heights Brewery. He made a pivot, decided to open a panini shop, and a mere 27 days later, PRESSED opened its doors.
Located at 3528 Chestnut Ave., just steps away from The Avenue, hungry customers can choose from cold or hot sandwiches, snacks, and drinks. The menu rotates, with current offerings including the Thanksgiving-y CranDaddy (oven roasted turkey, cranberry pesto, spinach, and Swiss cheese on ciabatta on the cold sandwich menu for just $6.00) and the F&M Press (fig jam, Manchester Fungi oyster mushrooms, shaved red onion, and spinach on sourdough bread on the hot sandwich menu for $12.00).
Knowing how to license a restaurant came in handy for Lanasa, who has done this before.
“I knew I could license a restaurant in 14 days,” Lanasa told Baltimore Fishbowl. “I’ve done it in seven before in Baltimore County, but I just decided to take a bet on myself. And if I could find a lease within three days, I would just continue on and just keep going.”…