06-11-2023 Capital Style - Flipbook - Page 16
E AT S
BY AMANDA YEAGER Capital Style
Brian and Hilarey Leonard are
the owners of Leo Annapolis,
a new upscale casual
restaurant on West Street.
PHOTOS BY KIM HAIRSTON
Leo lands in Annapolis
New restaurant serves hyperseasonal dishes in a family-friendly atmosphere
Hilarey and Brian Leonard used to joke that if they had a boy,
they would name him Leo Leonard.
They decided not to follow through when their son joined the
family three years ago. Instead, they gave the name to their new
Annapolis restaurant.
Leo, which opened on West Street in March, is the latest
hospitality business for the couple, who also own two Washington, D.C., bars, Free State and Lost & Found. But the 60-seat New
American eatery is their first restaurant.
The Leonards, who moved to Annapolis in 2019, were impressed by the community’s embrace of local businesses during
the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. They were searching
for an opportunity to join the capital city’s restaurant scene when
Dangerously Delicious Pies closed abruptly last summer at 212
West St.
They toured the pie shop’s space and decided to sign a lease
last fall. “We loved that it was in the arts district; we loved that
it was a little off the beaten path,” Hilarey said. “We kind of just
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| CAPITAL STYLE | Summer 2023
Roasted beet dip and crostini at Leo Annapolis.
