In Good Taste

Woody Harrelson Visits Baltimore

Woody Harrelson co-hosts a charity dinner at the Inn at the Black Olive.

Emmy award-winning actor Woody Harrelson is coming to town this Sunday for a special July 27 charity event dinner at the Inn at the Black Olive.

The sold-out event, held at the Olive room on the rooftop floor of the Inn at the Black Olive, will feature raw vegan foods and organic wines in keeping with the actor’s passion for healthy fare.

Although the charity dinner is sold out, Baltimoreans might still get a chance to see the Oscar-nominated actor in action. “We’ll probably ride bikes around Fells Point and go to yoga at Charm City—that’s what he likes to do,” reports Inn general manager Dimitris Spiliadis whose family owned the boutique hotel until they ran into financial issues about a year ago. (Spiliadis also adds that Charm City Yoga gave the actor a lifetime membership.)

Just before the Inn went under, Harrelson and local banker John “Jack Dwyer” stepped in and purchased the struggling spot last March, in part, thanks to a friendship between Dimitris and Harrelson, who have been friends ever since the actor was in town filming HBO’s Game Change and bunked at the Fells Point inn for seven weeks.

“We kept in touch, and he happened to text me on a day when things were not going well, ‘How are you doing?,’” recalls Spiliadis of his exchange with Harrelson. “It was the worst day ever and everything was falling apart. I said, ‘I’m not the best’—I didn’t know what else to say. Everything my family had was invested in that place.”

When Harrelson heard that the hotel—including the Black Olive Inn and the Agora Market—would be closing, he decided to step in. “He said, ‘No problem, buddy. I’ll do it. I’ll help,’” recalls Spiliadis.

Sunday night’s event will mark Harrelson’s debut as the new owner.

Proceeds from the sold-out event will benefit Great Kids Farm, a non-profit organization providing opportunities for city public school students to study food preparation.