After 27 years, more than 3 million meals and countless tailgates, Mother's Federal Hill Grille is set to close.

The South Baltimore bar and restaurant, a gathering place for Ravens fans, said in a Wednesday press release that it will shutter its doors on Jan. 19, 2025. Two other Mother's locations, in Arnold and Timonium, will remain open.

"While it is difficult to turn the page, we know it is the right decision," owner Dave Rather said in a statement.

He opened the Federal Hill flagship in 1997 at 1113 S. Charles St., a block from Cross Street Market and a half-mile from M&T Bank Stadium. A year later, when the Ravens started playing at The Bank, Mother's launched its Purple Patio, which became known for gameday tailgates with DJs and drink specials.

After the team's 2013 Super Bowl victory, Baltimoreans mobbed the bar, singing along to Queen's "We Are the Champions" as bartenders showered the crowd with purple silly string.

Alongside beer and mixed drinks, Mother's served a pub grub menu with options like "Baltimore's Best Buffalo Chicken" and a "Double Phat Crab Cake Dinner."

The restaurant has been sold to an "undisclosed buyer," the release said, and will undergo renovations after Mother's closes.

Reached by phone Wednesday, Rather said the decision to close was "bittersweet," but added, "it's just time for a change." He plans to hand the Mother's brand to a younger generation of managers, including his 30-year-old stepson, Terry Tragas, who has worked for the company since he was 15.

The next phase for the local restaurant chain is likely to include an expansion outside of the city. Rather said he's eyeing "multiple areas" for growth, including the Timonium region and Howard County.

He said the Federal Hill spot came with "challenges" but did not elaborate, saying only that there are "more moving parts down in the city than the other locations, so it makes it more difficult to run."

The bar and grille took its name from Rather's college nickname, Mother. The Towson University alum started throwing parties in the 1990s and launched a social club called Mom's that took revelers down to New Orleans. Mother's was the brick-and-mortar extension of the concept.

"From Day 1, we had a line to get in," he said of the bar. "We're very thankful. I never thought it would be as busy as it was."