Car Hops, Burgers and Shakes: Sonic is Coming to Ellicott City

The throwback drive-in burger joint is headed to Route 40.

Car Hops, Burgers and Shakes: Sonic is Coming to Ellicott City

The throwback drive-in burger joint is moving in on Route 40.

Yes, it’s true. Sonic is coming to Elliott City.  The fast food chain, known for keeping the drive-in, car hop and mixed fountain drink alive, will be moving in to 10164 Baltimore National Pike, at the site formerly occupied by 84 Lumber. When is it coming? “Well, given that this is now my fourth development project, I’m very reluctant to put a date out there,” said franchisee David Crocetti, who lives in Ellicott City. “It would be great if we could be open by the end of summer,” he said. Crocetti owns Sonics in Randallstown, Baltimore city and Edgewater, so he knows these things take time. Once the restaurant does open, it will feature throw-back style fast food, the restaurant’s signature car ports, and something a little different. “…

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Ellicott City Scoop: LaLa's Opening Soon

The sign for LaLa's has been on Main Street for more than a year. The owner says he's in the final stretch.

The sign has been teasing Main Street for more than a year now: LaLa’s Ice Cream Parlor.  So when is it opening?  “April 1,” owner Brendan Flannery said Thursday afternoon. “Absolutely.” That date is for the soft opening, Flannery said. He hasn’t pinned down a date for the grand opening, but it should be some time in the middle of the month, he said. We’re going to give the whole parlor away that day ... free ice cream. It’ll be pretty cool.” LaLa’s, at 8054 Main Street, will carry a variety of soft-serve and hand-dipped ice cream, milkshakes, sundaes and hot dots, including vegan hot dogs. Flannery has been selling those on the street from his cart in front of Portalli’s and the Diamondback Tavern since December. He's on the street …

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Peter Edelen

4:09 pm on Thursday, March 21, 2013

(was thinking the same thing) :-)   more ›

Journey from Junk to Jewels in Ellicott City

The Main Street store is expanding and will soon offer furniture restoration classes.

It's looks so easy on those television shows - finding a old, unloved piece of furniture, sprucing it up in over a series of montages and then, voila, that moldy piece of driftwood is suddenly a funky end table. It's rarely that simple.   A Journey From Junk owner Kelli Myers, however, has been fixing up old furniture for years. On Friday she'll be celebrating the opening of her newest store: A Journey From Junk, A Home Decor Boutique. The first floor of the boutique, next to Hi Ho Silver in Tongue Row, will sell repurposed and vintage furniture as well as art and other home goods. On the second floor (3736 Old Columbia Pike), will be one of the more unique spaces in the Historic District - a furniture workshop where you can learn to paint…

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It's Almost Tea Time in Ellicott City

Matcha Time Cafe wants to pour its first cup of tea no later than Memorial Day.

Hatsumi Watanabe-Smith has had to be patient.  She expected to open Matcha Time, a Japanese Tea House, in the summer of 2012, but obtaining all of the correct permits took much longer than she expected. So she opened up a gift shop last year, in time for Midnight Madness and continued working with the county on obtaining permits. Fast forward to March 2013 and her husband, Derek, is confident he would have a building permit in hand by Friday, March 8. "The hope," he said from the partially complete room that will soon be a tea house, "Is that we can have a Grand Opening in May. The thought is Memorial Day Weekend or earlier." The two plan to have a soft opening before then, "We'll just unlock the door," he said, "And let people find their …

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Glory Days Coming to Ellicott City

The new sports bar and restaurant is expected to open in the fall of 2013.

A Maryland-based sports bar chain, is planning to open a location in Ellicott City, Bmoremedia.com reports. Construction is expected to begin on Glory Days Grill this summer at Forest Green, a LEED Silver-certified residential and commercial complex coming to Route 40 at the site of the former Forest Diner. Jeff Newman, co-founder of the 16-year-old Gaithersburg company told Bmoremedia.com that there was little competition in the area; “Nobody is playing in our sandbox.” About 100 people will work in the 6,000-square-foot restaurant on which the company is spending $1.3 million, according to Bmoremedia.com. The restaurant will sit 300 people, and have a glass-covered atrium and heaters for outside dining all year.  Glory Days Grill has 22 …

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Just in Time: Matcha Time

The Japanese tea house hopes to have some edible offerings in time for Midnight Madness.

Hatsumi Watanabe-Smith thought that her Japanese tea house, Matcha Time, would be serving up piping hot tea and maybe even a few Japanese delicacies by July or August of 2012. Then, she thought, as the business grew, maybe she would also add a gift shop. Instead, she is still working with the Health Department on obtaining a permit to serve food and drink and the tea house is still in the future. The gift shop, however, has opened. Watanabe-Smith has filled the little shop with toys and accessories, including a line of handmade silk purses—called Kimono—designed especially for Matcha Time. And she's hoping that after an inspection by the Department of Licenses, she'll be able to sell pre-packaged food and drink items Friday, just in time …

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Spinal Solutions: Miles of Health Wellness Center

The owner of a new wellness center in Ellicott City says posture is one of the keys to well-being.

Ellicott City residents Roger and Lindsey Miles opened Miles of Healing earlier this year at 4920 Waterloo Road, Suite A. The wellness center is dedicated to pain alleviation using Egoscue, a technique that focuses on correcting posture. Miles of Health offers other services too, including wellness courses.  What’s your background? Roger Miles: My wife [Lindsey Miles] and I own the business. I’ve been an entrepreneur my entire life and my wife was an occupational therapist for 10 years. We decided to open a business because we saw how people weren’t getting cared for in the healthcare industry. We came upon Egoscue, a pill-free treatment that we offer. We work with clients, teach them the exercises, so that they can alleviate the pain …

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Food For All: Gluten-Free Restaurant Opens in Ellicott City

A new Ellicott City restaurant wants you to eat well, no matter your food allergies.

Larry Hill’s face lights up with delight when he says, “I can have toast in the morning.”  About eight years ago, Hill was diagnosed with celiac disease. Since then, he has tried to maintain a gluten-free diet to help repair and maintain his damaged digestive system.  It has been a challenge; his smile gives that away when asked if he has been “responsible” with his diet. “Don’t make me feel guilty,” he said.  But sticking to a healthy diet has become much easier for Hill since One Dish Cuisine moved into his neighborhood.  When he first heard that a gluten and allergy-free restaurant was setting up shop just a few blocks away from him in Taylor Village on Hillsborough Road, he said, “I thought it was too good to be true.” One Dish Cuisine…

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Take A Look: Randy & Steve's The New General Store

This new Main Street shop brings necessities - and luxuries - to the Historic District.

It smells fantastic in Randy & Steve’s The New General Store.  Maybe it’s the Green Market Purveying Co. candles, or maybe it’s the cooler-turned-culinary herb garden. But the smell is … aah. “I don’t even notice it anymore,” co-owner Randy Neely said, as he gave a tour of the recently-opened shop at 8249 Main Street. Former Good Life Market owners Neely and Steve Archuleta opened the store on Sept. 29 in the space formerly occupied by Yates Market. Though there are hints of Yates – which had been in business for more than 125 years – the space is decidedly their own.  “Do you remember this?” Neely asked. He was standing in front of a wood-framed greenhouse that takes center stage in the shop. It was a 1904-era walk-in cooler, he said.  …

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