Frederick Biz Buzz, 12.8.2017
Technology Meets History
By Mary Ellen Mitchell
Frederick tech giant Regent Education will celebrate its transition to the historic and renovated Union Mills as the building's first residents on Dec. 20. A ribbon cutting will take place from 1-3 p.m. at 340 E. Patrick St, Suite 201. Registration is required, see below.
Regent, a tech company started in Frederick, has called downtown home over the past 10 years in offices on E. South St and W. Church St. The latest move is a match that made sense for them - in both keeping the downtown vibe and finding a place to expand operations. Regent provides financial aid management software to higher education institutions across the United States.
Director of Office Operations Cindy Srun has been with the company for nearly 10 years through Regent's tenancy at the Spite House and Firehouse Financial, and appreciates the chance to work in another historic space. “We wanted to be close to downtown and didn’t want to lose the opportunity to work in a space that provides that charm, Srun said.
“Plus, in the tech world the drive to Frederick is a reverse commute and that makes Frederick even more attractive for attaining loyal employees.”
In early 2018 another downtown tech company, Yakabod , will move in as the second tenant at Union Mills. Yakabod offers software and services in a proprietary product that is customizable and offers secured knowledge sharing for the intelligence community. “We love downtown, but had outgrown our space to the point where staff meetings were standing room only in our conference room,” said Scott Ryser, Yakabod founder. By relocating to the third floor of Union Mills, the company can expand from 30 to 50 employees and has the potential to double or triple revenue.
Management at Regent and Yakabod praise the design and renovation of the old knitting factory, which has retained character of the historic building. The patina of old brick and original floors against a modern esthetic of exposed beams and duct work honor what was and what is yet to come. Both companies sited walkability to downtown as a key reason to move into Union Mills. Regent encourages its employees to venture down Carroll Creek for lunch breaks and meetings. In the place of the former elevator shaft near the reception area, Regent has loaner bikes and scooter that staff can borrow to head downtown.
Regent's Marketing Director Farzad Novin said the company provides an environment for friendly collaboration. ”Regent worked to build out this space to provide nontraditional meeting areas and to keep the flow open and welcoming.” A quick tour reveals comfortable couches with furniture groupings and big screen TV’s, a game space, plus a snack stocked kitchen and eating area.If you haven’t ventured down the linear park along Carroll Creek past East Street, you need to go soon. In addition to the continuation of the brick paths, fountains and iconic bridges, business is booming at the east end of the park.
McCutcheon’s Apple Products has anchored one bank of the creek for decades at 13 S. Wisner St. with their factory store. Besides new neighbor Regent across the creek, they have welcomed the County Department of Housing and Community Development and Attaboy Beer, a few hundred feet off the creek on Sagner Ave.
“The renovation and occupancy of the historic Union Knitting Mills building by expanding tech companies Regent Education and Yakabod is exactly the type of development and business that we anticipated on Frederick’s east side along Carroll Creek Park extended," City Economic Development Director Richard Griffin said of the big picture impact of business at this end of town. "These pioneer companies will lead the way for others to follow in the future. Tech jobs attract top talent with above average wages and family supporting benefits. These employees enjoy the amenity rich environment downtown including lots of restaurants, cafés, and breweries.”
To join in and celebrate the Regent Education ribbon cutting, you must register and RSVP by December 8 to Steve Ellis at steve.ellis@regenteducation.com or call 240-215- 6212.
Comings and Goings
By Mary Ellen Brady
Charm City Run
467 West Patrick Street, Frederick, MD 21702
301-620-8552, Hours: Monday - Friday, 10 a.m. - 8 p.m., Saturday, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Long-time Frederick business If The Shoe Fits is now part of the Charm City Run family of stores that specializes in technical running shoes for the serious runner. The sale of If the Shoe Fits was accomplished in 2016, and the new signage was put in place earlier this year.
Many former employees of If the Shoe Fits, including the current store manager, remained with Charm City Run after the sale concluded.
If The Shoe Fits prided itself on customer service and a dedication to its community. John Leonardis, the store’s general manager and a trail runner himself, stayed on to help maintain the personality of If The Shoe Fits. Charm City Run, as the name suggests, is a running and walking specialty company that consists of retail locations in Annapolis, Baltimore, Bel Air, Columbia, Timonium, and Frederick.
Charm City Run Events manages, directs and times more than 90 sports endurance events each year. If the Shoe Fits opened in 2002 and was the only full service running, walking, and triathlon store specializing in athletic footwear apparel and gear in the area.
Club Pilates
4959 Westview Drive Suite D Frederick, MD 21703
301-304-4880, Hours TBD
Latest entrant to the fast growing boutique fitness niche in Frederick County, Club Pilates in South Frederick opened on November 15. The club’s principal offering is group fitness classes utilizing a Pilates reformer, which is a device that that helps promote strength, flexibility and balance. The participant pushes or pulls the carriage or device during an exercise as it is pulled by springs.
In addition to group Pilates classes, the club will also hold TRX classes, Barre, Exo-Chair, Bosu ball, mats, rollers, and more. While some Frederick fitness facilities include reformers in their fitness equipment, Club Pilates is believed to be the first club in the area to provide group fitness classes using the reformer.
The facility is in soft opening while it prepares to be fully operational by mid-December.Pilates was developed by Joseph Pilates in the 1920’s to help dancers strengthen and protect their bodies from the rigors of dance, as well as trying to undo the damage caused by sedentary lifestyles. The reformer came along later as piece of equipment that helps students do the exercises correctly.
Double T Diner
5617 Spectrum Drive Frederick, MD 21703
301-620-8797, Hours: Mon-Sun, 6:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m.
Hang on customers and fans of the Double T Diner on Spectrum Drive in Frederick! Following nearly a year of speculation, the restaurant will finally shut down at its current location on January 14, 2018. However, the owners are actively seeking another location in Frederick County with plans to open again at a new location sometime in the New Year.
The Double T has been on Spectrum Drive for over 20 years and enjoys a loyal following. So stop by over the holidays if you can and say good bye (but only temporarily. How about au revoir?) to this Frederick favorite. Sources say Jared Jewelry is considering the space on Spectrum Drive currently occupied by the Double T to build one of its superstores, but details were not available.
Midnight Run Brewing
912 N. East St., Frederick, MD 21701
Hours: Thursday, 6 p.m. - 10 p.m., Friday, 5 p.m - 10 p.m., Saturday, 1 p.m - 9 p.m.
Midnight Run Brewing offers a number of unusual and interesting sounding beers. Microbreweries are proliferating in Frederick and Midnight Run opened in a storefront on East Street in late November promising “non-conformist ales.”
New patrons are quickly discovering the brewery takes a free-thinking approach to brewing, thus creating unique brews for both the experienced and the inexperienced beer drinker.How ‘bout a growler of White Sexual Chocolate? Not your thing? Maybe a Morning Star is more to your taste. Other offerings include I Yam What I Yam and Scottish Dictator.
Midnight Riders are the brewery’s official club. Membership gets you first in line to get two 22 oz bottles/month of the eclectic brews.
Frederick Chipotle Mexican Grill
997 West Patrick St. Frederick, MD 21702
301-698-8140, Hours: Monday - Sunday, 10:45a.m -11 p.m
The struggling Golden Mile is showing signs of life on both the east and the west ends of the long suffering strip. Following the opening of a new WAWA earlier this year off Baughman’s Lane, Chipotle Mexican Grill just opened a new restaurant on the east end of The Golden Mile across from the WAWA. The new Patrick Street location offers online ordering and catering options and the classic Mexican cooking the chain is known for nationwide.
FYI ...
Treaty General Store
218 N. Market St., Frederick, MD
301-698-8900
Treaty General Store announced the store's temporary closing on Facebook on Dec. 1. The store will be looking for a new location in downtown. In the meantime, the shelves are full and items are on sale for the holiday season. MEM
Habitat for Humanity New Office Ribbon Cutting
Habitat for Humanity of Frederick County will host a ribbon cutting to celebrate its new office space at 117 E. Church St. on Monday, Dec. 11, Attendees are invited to bring an item to help "stuff the pantry" for an upcoming home dedication ceremony. For more information, visit www.frederickhabitat.org. MEM
Take the Night Off !
Let Someone Else Do the Cooking
By Leslie Ruby
It’s the most wonderful time of the year… and also one of the busiest! How about taking cooking dinner off your plate? And, staying with the “shop local” trends of the season – here are a few local businesses that offer dinners for you and your family when you can’t or don’t want to cook.
Bent Events and Organically Bent prepares organic Creole home-cooked meals with farm-to-table ingredients. The food is cooked with a lot of vegetables, and sauces are seasoned with what they call the “trinity,” a mix of celery, onion and green bell pepper. Try their deviled eggs, curry chicken salad or the amazing butter cream cupcakes. T
Although their focus is on catering weddings, corporate events and parties, Bent Events posts a pop-up menu each week where you can purchase and pick up on Saturdays. Menus can be found on their website or their Facebook page.
Orders must be placed (at least) 48 hours in advance for meals for two or more people. Food can be picked up from the Maryland Bakes (a health department approved shared co-op kitchen for local food artists) at 1450 W. Patrick Street. Call at 240-776-2368.
Canapes Catering is a full-service catering firm offering fine cuisine and personalized service since 1989. Canapés 550 Grab & Go Café is designed for your immediate needs, offering a selection of their signature breakfast items, pastries, soups, salads, hot and cold sandwiches and specials, baked goods and more.
Canapés desserts offer a wide selection of gluten-free options. For the holidays, they are also offering the Canapés 2017 Holiday Cookie Boxes. In addition to the daily café menu, weekly specials are posted on their Facebook page.
Grab and Go hours are 8 a.m. - 2 p.m., Monday - Friday. Everything is made fresh daily and available for immediate pickup Call ahead and they’ll have your order ready. Find them at 550 Highland St. Suite 103, Frederick, MD 21701, or call 301-663-8220. Visit the website and Facebook page, or find them on Twitter.
"Dream Dinners is a national franchise where the focus is helping busy families get dinner on the table,” said store manager Joanne Sowers. Guests choose dinners and sides from a menu that changes each month, come in to the store to prepare their meals, and get delicious food.
The prep work is done before guests arrive, including the shopping, chopping, dicing, and slicing. With six stations of ingredients and recipe cards to follow, guests put the meals together, the sides are chosen, the food is bagged up, and it’s all taken home where it can be cooked immediately or frozen for an upcoming dinner.
And the clean-up? It’s done by the store employees after the customer is finished. There’s also a “Made for You” service, where for an additional fee, the store staff make up the meals and guests simply come in and pick them up.
Dream Dinners has a Dream Taste Session Open House scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 12 at 7 p.m. Sample the foods, and for $34.99 you can pick from five meal choices. You’ll assemble your meals and leave with three dinners. Call in advance to reserve your space for this event. Find them at 8927 A Fingerboard Rd., Frederick, MD 21704. Call at 301-874-1515; visit the website, find them on Facebook. Follow them on Twitter.
Serendipity Market & More is a community space that offers a fresh foods market, a bistro, a gallery with space for local artists and makers, and an event space in their upstairs loft for classes, gatherings and special events.
The bistro serves breakfast and lunch all day, and take-out dinners for two consisting of a main course and two sides. Dinner menus change weekly, and each week there are three to four entrée choices, a soup, and four to five side dishes. The menu accommodates to the vegan, vegetarian, gluten free diner, as well as the carnivore. For dessert, Serendipity's partnership with Maryland Bakes (shared co-op kitchen for local food artists), guarantees there’s always a supply of fresh cupcakes and cookies on hand.
And, there’s an eclectic mix of snack foods and specialty drinks, as well as the tried and true standards. The weekly menu, including special holiday menus for Hannukah, Christmas, New Years, and Super Bowl Sunday, can be found on Serendipity’s Facebook page and website. Call to place your order and it will be ready for pick up within the hour. Local delivery is also an option. Visit them at 14 E Patrick St. Call at 301-360-5463, and follow them on Twitter.
Finally, there’s Grubhub.com. It’s not personal or homemade, but it’s convenient. Grubhub is an online food-ordering company connecting diners to local restaurants. Delivery or pick up are options, there’s variety, and it’s predictable restaurant food.
So, sit back, treat yourself to a night off and take that time saved to enjoy your family or simply relax. Give yourself the gift of time – and maybe not just during the holidays – here’s a New Year’s Resolution you won’t mind keeping.
