Just as we celebrate new businesses opening their doors, we are equally excited to see existing business choose to reinvest in Frederick! This month, we are featuring eight local businesses that have recently expanded or made significant renovations at their Frederick facilities. These projects demonstrate each company’s strong continued commitment to their workforce, customers, and our community.
North Market Pop Shop
Expansion
The availability of 239 N Market Space presented a convenient solution to its growing but space-constrained neighbor, North Market Pop Shop. In February 2020, the downtown shop took control of the space and began work on expanding across the two addresses.
An opening was made between the spaces and the 600 SF area was completely renovated to create a new seating & dining area. The project was assisted by two Downtown Frederick Partnership programs —- the Mission: Interior Grant and the Façade Improvement Grant.
The new space has led to the hiring of four new employees, and has allowed the business to accommodate larger events and parties. The expansion has also enabled the company to expand their product selections of soda pop, fun and unique candies, the sweet treats menu, and award-winning hot dogs.
Frederick is a great place to live work and play. We are so grateful to be part of a community that allows for the creativity and diversity which we thrive upon. We hope to continue to be a destination that both the locals and visitors alike can enjoy. The Pop Shop will continue to grow and bring the exciting & unique to Frederick. - Michelle Schaffer
2. Colonial Jewelers
Renovation
This past fall, Colonial Jewelers — a staple of the Frederick community for 70+ years — took on a major refresh project at its prominent downtown location. The project complimented a recent brand and logo revamp also undertaken by the business.
“We are so proud of the brand that has been established for many years in Frederick and felt like it was time to give it an update. Our new colors, logo, and brand experience all goes hand-in-hand with our new in store experience. We decided that after 23 years without a remodel it was time to brighten the store up. There have been a lot of advances in showcase design and LED lighting that we wanted to update. We also wanted to create more spaces on the showroom for consulting with customers both privately and semi-privately.”
The jewelers renovated the showroom, expanding it into the former office area to create more space. The makeover also included the installation of new floors and painting the entire 1st floor. The business had brand new showcases custom-crafted by a jewelry-specific showcase designer. The cases’ new style of lighting and glass provides an increased square foot of showcase space. The renovation project also glassed in the mezzanine area, allowing the jeweler to be seen from the showroom.
The project took 8 months to complete. Next up, Colonial Jewelers plans to launch an expansion of its Custom Department. The business has always provided high-quality, in-house custom design but is revamping the customer experience from start to finish to increase awareness of the service.
We really, truly believe in this community — Downtown in particular. We are really fortunate to have a vibrant Downtown that not only supports restaurants and retail but also offices, government and services. The tourism Frederick gets is great but it's really special that we have so many locals who love Downtown Frederick and choose to support all the wonderful small businesses here.
We are one of the oldest businesses in Downtown and have seen many changes, ups and downs over the years. Having the Downtown Frederick Partnership and the Department of Economic Development working to support the needs of all the businesses Downtown really helps to keep it a dynamic place where people want to continue to shop. - Sarah Hurtwitz
3. Ramar Moving Systems
Renovation & Expansion
After 5 years of planning, Ramar Moving Systems is undergoing a major renovation project at its Thomas Johnson site. The project will see the complete renovation of the existing building’s first and second floors, and will add two new conference rooms to the building. One of the new rooms will be used for training purposes, and the other for meetings and sales offices. All new LED lighting is also being added. The project is anticipated to be completed in April or May of this year.
The new project will add approximately 1020 SF of usable space, and allow expanded service and capacity. The company expects the project to lead to new hires, including a new warehouse manager, an additional sales person and several contractors.
We live here, we work here and it is a great community. - Howard Levine
4. MinuteMan Press
Relocation & Expansion
In July of 2021, the owners of the local MinuteMan Press franchise purchased a 13 unit commercial building on North Bentz Street. This January (2022) the 7th Street Minuteman Press location was moved to the Bentz Street building’s first floor.
“We managed to cram a whole lot of equipment and seven staff in 1,500 SF at our previous location and were bursting at the seams. We are now quite comfortable in 3,200 SF and have room for additional growth within the building…which we will need before too long!”
No new employees have been brought on yet, but the company plans to begin developing more in-house apparel decorating which will require additional staff in the future. The company also plans to expand promotional goods production and mailing services.
“We have grown so much over the last three years since we purchased the business. We’ve acquired more equipment and doubled the size of our team along with an overall increase production supplies needed on-hand.
In addition to wanting additional space for further growth, we wanted to invest in Frederick instead of paying rent to a landlord. Frederick County is growing and thriving. It is a community that cares about its members and is dedicated to progress and forward thinking. Watching the business and local communities come together during the pandemic only further grew our love for this amazing place. There are so many local businesses that we partner with in various ways…We keep each other motivated and excited for the future! We are #FrederickStrong.” — Kate Cusato
5. The Beauty Company
RelocatioN & Expansion
The Beauty Company celebrated Frederick's first ribbon cutting of 2022, with the opening of its new and expanded location. The team, led by a dynamic pair of sisters, relocated from Everedy Square to a beautiful new facility at 21 Byte Court to accommodate their growing salon and spa.
The business originally started in the back rooms of a previously established salon. The company quickly out grew that space and took over the shop front. However, the new space was quickly strained as well. What’s more, the onset of the COVID pandemic prompted a greater desire for the ownership team to begin searching for a larger footprint to allow more space between stations.
“The expansion of the beauty company was something we’ve dreamed about since the day we opened. We worked really hard to save instead of taking bonuses and worked really hard to achieve. The most exciting part of our expansion is seeing each and every one of our guests, family, friends and employees see the new space. We feel so much pride and happiness with every person that comes through our doors. Our guests and employees have stuck by us and supported us when we were in tiny rooms so it feels amazing to give each one of them a beautiful space to be a part of!”
The new space will allow The Beauty Company to introduce new services as well. The space has several new spa treatment rooms coming into use. The space also has extra stations ready for new stylists when “the right people come along.”
“We love Frederick and we love the community of people that we get to serve. So many loving, caring and kind individuals. Frederick has maintained the small-town feel and we have found most people really appreciate and support small businesses. We can’t thank each and everyone in supporting the two of us in our dreams. We’d never in a million years believe we’d be where we are now and can’t wait to see what the future holds.
Frederick is always growing, evolving and changing with the times. And with it, The Beauty Company will continue grow and change! We can’t wait to see what the business and Frederick have in store for us.” — Caiti Smith
6. Shuckin Shack
Expansion
Shuckin' Shack Oyster Bar - Frederick MD celebrated its sixth anniversary in Frederick with a major expansion project. The downtown business completed a lease agreement for 43 S Market Street in February 2021 — expanding to occupy roughly the same footprint once held by Griff’s Landing, the bar and restaurant which previously occupied the space before closing its doors in 2014.
We always loved the idea of being able to expand into that building but the opportunity to do so didn’t become available until that time. Once it became available, we jumped on it in an instant! We simply could not accommodate the demand with only having 62 seats (which is a great problem to have). We had a vision of becoming a larger restaurant all along. This was the perfect opportunity.
After securing the lease, the Shuckin Shack team spent approximately 6 months drawing out plans and pulling permits for the space. They officially “broke ground” in September and blasted through the wall to 41 S Market in October. Shuckin Shack closed down for about two months to complete the renovations.
The now-open renovated space has added roughly 1800 SF to the business, prompted the hire of 10 new employees, and enabled a larger, full-dining experience for customers.
It was a tight squeeze no matter where you were in the building we occupied first. It was loud and crowded pretty much at all times, which made it hard to have a typical sit-down dinner. Now that we have increased our capacity and square footage that isn’t the case.
Being that we are a sports bar, we added an additional 8 TVs to increase viewing of all sports events. This has been a game changer for us for Sunday Football — we can show whatever game a patron would like to view on pretty much any TV they would like (as long as they get there early enough). In a way with this expansion, we have created two restaurants.
Frederick is a great place to run a restaurant! There is so much growth occurring in & around downtown Frederick and we would be fools not to continue investing here. Plus, Frederick is full of really great people! There are so many people here who have helped us get to where we are today. We couldn’t imagine operating our business anywhere else! - Wade Newman
Next up, the Shuckin Shack team is excited to open its new 25-seat patio for dining. The patio will be available in warm weather, but they have also ordered a 50-foot heater to hopefully accommodate people wanting to sit outside even sooner! The expanded restaurant and bar will offer live music every Thursday night and plans on doing a Trivia Night and Karaoke Night on a weekly basis as well.
7. Menocal Family Practice
Relocation & Expansion
On October 1st, 2021, the Menocal Family Practice celebrated a ribbon cutting at their new Key Parkway office. The family physicians have offered affordable & accessible patient care to the Frederick community for over 30 years, and are excited to continue their growth within the Golden Mile area.
The move approximately doubled the practice’s space and will allow them to keep all services on a single floor. The expansion also includes the addition of 8 full time employees. The practice expects the added square footage and staff to allow them to increase capacity to 1200 visits per week (as opposed to the previous average of 623 visits). Excitingly, the new location also offers easier access to the practice’s clientele along Key Parkway.
8. The Wine Kitchen
Renovation
The Wine Kitchen on the Creek, a modern American chophouse located along Carroll Creek in Downtown Frederick, will reopen on February 2, 2022 after being temporarily closed for renovations. The reopening coincides with the restaurant’s 10th year in business, which the restaurant will celebrate throughout February 2022.
While the familiar ambiance, staff, and community-focused feel of the restaurant has remained, customers will notice refreshed atmosphere and decor, in addition to updated, state-of-the-art kitchen equipment, noise reduction technology, a new bar area, and more.
Not only has the restaurant been physically transformed but so has the food and drink menu. An expansive steak selection, sourced from dedicated sustainable farmers, has been added. Also, a brand new cocktail menu has been added, featuring drinks inspired by Impressionist painters–those who embraced modernity and rebelled against classical subject matter.
“This is such a significant milestone for us. We couldn’t have come this far without the amazing support of our customers and community.” Jason Miller
Are you looking to grow your business in Frederick? Don’t hesitate to reach out to our staff at business@cityoffrederickmd.gov for local resources and help along the way!