New Market

The Demise of Frederick County’s Mayberry?

By Adrienne Lawrence

Photos by David Arthur

How could the antiques capital of Maryland fade so quickly after a single restaurant—Mealey’s—closed in March 2009? “Frederick [City] can absorb a couple of restaurants going out of business, because it’s so big,” explains Winslow Burhans III, New Market’s mayor of 11 years. “But with New Market being so small, when one restaurant goes out [of business], it tanks your whole economy.” 

Townsperson and town council member David Price agrees. He owned a local art gallery/ gift shop next door to Mealey’s and saw several businesses close shortly thereafter. 

Often described as a “destination” restaurant—an end point for car trips of families seeking good food and quaint ambience—the enduring eatery was bought by the Mealey family in 1918 and first opened as a hotel. Then in 1940, Dick Mealey opened it as a restaurant— and it’s been relatively the same ever since.

Until the 2008 recession hit—that is—Chim Butt, Mealey’s last owner, said in a March 2009, Frederick News-Post article.

In the piece, Butt blamed the economy and tight bank credit as culprits. 

Local observers, however, say there could have been other factors at play.

In separate interviews, Serina Roy, who owns Dublin Roasters, formerly of New Market but now a Frederick business, and Price say, Butt may not have had the experience needed to successfully run the beloved establishment. Price says he and a few others offered the restaurateur help, but nothing worked—and eventually Mealey’s doors closed. 

Tough Times in a Small Town

“A lot of antique businesses … were resting on the fact that Mealey’s was the meal ticket,” Roy says. “Mealey’s drew the business. The antiques businesses didn’t need to advertise; they didn’t need to do anything [to bring people into town]. People would come to Mealey’s, and they would walk around the town.”

Burhans agrees. He saw multiple businesses close in the wake of Mealey’s failure.

“We had some other businesses go out before Mealey’s,” he says, “but that’s where it really accelerated.”

When Mealey’s closed, other store owners had to find new ways to attract customers.

Sara England, for example, changed gears from a boutique to painting and saw her business grow through the Internet.

Roy had opened Dublin Roasters the day before Mealey’s closed, and then had to think quickly about marketing when she saw that there weren’t going to be as many people traveling to the small town.

“The first night I was there, I went in to Mealey’s to celebrate, and it took two hours to get a drink and a side order of fries,” she re- members.

“Here I am, coming to a town that’s supposed to be booming, and the main restaurant closes. Then there was another café—right next to me—and they closed. So, all of a sudden, I was one of the only games in town—besides Mom’s, a pizza place.

“And then, the general store closes,” she adds, noting that before Mealey’s closed there were more than 30 thriving businesses in town. Soon after she opened her artisan coffee roasting shop, however, there were less than 10 shops open on any given day.

“I watched [New Market] slowly die,” Roy says sadly.

Times were tough, and not just economically. Roy’s business steadily grew despite the recession, but the atmosphere in the town could sometimes be grim. She would often hear com- plaints from visitors.

“I didn’t move away, because I didn’t have any business,” she says. “I was, honestly, one of the draws. But when no one else is open—or very few—people were starting to get angry. When visitors would come and see the big promotion- al sign—‘140 antiques shops’—and nobody was open, the stores that were open would get the brunt of [customer] frustration.”

But about a year before Roy moved Dublin Roasters to Frederick, she searched for a larger location in New Market. 

“There was no place to sit [in the New Market store],” she says. “We had a small place— about 500 square feet—and I was getting more orders and having to turn them down because I didn’t have a big enough roaster. 

“In order to grow, I had to leave. But I tried to stay, and asked everybody if they could rent me a larger space. But no one had one.”

Burhans was disheartened to see Roy go. 

“It was a shame she had to move,” he says. “But she had to do what she had to do.”

But not every business left. 

Ben Madrid owns Santa Fe Trading Company in New Market, and he’s seen his business slow slightly, but remain fairly steady. “I’m what they call a resident merchant,” he says. “I live in the building in which my shop is located. This is my sixth year with the shop. So, I’ve been through the ups and downs in New Market … I can’t say that my sales are as good as they were, but I don’t think any business in the country can say that, except maybe the foreclosure processing business.”

Madrid says he’s been able to keep his business open because it fills a niche market and has a steady clientele.

“If people like American Indian jewelry and art [which he sells], they’ll go that extra mile to find it.” he says.

Madrid also believes that the town’s tough times are due in part to long-standing restrictions on what kind of businesses can operate in downtown New Market. 

“This town had an ordinance for 25 years that prohibited any business but antiques shops, which really helped create the situation we’re in, I think,” he speculates. “When they finally over- turned that ordinance—that was shortly before we moved here—we decided to open up a shop, as our house was already zoned for commercial and residential.” 

Searching for Answers to New Market’s Dilemmas

The 25-year ordinance that prevented non- antiques businesses from opening in New Market was broadened in 2003, locals say, and then the town council added even more categories, before it was revoked. 

“You know who did that?” Madrid says of the ordinance revocation. “Winslow Burhans did—and he had to fight a nasty election to be mayor. But he was the one that worked to overturn that ordnance … And really, even though the recession came and wiped out new shops … that ordinance [repeal] is what’s going to help us adapt when things change back again.”

Burhans remembers the time well.

“Eleven years ago, when I came into the office, the town was antiques-only,” he recalls. “The antiques businesses were dying off pretty quickly, and they weren’t being replaced. That’s because the industry was such that you could go on eBay—or go to an auction—and not have to buy property to hang your shingle up.”

The mayor, a seventh-generation native of New Market, wants to bring the town back to something like it was when he was a child. 

“Of course [the changes] set the antiques [community] and former mayor upside-down, because they were vehemently opposed to changing the zoning,” he recalls. “But I was like: ‘If [we] don’t change the zoning, the town’s going to die.’”

Roy agrees. 

“The vast majority of the folks in town aren’t interested in change … or anything like that,” she says. “But there are a few people—a newer generation—who want that quaint little town with shops and antiques mixed with other things, like coffee roasting or Sara [English’s] boutique.”

This opposition to change also came up when Price proposed altering the town’s slogan.

Since New Market was a hotspot for antiques shops, it was known as the “antiques capital of Maryland,” and townspeople put up a sign on the highway announcing that to drivers. But with many stores now gone, it isn’t the antiques “capital” it once was.

“I think it’s delusional [to call New Market the ‘antiques capital of Maryland’],” Madrid says, laughing. “They tried to change that. Poor David Price brought it up at a meeting, and al- most got his head chewed off. But, really, [the slogan] doesn’t make any sense.”

This moment in time was pivotal for Price. Up to this point, even with Mealey’s closing— and the apparent effect it had on his art gallery/ gift shop—he was still optimistic, and kept his local business going.

“The pinnacle moment for me wasn’t when Mealey’s closed,” Price says, “because a lot of us had successful businesses and we were able to last a year and a half after Mealey’s was gone. The pivotal moment—when I said, ‘Oh, my gosh, why did I move [back] to this town and do this to my family?’—was when the old- timers in town turned out in force and decided not to re-brand the town—and to stick with the title, ‘antiques capital of Maryland.’

“It was this sudden epiphany that I’ve moved to a town that is still looking backwards and is not interested in moving forward—to more prosperous times—that was my turning point.”

Price grew up in New Market, and his parents still live not far from his home on Main Street. He left to pursue a career in entertainment management, which he succeeded in. When he returned to New Market, he was looking for a way to return to his roots and raise children with his high school sweetheart. He found those roots, but now thinks they may be more entangling than grounding. Burhans, however, is in qualified agreement with Price on the re-branding issue. “Do we have a couple of antiques shops that are really good?” he asks. “Absolutely. But the reality of the matter is that two or three antiques shops do not make you the ‘antiques capital of Maryland.’

“[New Market’s real assets] are its historical character and charm,” he adds. “[So,] I’ve always thought a good slogan for New Market would be: ‘A great place to visit; a better place to live.’”

But the townspeople voted down the slogan, and Price’s idea was sidelined.

Within a month of the vote, Price started to close his busi- ness, and looked for new opportunities. 

And although the misleading sign still stands, not everyone sees it as a bad thing. 

“People in small towns like this argue and bicker about things sometimes,” Madrid says. “New Market’s no different, and the sign is an emotional and contentious issue for a lot of people. But for myself, if the sign … makes people come to town, looking for something else, and they find me—all the better.” Although Burhans was able to change the ordinance in 2003, allowing new businesses to come in to town, it was only four years before the economy slumped.

“The last ones in were the first ones out,” Burhans remembers.

After Mealey’s closed, someone needed to show the restaurant to prospective buyers, and since Price lives next door to Mealey’s, he offered to help. At one point, he even showed the property to Bryan Voltaggio and Hilda Staples. The two are business partners in VOLT and Lunchbox, restaurants in Frederick City—and were looking for new opportunities.

“We seriously considered it … for a short while,” Staples says, remembering her walk- through. “It’s perfect. The restaurant is in really good condition, and the town is beautiful.” 

But for all of the positives, there was an over- powering negative, she says—American Bank. The bank held the deed and without its approval, no deal could go forward. 

“The bank was horrible,” Staples says. “They were rude to the point where we could not communicate with them. They were dismissive. I called them and told them I was from VOLT, and I was told to tell my husband to call—that they would only do business with a man. It was so bad that I asked, ‘Is this a joke?’

“That kind of response from a banker sitting on a building was unbelievable,” Staples adds. “So, then I understood why it wasn’t moving— the bank was the problem. So, we concentrated on Frederick.”

Price explains how the town council worked to remedy the situation.

“We knew that the reason Mealey’s closed wasn’t because of the economy,” Price said. “We did our best to spread the word that… it wasn’t because people weren’t coming. [It was because Chim Butt just] didn’t know how to run it.”

So it was a question of how to get a new buyer.

“It is sort of a challenge, getting these properties out of foreclosure—out of the bank’s hands—and into private hands, where they can generate jobs and [improve] the economy,” Burhans says.

If the town is going to re- cover, he adds, it needs to find a way to broaden its economy, possibly beyond the downtown area on Main Street. 

“When a restaurant goes out of business and tanks your whole economy, it tells you that the town needs to expand and diversify its commercial tax base,” Burhans explains. “We need to grow our commercial businesses in and around town, so we can generate our own economy.” 

Despite Mealey’s closing, however, the weak economy may have provided New Market’s leaders with a golden opportunity.

“We’ve used the down-economic time to strengthen our foundation,” Burhans says. “We have our [new] water line in town. So, we’ll have water to help fuel any economic growth. It’s a clean, safe and reliable source of drinking water that would be important to anybody who wants to open a business or a restaurant, or just live in town.”

The town council also passed zoning relief in 2009 that will allow more than 60 new types of businesses to operate in the historic district, Burhans says, adding that the new zoning refers now to “residential merchant” use instead of just “residential antique” use.

There’s also a new town develop- ment—Marley Square—with an approved site plan that is “just waiting for the right user to come in and occupy that space,” he says.

Ultimately, however, it’s about finding that right mix for a downtown business and residential district.

“We’re trying to build this town to be a place where you can eat, shop, live, and that is walk- able and workable,” the mayor says.

Legal Hardships

That desired “right mix,” the mayor and town council believe, is now on paper.

It’s called the New Market Municipal Growth Element, and, among other things, it provides for annexing three local land tracts— the Delaplaine, Ganley and Smith/Cline farms.

Not everyone, however, agrees that this growth plan is sound—or even legal.

Friends of Frederick County (a watchdog group), the Audubon Society of Central Mary- land, and 13 other plaintiffs are a case-in-point, and, in February 2011, sued New Market over its plan in Frederick County Circuit Court. 

All 13 plaintiffs are either residents of New Market or live nearby.

Two of them—Edgar Rossig and Katherine Carter—are concerned about taxes possibly rising with the annexations.

Another group—Jennifer and John Albritton and Danny and Theresa Church—is “within sight or sound of” the Smith/Cline farm and allege the Municipal Growth Element “will adversely affect [their] use, enjoyment and value of their property.” 

And Russell Barbor, JoAnn Bradshaw, Mar- ion Griffin, Virginia Arneson Hipsley, Beckie Laughlin, and Charles and JoAnn Sciolino “own property within sight or sound of [the Ganley farm]” and also allege plans in the Municipal Growth Element will adversely affect their “use, enjoyment and value of their property.”

But Price explains that it wasn’t as if New Market leaders arbitrarily decided to annex the farms; they were required by the state to develop a growth plan of some kind. 

“We did, and the bottom line is that they [the plaintiffs] didn’t like ours. So, they are claiming that we did it wrong, and did it [in such a way] that it’s not legal.”

Karen Durbin, New Market’s town clerk chimes in. “But they [the plaintiffs] never came to any meetings that [New Market] had ahead of [their lawsuit]. We had meetings for a couple of years [that they never attended]. [Since then], I think, they’ve been to one meeting, just a few months ago.”

“Yeah,” Price says. “Janice Wiles [Friends of Frederick County’s executive director] was at the meeting when we had to transfer money from the town’s festivals to the general fund, in case there are more legal fees.”

(Editor’s note: The Gorilla tried several times to contact Wiles, but she was never available for comment.)

According to Friends of Frederick County’s website, however, its suit alleges that the Municipal Growth Element, by failing to analyze and plan for the costs of services and infrastru ture, such as roads, schools, emergency services, and water and sewer service, “doesn’t meet legal requirements.” In addition, the website states, “a municipality must analyze the effects of growth on environmentally sensitive areas, such as wet- lands and conservation areas.”

Under Maryland law, however, a locality’s growth plan is subject to different interpretations, Burhans explains.

He maintains that it isn’t true that New Market didn’t properly address all of the proposed annexations’ issues—such as how to fund new schools and other city infrastructure. The developments, he asserts, once built, will provide the funding needed.

Another plaintiff, the Audubon Society of Central Maryland, has a 140-acre bird sanctuary—the Fred Archibald Audubon Sanctu- ary—that is next to the Delaplaine farm and a growth plan-envisioned northern bypass would disrupt it, the court filing states.

“Protecting, maintaining and improving the natural habitat is one of the key components of the society’s mission,” the document explains. The society thus asserts that the annexation and its developments “will adversely affect the use and purpose of the Audubon Society’s property.”

But the bypass is an important piece of the puzzle to New Market’s plans for the farms. 

“If we build the bypass, it will help balance out the [possible future] traffic on the roads in and around New Market,” Burhans says.

Price agrees and says that the goal is not to destroy or have an adverse affect on the Audubon Society’s acres. It’s too valuable an asset for the people who live in and around the community.

The verbal back-and-forth notwithstanding, the lawsuit is preventing the town from going forward with these plans, he maintains.

“Unfortunately [the lawsuit] is holding up a couple of commercial annexations which would expand our tax base and increase our business community,” the mayor says.

But with new land, comes new responsibilities, the plaintiffs charge, asserting on the website that New Market’s planned growth could be “too much, too fast.”

Such annexations—and its possible development—could double the town’s current size and possibly triple its population, they say.

Burhans, who owns a cabinet-making business in town, disagrees, “When you build a subdivision, you never can build the maximum number possible,” he says. “There are all kinds of roadblocks during construction. [The plan- tiffs] just think bigger means something bad. The numbers are only really thrown out to scare people.

“And no, I’m not going to benefit from any of that [development],” he says of his business. He also notes that it really doesn’t matter what happens with the lawsuit; the farms will eventually be developed. “I can’t take the money with me, but I can take my reputation with me.” 

“[New Market is] right off the I-70 inter- change. So, it’s a place that’s going to grow with or without us,” he points out. “It’s a matter of [asking], ‘Are we going to be a small town [whose local affairs are run] by a larger county? Or are we going to take control over our own destiny?’ 

“The only thing that really is impeding us,” he adds, “is the Friends of Frederick County lawsuit. I think [the group] would [just as soon see] the town go away altogether. They’ve not been a very constructive partner in our economic development—nor do I ever see them being [one].”

Frederick County’s Mayberry—Reborn?

The lawsuit notwithstanding, New Market town leaders are moving forward with other plans.

“Let’s not get too gloomy here,” Burhans says. “New Market is absolutely, positively going to make a comeback. There are several reasons— and it doesn’t mean that it’s going to be easy either.

“One, you have the town itself. The charm and the historic character of the town are [al- ways] going to be an attraction. Number two: We’ve taken the time to do all this stuff. We’ve used the down-economic time to strengthen our foundation.” 

Furthermore, Burhams imparts, American Bank has sold Mealey’s—combined with nine other properties—to a hedge fund, and the group has sold Mealey’s to New Market investor Carl Miller, who plans to reopen the restau- rant, Price says.

“I feel that, in the long run, we’re going to prevail, and that this town is a ‘can’t-miss,’” Burhans says. “When Mealey’s opens back up, you’ll start to see businesses come back.”

Madrid agrees.

“You’re going to see this town turn around; it’s right on the verge,” he says. “Mealey’s has sold, and is seeking an operator for that build- ing, from what I understand. Milo’s opened down the street; and Gayla’s also just opened. Tomorrow’s Antiques just put in a map and framing aspect to their shop, and Mom’s Pizza has just spruced up their shop. We’re seeing a lot of activity here and this town’s going to pop.”