tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3588854936345319702.post967147938318683650..comments2023-06-21T09:34:14.764-04:00Comments on whatsgoingoncatonsville: In The News!Craig Witzkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13606542769420522558noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3588854936345319702.post-76248457303637278332007-03-15T20:19:00.000-04:002007-03-15T20:19:00.000-04:00I am glad that you are doing such a service for th...I am glad that you are doing such a service for the people of Catonsville. Some are writing on their computers, others are out supporting the existing businesses and hoping that you get off the mark so that we don't look like a depressed area where nobody wants to rent. Vacant buildings give the wrong impression.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3588854936345319702.post-73693757676008562302007-03-14T07:04:00.000-04:002007-03-14T07:04:00.000-04:00Mr. Witzke: Upon reading last week's Times article...Mr. Witzke:<BR/> <BR/>Upon reading last week's Times article, I immediately thought of Waterman's restaurant in Ocean City. They too did not have a liquor license when they first opened. Since it's primarily a crab house, we were naturally interested in beer for our crabs. We had to take ours with us and it was no problem at all. In fact, we were able to take our selected brand rather than house choice. This held true with wine. So, knowing that, we were happy to patronize the restaurant and bring beverages if we so desired. It also lowered the cost of dining out! As well, the new Luciano's Bistro in Halethorpe welcomes alcoholic beverages to accompany their menu. You may want to check with the owners to see if that is working out for them. If you are having difficulty attracting restauranteers because of the lack of liquor licensing, that's another issue, but I assure you that it was not an impediment to business at Waterm an's!<BR/> <BR/>Thank you for the opportunity to comment and support your efforts to revitalize Catonsville! It's LONG overdue!<BR/> <BR/>Sharon Jackson, lifelong Catonsville resident.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3588854936345319702.post-17226875129129587652007-03-13T14:49:00.000-04:002007-03-13T14:49:00.000-04:00Hi Craig,A Mexican restaurant would be great, I do...Hi Craig,<BR/><BR/>A Mexican restaurant would be great, I don't know of any in our neighborhood. Holy Frijoles worked out of a small building in Hamden for years as a BYOB. It was fun; they provided the bottle opener and a bucket of ice! <BR/><BR/>If I had some capital, I'd keep Muir's "rustic" wood floors and turn of the century ambiance and set up a diversified coop. Mix together a Bread Bakery (I miss Grim's Bakery across the street, http://external.bcpl.lib.md.us/hcdo/cfdocs/photopage.cfm?id=12663 ), Coffee House, Local Organic Produce Market(see Calvert Farms, One Straw Farm, Spoutwood Farm http://www.spoutwood.com/index.html etc.), and several tables with Live Bluegrass set up in the corner and you'd have a real magnet.<BR/><BR/>Arbutus has an interesting Coop that used to be a Hardware Store; I believe its in a small strip mall on Francis Ave. Its full of local smiles and sells a varied array of plants (vegetables/flowers), shovels, grass seed, crab meat, cookies, and fresh peaches and produce in season.<BR/><BR/>Good Luck!<BR/><BR/>Raymond (Grim) BahrAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3588854936345319702.post-66552900270345787952007-03-12T21:01:00.000-04:002007-03-12T21:01:00.000-04:00can you buy the church?can you buy the church?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3588854936345319702.post-41075834150651569192007-03-11T12:35:00.000-04:002007-03-11T12:35:00.000-04:00Hi Craig & Catonsville.I want to commend you Craig...Hi Craig & Catonsville.<BR/><BR/>I want to commend you Craig for engaging the community in this discussion.<BR/><BR/>I hope the liquor law doesn't make your investment too risky to go forward.<BR/><BR/>I agree & hope that the main street could one day become an interesting destination in itself, akin to a colorful college town.<BR/><BR/>Another take on the offeeshop/music venue theme is something like this place, in Vienna Va: <BR/>www.jamminjava.com <BR/><BR/>or this place in Annapolis:<BR/>www.49westcoffeehouse.com<BR/><BR/>Don't you folks out there find it a little ironic that a place that likes to bill itself as "Musictown" has a serious dearth of places for live music (Lurman not included)?<BR/><BR/>p.s. I am all in favor of a Mexican restaurant too.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3588854936345319702.post-69677726538341151582007-03-10T15:23:00.000-05:002007-03-10T15:23:00.000-05:00It is my understanding that we cannot get a waiver...It is my understanding that we cannot get a waiver, even if everyone at the church was ok with it.<BR/><BR/>THE LAW SHOULD BE CHANGED, but, it will take a while. I am going to proceed within the confines of what can be done today. <BR/><BR/>If Catonsville or any of the other Main Streets in Baltimore County, ever expect to attract restaurants that will draw new people to the area, these laws will have to be changed.<BR/><BR/>I think that means that your local Delegates (Jimmy Malone and Steve DeBoy) as well as Senator Kasemeyer and Govenor O'Malley need to be contacted and asked to change the Law. <BR/><BR/>It would also be a good idea to contact Councilman Sam Moxley and County Executive Jim Smith and ask them to work with the state on our behalf.<BR/><BR/>In the mean time we can only attract Brand New Businesses with no History. (This can actually be a good thing, they will be offering more variety, as they have to work harder to differentiate themselves). The downside is that in order to grow their businesses, they will have no choice but to try and "steal customers" from the existing restaurants. (Again this could be a good thing, as the existing restaurants will have to work harder to keep their existing customers). Instead of drawing more people to "Fill the Pie" everyone will have to Fight for their "Slice"!Craig Witzkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13606542769420522558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3588854936345319702.post-22952776664262473092007-03-10T10:07:00.000-05:002007-03-10T10:07:00.000-05:00Question -- if the liquor license issue is stoppin...Question -- if the liquor license issue is stopping many of the desirable restaurants, and this law is archaic, is there some way we can try to get the law changed? Is there any possibility of some sort of waiver? Are there elected officals we should be contacting?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3588854936345319702.post-56987786029605461822007-03-09T11:25:00.000-05:002007-03-09T11:25:00.000-05:00I have scanned through the comments on the blog an...I have scanned through the comments on the blog and I am very hopeful for a "reinvigorated" main street. We have talked about "main street" during quite a few of our neighborhood association (OCNA) meetings. I would hope businesses would find the support they need, but I guess that is the risk. You mentioned approaching various restaurants for your rental properties. What about a place like Vacarro's of Little Italy, which is a chain and has a few smaller shops/cafes around the Baltimore area? A dessert, maybe no alcohol needed, after dinner place? I have found myself wanting a place to go especially after meetings for coffee or dessert on several occasions. I would also be very interested in having a Great Harvest Bread. I don't know if they could get the necessary support they require. I know someone suggested the Catonsville Farmers Market for bread but it is not convenient for those who work outside the home during the day. If you did a Belvedere type thing maybe some days could accommodate the person who doesn't get back to Catonsville till 6pm. Maybe Vacarro's could do bread on the side???Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com