(8/10) At its August 2 meeting, the Town Council welcomed and introduced a partnership with a future downtown brewery business to transform the Thurmont Main Street area into a gateway destination location worthy of the town.
Being part of the Main Street Maryland program, Thurmont has feverishly sought to revitalize and create an "anchor" to the downtown area. Now, thanks to one business investor partnership, it is now one step closer.
Mayor John Kinnard, resident of Thurmont for decades, remembered the days of a busily downtown area filled with all manner of business and people alike.
Today, Main Street Thurmont is primarily lined with service businesses with regular daytime hours that pack it in at night all seasons. Once residents go home, Kinnard noted, there is nothing bringing them back out again after hours. "It’s not the downtown I want to see," he said.
Downtown began losing footing in the 1980’s with the rise of large shopping malls, Vickie Grinder, Economic Development Manager said. Unless a town is in an area such as Frederick City or Ocean City with larger conglomerations of people, "It is very difficult for small towns like Thurmont to maintain any type of retail or business," Grinder said.
Scott Austin, of New Market, owner of Thurmont’s Structural Building Solutions and Hobbs’ Lumber and Hardware, first approached the town about a year ago regarding the future possibilities of the vacant 6 East Main Street structure, according to Grinder. Striking a deal, Austin and the town council agreed, if the town purchased the building, Austin would lease it from them and establish a brewery.
The town utilized a grant in the amount of $78,497 from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Strategic Demolition Fund to cover the cost. Although the name is misleading, the Strategic Demolition Fund grant allows municipalities to purchase buildings that have sat empty for long periods of time, Grinder said.
Grinder considered the investment for the property a "big win" to liven up the afterhours of downtown and entice other business to come into the area.
Breweries, distilleries, and other watering holes are often destination hotspots, and Grinder noted when patrons travel to taste, they often go to several locations in one trip.
Every now and then a town gets an investor to come along and "We feel this is that spark and it only takes one spark," she said. "It doesn’t happen overnight, we didn’t get this far overnight," she said
Main Street Maryland is a national organization that works to rejuvenate downtown areas and ensure the buildings stay vitalized and do not disappear.
More information about Thurmont Main Street can be found at thurmontmainstreet.com.
