When a new food hall opens in Downtown Frederick sometime next year, the space will, in many ways, be a culmination of a successful decadelong effort to escort the city firmly out of the Prohibition Era and launch it as the host of a vibrant community of small businesses that offer not just a wide variety of adult craft beverages but also inventive eateries and places to gather.

The food hall, a collaboration among McClintock Distilling, the City of Frederick’s Department of Economic Development and the nonprofit Downtown Frederick Partnership, aims to be a key attraction for locals and visitors looking for innovative foods alongside award-winning spirits. The plan is to feature four up-and-coming chef/entrepreneurs in food stalls of about 250 to 350 square feet each, in the lower level of a commercial building owned by the distilling company and located close to its popular tasting room and Back Bar.

The effort is being supported by several state grants that work to revitalize communities by addressing vacant buildings, and is the latest example of how the city’s economic growth is being bolstered by its many successful craft beverage businesses that have sprung up in the last decade.

In the last 10 years or so, the county’s craft beverage industry has exploded with the opening of dozens of wineries, breweries, distilleries, cideries and meaderies reaching 39, according to the latest numbers from the county’s Office of Economic Development. Frederick County leads the state in the combined number of wineries, breweries and distilleries, representing a 39% increase since 2017, according to the OED.

Business owners worked with city and county officials and others to break down legal and regulatory barriers. And as each succeeded, welcoming customers through their doors to enjoy a tasting, craft cocktail or innovative brew, many of these businesses have had an eye toward further growth, pushing the boundaries beyond just their own products and offering additional experiences.

See: RAK Brewing Co.’s spring 2025 expansion to include The RAK Yard, featuring family-friendly indoor yard games such as bocce and darts, offered in a large space alongside RAK’s signature tasting room for its brews. Chef Anshu Khetan, the visionary behind dōp Pizza, now has a permanent space inside The Yard, serving up delicious eats that once were only available from his food truck.

See also: Rockwell Brewery’s partnership with Brewer’s Alley, bringing the Downtown Frederick mainstay’s elevated pub fare to the brewery’s expanded riverside location off Monocacy Boulevard. And Olde Mother’s joining forces with Fifty Fifty, offering patrons gourmet burgers and fries at its permanent spot inside the Market Street pourhouse.

Frederick’s craft beverage businesses are not just partnering with food-preneurs to diversify their businesses.

At Tenth Ward Distilling, Monica Pearce opened the space above her popular Patrick Street tasting room to weddings and special events and often hosts pop-ups there. Carly and Brian Ogden of Attaboy Beer did the same when they opened Attaboy Barrel House next door, hosting weddings, parties, a regular plant-lover event and even book fairs for grown-ups there.

Navigating laws and regulations

Distilleries returned to Frederick County nearly a decade ago. 

In 2016 Dragon Distillery, Tenth Ward Distilling Company, and McClintock Distilling all opened their doors in Frederick, and Springfield Manor near Thurmont expanded its operations to include distilling. 

In recent years, Puerto Rico Distillery and Rosie Cheeks Distillery have opened as well. And at the end of May, the city’s newest distillery, True Standard Distilling Company, celebrates its grand opening.

All of this was made possible by a spirit of camaraderie among the small-batch distillers who worked together to navigate the federal, state, and county processes and change some regulations to allow craft beverage businesses here. 

“The city is always willing to meet with us and see how to make it better for future businesses,” says Braeden Bumpers, co-owner of McClintock Distilling. “We have an awesome community. When we announced we were opening, two other distillers who were also in the process reached out – Tenth Ward and Dragon Distilling. From the start we would meet up and go through common challenges.”

That sense of community and camaraderie has stuck through the years, Bumpers says. He’s now an officer in the Maryland Distillers Guild, working alongside other distillers to help change things in Annapolis to make things easier for everyone in the industry.

The Frederick County Division of Planning, Frederick County Liquor Board, Brewers Association of Maryland, Maryland Wineries Association, and the Maryland Distillers Guild also worked together with local wineries, breweries, and distilleries on a guide to help future entrepreneurs through the process, available at the county government’s website.

Creative growth ahead

Frederick’s new food hall, which at press time was without an official name, will be “strategically positioned near East Patrick Street, Carroll Creek Linear Park, the future Downtown Hotel & Conference Center, the Police Headquarters and newly planned housing developments,” according to the Downtown Frederick Partnership, helping it “become a key attraction for both locals and visitors in the area.”

“This project will foster a more diverse and inclusive small business community in Downtown Frederick,” the partnership’s executive director Kara Norman said in a news release announcing the food hall this spring. “By making entrepreneurship more accessible, we’re not just enhancing our local dining scene — we’re strengthening the economic landscape of our community.”

Monica Pearce, owner of Tenth Ward, recently launched an innovative crowdfunding campaign to help that successful distillery expand. 

The campaign, through NuMarket, a community-driven platform designed to help small businesses grow, asks contributors to donate funds to put toward refinishing Tenth Ward’s “well-loved floors, upgrading bar tools, improving event service, and getting the word out so more folks can discover what makes Tenth Ward so special.” 

In return, contributors get back 120% of what they put in, in the form of credits to use at Tenth Ward, on cocktails, flights, bottles and canned drinks.

According to NuMarket, every dollar raised through its campaigns generates $1.36 for local businesses and $2.26 for the local economy. 

“In contrast, traditional bank loans result in debt that can hinder growth and can lead to an outflow of money from the local economy,” the company says.

Tenth Ward hopes to raise $95,000 through the campaign.

“Frederick is home to an incredibly supportive community,” Pearce said. “This campaign is more than funding – it’s a shared celebration of what we’ve built and where we’re headed.”

Norman, of the Downtown Frederick Partnership, called the campaign a “creative approach to growth” and said, “we're excited to see how it deepens the connection between business owners and the customers who champion them."

by Molly Fellin Spence