Taking Root

City And Private Businesses Partner In Brunswick’s Revitalization

By Karen Gardner

Photography By Turner Photography Studio

Machelle Lee and her husband, Eric Lindland, moved to Brunswick in 2015. They had previously lived in numerous places in the United States and overseas and were living near Washington, D.C, when they found Brunswick.

“Friends told us about Frederick, and on a drive to check it out we discovered Brunswick,” she says. “We were immediately captivated by the location in both the foothills and along the banks of the Potomac [River]. It had seen better days. We were looking for a place to call home and invest in, and Brunswick has so much potential.”

Lee and Lindland bought an old Foursquare house on West Potomac Street, Brunswick’s main drag, just a few blocks from the city’s commercial district. Lee, who has 30 years of experience teaching yoga, opened Roots & River Yoga at 17 W. Potomac St. Almost immediately, she found an enthusiastic clientele and quickly realized she would need more space and wanted to invest in Brunswick’s future.

“We began looking for commercial property, but the downtown was populated with vacant buildings in disrepair,” Lee says. Among them were the Kaplon and JJ Newberry buildings. “From my perspective, there had been three property owners who bought and sat on many of the properties. They weren’t improving or renting them.”

City officials took advantage of a state program to purchase the blighted property with intent to resell them to local businesses. Their first acquisition was the Newberry, a once popular five and dime store. Once on the market, Lee and Lindland’s business plan and purchase offer were accepted and in 2022 they became the new owner/stewards of the historic building. Since then, Brunswick Main Street and the city of Brunswick have provided a series of grants, including the Brunswick Building Blocks and the Maryland Facade Improvement Program, that Lee and Lindland applied toward renovation costs.

“The Newberry will be completed this spring and will be bustling with business,” Lee says. Newberry has three storefronts, one of which will be the new home to Roots & River Yoga. The business will expand from 800 to 4,000 square feet, with two yoga rooms and will offer health and wellness services like massage and counseling. The building will also include Whistle Punk Farm Deli, Potomac River Interiors offering vintage home decor, Integrum Ops software services and C&O Tattoo.

“I think the Newberry building is going to be a precious downtown gem,” Lee says. The interior has already been completely remodeled with new storefront windows installed, and later this year will come the Jewel Stone exterior paint. “My hope is that this will give visionaries optimism about investing in Brunswick. We’re going above and beyond to make the Newberry building shine.”

“Machelle and Eric have done a wonderful job keeping the historic charm of the Newberry building. It’s gorgeous,” says Carmen Hilton, manager of Brunswick Main Street, one of 30 Main Street Maryland programs with the goal of injecting new life into downtown areas.

REBIRTH AND RENEWAL

It’s difficult to be bored in Brunswick, a city of 7,000 that features many of the amenities of larger cities, all while surrounded by tall mountains, the wide, flowing Potomac, and the C&O Canal towpath. Tucked into a wedge of land between the river and South Mountain, Brunswick boasts outdoor recreation, restaurants serving local fare, a variety of shops and a commuter train that will whisk you into Washington in an hour.

All of this is in the space of just a few blocks.

A hundred years ago, Brunswick was a thriving railroad town with a busy train station. Around the turn of the 20th century, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad opened a freight yard in Brunswick. By 1910, what was once a sleepy farming community called Berlin was brimming with 5,000 residents.

The rail yard flourished until the 1950s, when the shift from steam- to diesel-powered engines allowed trains to travel farther between stops. Brunswick’s once-bustling yard was used less and less and fewer workers were needed. Meanwhile, the rise of highway transportation accelerated the railroad’s slide into irrelevance. By the 1980s, the rail yard closed for good and passenger travel plummeted. Today, only the MARC commuter rail into Washington makes daily stops in Brunswick.

Coinciding with the demise of the railroad were the old buildings, theaters, specialty shops, medical and professional offices, and restaurants falling into disrepair. Many of the Victorian-era homes that housed railroad employees also began to show their age.

Today, however, many old homes and commercial buildings are being refreshed and refurbished. Newer houses surround Brunswick’s downtown. Couples, families with children, and active retirees are drawn to Brunswick.

 “I know the potential Brunswick has,” says Mayor Nathan Brown, a Brunswick native whose family worked at the rail yard for generations. Brunswick’s population decline has reversed and the Brunswick Crossing housing development, which opened 15 years ago, continues to bring in new families and retirees to the community.

Brown credits city staff, volunteers and residents with injecting new life into Brunswick. “We created a new community development team,” he says. Representatives from Brunswick Main Street, the city’s economic development office and the city’s program manager focus on finding grants and resources, money for everything from infrastructure improvements to pickleball courts in Brunswick City Park.

Karin Tome, mayor of Brunswick from 2012 to 2016, has lived in the city for 32 years. The seeds of Brunswick’s revitalization are finally sprouting, she says. She credits Brown, Hilton and the collaboration of local business owners. “You can’t just leave it up to property owners to fix up [properties],” she says. “Nathan has a great understanding of that. Seeing money invested in the community gives other people the confidence to invest in businesses, too.”

Hilton works with developers and entrepreneurs to ensure that businesses have attractive locations. The city is working to find a new owner for the Kaplon building, once an upscale department store, at the corner of Maryland Avenue and West Potomac Street, she says. Other buildings are also getting restored. Among the resources are $300,000 that Main Street and the city are offering for HVAC, mold removal, wall improvements, sprinkler systems and other repairs needed to bring the structures up to building code. Main Street is also part of the city’s effort to make infrastructure improvements like new sidewalks and water lines.

“We’ve made great leaps, but we have a lot more to go,” Hilton says.

GRAB A BITE

Whether you’re a visitor biking the canal towpath or a local resident, Brunswick has a variety of places to eat. Boxcar Burgers is located at 12 S. Maple St., just up from the train station near the entrance to the canal. Boxcar serves locally raised, grass-fed beef from Richvale Farm in Middletown. But the menu’s not limited to beef. There are wings, mozzarella sticks, grilled cheese, hot dogs and even crispy Brussels sprouts served in a special sauce.

The Whistle Punk Farm Deli is opening inside the Newberry building this spring. The full-service gourmet deli owned by Alexis Holland features dishes made from food grown at nearby farms. The deli will feature paninis, sandwiches, soups, salads, homemade side dishes, sweet and savory baked goods, deli meats and cheeses, produce grown on nearby farms, and locally roasted coffee. The deli’s targeted opening is mid-April to early May.

“Whistle Punk Farm was launched in 2012 as a small, sustainable farm before offering food services to the community in 2017,” Holland says. “We have been serving the Brunswick community for the last four to five years, so we could not have picked a better place to open our deli. This brick-and-mortar location, along with our food truck, will allow us to continue our mission to connect people to local farms through delicious, seasonal fare, including meat-based, vegetarian and vegan options.”

Abby Levine is opening the Maple & Rye Bakery at 9 W. Potomac St. this spring. Levine moved to Brunswick in 2018. She quickly outgrew her home kitchen and found a shared commercial kitchen in Frederick. “It’s great space, but it’s a lot of bouncing around,” she says. Levine will still bring her products to local farm markets, but she’s looking forward to a brick-and-mortar spot a few blocks from her home.

Levine moved to Brunswick from the D.C. area because it was affordable, close to outdoor recreation and had easy access to the MARC train.

“I never thought I’d move outside the Beltway,” she says. “I’m surprised. Brunswick is a wonderful community and it’s become a destination.” She has two boys who attend local schools and she’s excited to be working close by.

“I feel like we’ll be well-received,” she says.

Brunswick locals are also enthusiastic customers; some even follow Levine to the various farmers markets in the region. The bakery will feature sweet and savory pastries, light lunch fare, and locally roasted coffee. Cody Marwine, owner of Perfect Truffle in Downtown Frederick, will join Levine as a partner in the new bakery.

Potomac Street Grill at 31 E. Potomac St. offers American and Mediterranean fusion dishes. “We’re a family restaurant,” says manager Eduardo Guillen. “Our customers are like family.” Guillen focuses on providing good food in a family atmosphere.

Other favorite local spots include Smoketown Brewing Station, located at 223 W. Potomac St. in the old Brunswick fire station, built in 1948. Founded in 2015, Smoketown has an outdoor patio and tasting room and a devoted local following. Its beers are sold throughout Maryland and parts of Virginia and West Virginia.

Beans in the Belfry is a church restored into a café at 122 W. Potomac St. Vintage, homey furnishings, wool carpets, shelves full of books and other reading materials fill the interior. Patrons come for the coffee, tea and breakfast and lunch items, served all day. They may spend hours chatting with friends or telecommuting on their laptops. Opened in 2004, Beans in the Belfry now has new owners.

LEISURE TIME

There’s a lot more to do in Brunswick. Cyclists and hikers use the canal towpath, which parallels the Potomac River. Kayaks and canoes can be rented from River and Trail Outfitters at the Brunswick Family Campground. Paddlers can explore nearby islands in the river and see eagles, hawks, geese, ducks and other wildlife.

Brunswick has its share of hills, which can make for some challenging walking or biking. River’s Edge Trails is 59-acres of hilly, wooded land stretching from Brunswick Middle School to the rail tracks. Carlo Alfano was drawn to Brunswick over 18 years ago because of its access to the canal, nearby Appalachian Trail and the MARC train. He and his son are dedicated mountain bikers and he noticed a wooded area of unused land.

Alfano worked with city officials to draw up a proposed mountain bike park in 2015. Using grant funding and volunteer sweat equity, the park’s first trail was built in 2016-17. Today, nearly six miles of trails offer space for cyclists, runners and dog walkers. There are jump trails for cyclists and cross-country trails open to both cyclists and pedestrians.

An economic improvement study showed that cyclists travel up to two hours to get to River’s Edge and spend time eating in local restaurants. The park is home to the scholastic Monocacy Composite Mountain Bike Team and hosts interscholastic bike competitions.

“We’re not a bike park like Snowshoe [W.Va.] with its lifts and big downhills, but we get a lot of people that don’t feel like driving that far,” he says. “You can build your skills.”

It’s an apt metaphor for Brunswick’s rebirth.