Howard County Bright Lights
The Maryland Comptroller, Peter Franchot, presented the 2017 Bright Lights Award for Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Howard County to the Victoria Restaurant Group yesterday, June 13, at the Manor Hill Farm Brewery in Ellicott City, Maryland.
Randy and Mary Marriner and their family operate the Victoria Restaurant Group, which is comprised of four establishments:
- Victoria Gastro Pub in Columbia (90 employees),
- Manor Hill Tavern in Historic Ellicott City (60 employees),
- Manor Hill Brewing in Ellicott City (10 employees),
- and Food Plenty in Clarksville (projected to open in the fall with 100+ employees).
I spoke to Randy Marriner before the presentation. A lot is going on at his farm brewery. They are building a storage building near the brewery to move all the malt, grain, and other agricultural products out of the tap-room leaving more room for patrons. They are also building a canning facility right at the brewery. I even compared my hop field (1 plant) to his (196 ag treated posts, lots of wire, and acres of plants). Last year he harvested about 100 lbs. of hops. This year, in their third year, Randy hopes to have a bumper crop. My meager hop plant has not poked its head above ground in its first year.
Peter Franchot presented the Bright Lights Award to the Marriner family. He talked about their success in bringing high-quality, locally sourced food and drink to Maryland and Howard County. As state comptroller, Mr. Franchot is very appreciative of the tax revenue generated by the Marriners. He is especially appreciative of their brewer’s success, saying “A rising tide of beer lifts all boats.”
Attendees of the event included the Marriner family (Husband and wife, Randy & Mary, daughters Victoria, and Rachael and granddaughter Mackenzie); Dario Broccolino, Maryland State Attorney, Howard County; and Allan Kittleman, Howard County Executive.
Mr. Franchot toasted the Victoria Restaurant Group; praising them for their entrepreneurial spirit and bringing many jobs to Maryland.
Cheers!
Warren
Awesome news story about a very sucessful Howard County family. Thanks for sharing Warren!
Thanks, John! We are lucky to have the Marriner family in Howard County. Their Restaurants are first rate and their beers are quite tasty. My personal favorite Manor Hill beer is their Grissette and it’s only 4.7% ABV!