When the world celebrated the arrival of 2021, a collective sigh could be heard spanning the globe. It’s like all of humankind has experienced the curse, “May you live in interesting times.”

2020 has meant the end for many local businesses. Oakland Mills’ neighborhood pub, The Second Chance, closed its doors for good this fall. The 2nd Chance Saloon has been the final destination of the Columbia Pub Crawl for many years, among other notable traditions. Other Howard County establishments that saw their final days in 2020 include: Rams Head, Food Plenty, the Phoenix, Centre Park Grill, Clydes, the Soundry and this just in, Venarri’s (the best pizza in Howard County in my humble opinion) looks very likely to move from Oakland Mills and will relocate to Owen Brown; their landlord is forcing them out, according to the Venarri’s owner.

But all is not doom and gloom. It looks like some business models did well in these uncertain times. For instance bicycle shops had a record breaking year, as did home remodelers. It seems the demand for outdoor activities went up as well as home improvements. Since everyone has been stuck at home this year, not visiting bars, restaurants, or going on vacation, people with a steady income had more disposable income. Liquor stores seemed to experience a boom, as well. Allview Liquors, my local package store, was always bustling this year.

And surprisingly, some businesses dared to open during a pandemic. The Periodic Table set up shop at the old Centre Park Grill location. In Ellicott City, The Phoenix Emporium owner merged with the Ellicott City Brewing to create the Phoenix Upper Main, with a little help from Gordon Ramsey. Here’s a little secret that I’ll only share with my readers. Harvest Rise Bread Company, makes bread out of their Owen Brown home. Founder Tim McKay started up this small and very local business in 2014 and seems to be thriving. Their Christmas Stollen was to die for! Also, don’t give up on the Pub Dog in Columbia. Despite a 2019 gas explosion that blew up their shopping center, the Pub Dog plans to re-open in the first half of 2021.

Besides rediscovering long walks in Blandair Park North, this blogger has tried a few new outdoor activities this year. The new concrete paver driveway (this blogger’s home improvement 2020 project) replaced the crumbling original one. This created a nice outdoor space where the Columbia Pint Night crew collected for a few Wednesday night gatherings (BYO beers and chairs). On a few other occasions, we braved the mosquitos to enjoy a few movie nights in the backyard.

So, ring out the old and bring in the new. Here’s to better times!

Cheers!

Warren