When longtime Hamilton residents Jason Daniloski and Nicole Evanshaw—the husband-and-wife owners behind Silver Queen Cafe, which opened on Harford Road in 2015—heard that their neighbor Emma’s Tea Spot was relocating down the street, they couldn’t bear the thought of another area storefront going dark.
“It kept me up a little bit at night,” Evanshaw says of her reaction to the news in May. “In the morning, it hit me, this is our chance. This is the perfect spot for what we want to do.”
Fast forward to this month, the owners have officially transformed the former tea shop at 5500 Harford Road into the Market at Hamilton Fine Foods & Delicatessen—their dream specialty goods store.
“It’s not a grocery store [like nearby Harvest Fare or Hamilton Grocery Store], you can’t buy butter, milk, raw meat, or cereal,” Evanshaw clarifies, “but you can buy a nice pasta sauce from New Jersey.”
At a ribbon-cutting ceremony last week, neighbors gathered to browse the space, which was renovated in part thanks to community donations. It now features local artwork; seating for 45 (including tables that can be reserved for book clubs and community groups); and shelves and display cases stocked with everything from scratch-made sauces and loaves of bread to tubs of Phil’s Dills pickles and Taharka Bros. ice cream.
In particular, the shop is an opportunity for Evanshaw to show off her love of cheese. She has partnered with local wholesaler Simeon Fromberg of The Great Cheese to curate a lineup of 15 varieties, including a spicy yellow Lucifer Blue bleu cheese and a honey gouda, with more to come.
Another highlight is an entire wall of tinned fish (hello, Fishwife) nestled alongside jams and spreads, crackers, and bags of marcona almonds to complement the cheese. The tins serve as a springboard for one of the shop’s first recurring community events, Tinned Fish Tuesdays, which invites shoppers to sit in on a cooking demo using one of the featured varieties, and try it for themselves, on the fourth Tuesday of each month.
Aside from offering options for a picnic spread or charcuterie board, the Market also has its own delicatessen, serving made-to-order sandwiches like a muffuletta, Caprese, Reuben panini, and and Italian sub called “the Guido,” which is a nod to Jason’s grandparents. The bread, including fresh focaccia, is baked by Bluebird Bakery’s Kevin Scheuing. Patrons can also pick up sides of pasta or bean salads and citrus-marinated olives.
Overall, the Market is the couple’s way of doubling down in their investment in the neighborhood they love so much. They’re even working with Cecil County’s Flying Plow Farm to make Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) produce pickups accessible every Wednesday.
“We’ve seen the neighborhood fluctuate, and we just want good things for it,” Evanshaw sums up.