The Saturday farmers market in Ellicott City doesn’t officially begin until 9 a.m., but on a recent sunny June morning, many of the dozen-plus vendors opened earlier. Before long, customers formed lines to purchase savory empanadas, sourdough, and bright red heirloom tomatoes as vendors made small talk with regular customers.

Guests piled onto picnic benches at Tiber Park, located at the bottom of this hilly historic town that dates to 1772. Adults and kids dug into croissant sandwiches and Nutella-filled crepes while listening to local musician Mike Walls, who pivoted from Bob Dylan to “Wheels on the Bus” during his opening number.

Held from Memorial Day weekend to late October, the Old Ellicott City Farmers Market debuted last year, bringing foot traffic and enlivening a town hit hard by two floods (in 2016 and 2018) and the economic toll of the pandemic.

“The farmers market is the best new thing I’ve seen out of Ellicott City in the past 10 years,” says Mark Hemmis, owner of Phoenix Upper Main, a restaurant known for its extensive beer selection. “It’s been a tremendous addition to town. It really brings some life.”

The farmers market is just one of the additions that have contributed to what some locals describe as a comeback for a beloved shopping and dining destination. Visitors from around the state shop at its independent businesses housed in preserved 18th- and 19th-century buildings replete with distinctive architectural details like intricate ironwork. A host of new businesses, a weekend shuttle that moves people up and down Main Street’s steep slope—not to mention a county-led flood mitigation plan—have also boosted optimism among locals.

“I think we’re on the cusp of a renaissance down here,” says Matt Krist, who owns Backwater Books & Bibliopub with his wife, Alli.

The former teachers opened the bookstore in 2022 and the bar, which serves beer, wine, and nonalcoholic drinks, the following year. According to Alli, people who haven’t been to Ellicott City in years are “rediscovering” the place and feel like it’s coming back.

The Ellicott City Partnership, the nonprofit that supports the town’s small businesses, says it no longer tracks foot traffic. But many entrepreneurs anecdotally report growing sales and increased shoppers, though performance will naturally vary across the more than 80 businesses in town. The town’s most recent SpringFest, held in April, was the busiest for The Wine Bin since the festival began 12 years ago.

“It was slammed,” says owner Dave Carney of his 18-year-old wine shop. “I love seeing the town hopping.”

That sentiment is a far cry from how Ellicott City would have been described only a few short years ago, when two floods killed three people and devastated shops. Main Street was shut down for nearly a month after the May 2018 flood, straining business owners’ cash flow. Eventually, flood damage resulted in several buildings being demolished (though some architectural elements were salvaged and repurposed elsewhere in town).

Several cherished restaurants left the town for good after the second flood, including Portalli’s, Cacao Lane, and the humming coffee shop Bean Hollow Cafe. The devastating damage prompted Gordon Ramsey to highlight Ellicott City on his “24 Hours to Hell and Back” series, spotlighting several businesses in the town. Among them was the Jaxon Edwin Social House, which closed due to the pandemic soon after the episode aired.

“The first flood was shocking and heartbreaking,” says Julia Sanger, past president of the Ellicott City Partnership. “The second flood was soul-crushing.”

Sanger and her mother, Donna, own a 10-year-old gourmet food and cookware store, Park Ridge Trading Co., and, until last April, a popular ice cream stall, Park Ridge Creamery.

“THE FIRST FLOOD WAS SHOCKING AND HEARTBREAKING…THE SECOND FLOOD WAS SOUL-CRUSHING.”

Floods are nothing new for Ellicott City. It has experienced at least eight floods in its history, the earliest recorded in 1868. During storms, water from the Patapsco River and creeks rushes down the sloped valley, gaining speed as it descends, making downtown prone to high water. But the most recent ones prompted Howard County officials to make substantial changes to prevent the same type of lasting damage from happening again as part of its Ellicott City Safe and Sound Plan.

The $350 million that have been secured for the project come from local, state, and federal sources. Some county residents have grumbled about the use of taxpayer money, but the county says that they were able to use grants, low-interest loans, and federal dollars in addition to local and state funding.

Construction began two years ago on a mile-long, 18-foot-wide tunnel that will divert 26,000 gallons of water per second from Main Street into the Patapsco River. A tunnel boring machine, nicknamed “Rocky,” began tearing through the granite blocking the path this summer and will wrap up in the fall of 2027. The plan also calls for five stormwater retention ponds, three of which have been completed.

Vendors say that the flood mitigation work has been slow-moving, but they’re cautiously optimistic that the damage won’t be as excessive during the next big storm.

“I hope that what they’re investing in now changes the future for Ellicott City,” says Tammy Beideman. She owns Sweet Elizabeth Jane, a women’s clothing and accessories shop on Main Street.

When flash flooding occurs in Ellicott City, the buildings at the lowest elevations are most vulnerable. The 2016 flood prompted Beideman, whose shop once resided near the bottom of Main Street, to move a couple blocks up the hill to higher ground.

Hemmis also moved to a safer spot. His former restaurant, the Phoenix Emporium, was one of the four flood ravaged buildings the county slated for demolition (it was ultimately torn down in 2024). So, in 2020, he purchased the former Ellicott Mills Brewing Co. four blocks up the street, renamed it Phoenix Upper Main, merged the concepts, and retained many staff from the restaurant when he acquired it.

Turns out, the upheaval was fortuitous—Hemmis says that being in a larger space with 250 seats allows him to serve bigger groups and host more banquets, boosting sales by five to six percent the last few years.

“We did a fairly good banquet business at the previous location. And now that I’m up here, we’ve got more room to do it,” he says.

In place of the demolished buildings, the county expanded Tiber Park, an expanse of green with cornhole games and planters. The park also hosts the tree-lighting ceremony during the holidays and a community art project during SpringFest in addition to being a space for young kids to play.

“The Tiber Park space has been an amazing addition,” Sanger says. “It feels more open and welcoming.”

Other improvements to the town include the Ellicott City “trolley,” a free, 14-passenger county van that runs on Saturdays and Sundays along Main Street. Inspired by a streetcar that operated here for 50 years in the 19th and 20th centuries, it eases congestion along Main Street and helps people with mobility challenges traverse the steep incline.

Vendors note that it’s especially needed during the town’s two major festivals, autumn’s Main Street Music Fest and SpringFest, when food trucks, artists, and musicians take over one of the bigger parking lots.

Several businesses that opened since the 2020 pandemic have infused the town with new energy and broadened the appeal of an area once known primarily for its antiques stores. Doc Taylor’s Toy Emporium, a whimsical purveyor of games and toys, and The Crazy Mason Milkshake Bar draw families. The boba and sweet shop Sugar Plum Tea & Pastry opened in a spot formerly held by the Jaxon Edwin Social House of Gordon Ransey infamy. Umi Sushi became the town’s first Japanese restaurant in 2019 and has expanded its indoor space twice. On warmer days, diners rush to its serene patio, where they can hear the water flowing down the Tiber River.

New business owners have reinvigorated the town, Sanger says. “All they know is that they love this town, and that is kind of infectious.”

Once the site of a significant department store that lasted 50 years, the historic Caplan’s building opened last fall as an incubator for small Howard County businesses. The Market at Caplan’s features local artisan pasta makers, Black-owned beauty businesses, and pottery studios.

Home decor and gift shop store Lucky Lane Interiors and Al’s Love Cafe, which employs neurodivergent employees, opened this year. The Wine Bin’s Carney is opening a small plates restaurant and cocktail bar, Vesper at Pike & Main, this summer. He brought on Howard County native Rachel Bindel to lead the kitchen. Her impressive culinary stints include the lauded Charleston, South Carolina, restaurant Husk and the Michelin-starred D.C. restaurants Gravitas and the now-shuttered Tail Up Goat.

Carney says he hopes Vesper will fill the town’s need for an intimate spot that’s special enough for date nights but \ casual enough to attract regulars who tune in for the changing menu.

“Restaurants drive business,” says Carney, who notes that Ellicott City has yet to regain many of the eateries it lost to the floods. “I think [Vesper] is going to help.”

“THIS IS A VERY STUBBORN GROUP OF PEOPLE. AT THE END OF THE DAY, THE TOWN IS RESILIENT.”

As space becomes available, new tenants are stepping in, an indicator that Ellicott City still has the cachet to attract businesses. Take for example the eminent French eatery Tersiguel’s, which bid adieu in December after 50 years in business. This year it’s been replaced by River House On Main. “People want to come here and start a business down here,” Sanger says.

More events are also bringing people back to the town. The spring and fall festivals have always been a key driver of foot traffic in Ellicott City, but there are small community events, too. The Wine Bin’s parking lot overflows with adults and kids taking in blockbuster and classic films on Saturday nights in the summer—a seasonal event Carney has been hosting for 17 years. Other business owners are hosting their own gatherings.

With its cozy reading nooks, live music, and author events, Backwater Books has captivated literary lovers of all ages. Hosting poetry readings, live music, book clubs, and other events nearly every night, the bookstore has become a community hub.

“We joke that we’re a community center that’s masquerading as a bookstore,” Matt Krist says.

Sweet Elizabeth Jane hosts jewelry-making classes and farmers market vendor Enchanted Flower Farm has led bouquet-making workshops, adding another layer of experiences for customers. The goal of these events isn’t necessarily to generate a ton of same-day sales. Beideman explains that gatherings like these build community, and community supports business.

“People feel like they’re a part of something,” she says.

Beideman says business is better than ever. She attributes it to several changes she made to her shop, such as focusing more on local professional women rather than tourists, selling online, and promoting on social media. Sales during the first four months of 2026 were up 20 percent compared to last year and 10 percent compared to five years ago.

But there’s more to the Ellicott City renaissance than retail. A new cultural hub, the Capitoline Center, opened in March in a former county circuit courthouse. It features the new headquarters of the Howard County Arts Council, a black box theater, rotating art exhibits, and the Asian American and Pacific Islander Cultural Center.

“It’s a draw for everyone to come to Ellicott City, so there’s more besides the shops and the restaurants,” says Lisa Scarbath, a resident artist at the Capitoline Center and a member-owner of the Artists Gallery on Main Street.

The center’s arts classes, from dance to figure drawing, can also draw more people downtown. There’s a push to bring more residents close to town, too. Just over the Baltimore County line in Oella, an eight-story, former flour mill constructed in 1916 is being adaptively reused into 190 luxury apartments. Expected to open by the end of September, the development will likely bring more residents within walking distance of Main Street later this year.

And all of this positive change and growth has led to a real air of hope in Ellicott City today—for the first time in a while.

“I hope in five years, the town is back to normal,” says Carney. “All the buildings have been renovated. The tunnel’s done. The flooding is in the distant past, and people don’t remember it. None of us want to talk about that anymore.  We’re all over the flood.”

But even if the town faces more setbacks, Ellicott City isn’t going anywhere, says Beideman.

“This is a very stubborn group of people. At the end of the day, the town is resilient.”

Open the door at Bohemian House, an eclectic art gallery and gift shop on Main Street in historic Ellicott City, and you’re bound to see owner Tiffany Brown Averill standing at the till, her signature rockabilly style on full display.

She’ll flash her big smile and before you know it, you’re sharing your life story and she’s helping you pick the right crystal to get your aura back on track or she’s describing each artist in the shop like a proud parent.

“I love people. I love making connections. I love people’s stories,” says Averill, who first opened in 2020 on lower Main Street closer to the railroad tracks. She wanted her store to encompass all the things that made her happy. “I really just wanted to do it for me and do what I’m good at and obviously be part of this awesome street.”

When the opportunity arose, she moved up the hill closer to more high-end boutiques like Su Casa and Sweet Elizabeth Jane. “This is my happy hole,” she says, with her trademark throaty laugh, of her 800-square-foot brick-and-mortar.

Her shop is funky, wide-ranging, and accessible. “I want people to touch the art or pick up a sculpture or something handmade, and I want them to connect to the community,” says Averill, who fills her store with locally sourced original artwork, home décor, oddities, repurposed vintage, candles, jewelry, and healing oils.

“Every artist that I have is local, so I’m not sourcing paintings from, like, an art dealer in L.A.,” she says. “Art should be accessible. It shouldn’t be serious and stuffy.” (Averill herself is a fine-arts painter.)

Her take on art comes from growing up in a culturally rich environment. Averill was raised in Baltimore—the PR powerhouse Edie Brown is her aunt—and attended Garrison Forest before finishing high school at Seton Keough. (“I was the only Jewish girl,” Averill recalls. “Which was interesting.”) Her father was a doctor and her mother a nurse. But both parents also dabbled in sculpting and weaving. Aunt Edie owned a pottery shop when Averill was a kid.

“I used to hang out in there,” she says. “They had this walk-in kiln, and it was filled with pottery at all times, so I’d go in there and look at the glazes.”

Averill was fascinated at how the kiln—a thermally insulated chamber—used heat to alter the finishes through chemical changes. “That really inspired me.”

Her parents also took Averill and her brothers to art museums like The Walters Art Museum and Baltimore Museum of Art, sketch books in tow. “When I was growing up, my parents were very hell-bent on making sure my brothers and I had culture,” says Averill.

Her natural talent was evident, and she spent time in middle and high school attending young artist studios at the Maryland Institute College of Art. “I loved it. I’ve just always been around art.”

But despite her family’s deep love of the arts, plus tons of family friends who were artists, “I think they shit their pants a little bit when I said I wanted to go to art school,” laughs Averill. They were probably worried she’d grow up to be a starving artist. They eventually relented, and Averill headed to MICA to study painting and art history. She lasted a year.

“It just wasn’t my jam,” she admits. She ultimately headed south to the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) where she dropped the art history part and dove into painting and fiber arts, textiles, weaving, sculpture, and crocheting—“all the things, but mostly painting.”

She loved the school and the city and spent eight years there before heading back to Baltimore. She spent the next 10 years as a restoration artist and gallery assistant at Renaissance Fine Arts and another eight at Radcliffe Jewelers as a luxury sales manager running the bridal registry.  “I can sell you a Rolex or a Picasso,” she chuckles. And she loved it, but she longed to be part of a community surrounded by the items she wanted to sell.

Growing up, her best friend lived in Catonsville—where Averill lives now with her husband and youngest son—and Ellicott City had always been the “fun backyard” they hung out in. She loved the historic buildings, quirkiness, community, and romance of a main street.

“I love history, which is one thing that drew me to Savannah. So, when I was thinking of opening a store, I knew that it was going to be either in Catonsville or here. Obviously, being in Ellicott City is an absolute privilege, and I don’t take that for granted.” (If you like ghost stories, Averill has plenty of encounters she’s happy to share.)

Even though she became a shop owner after the big floods of 2016 and 2018, she’s well aware of the scar it left on many business owners, but also the resilience that grew out of it.

“We have this motto, community over competition. And we’re a tight group,” she says. “You know, sometimes we close shop in the middle of the day and go have a martini.”

Averill sits on the executive board for the Ellicott City Partnership, which oversees the town, and is part of the Main Streets of America organization. “I really am passionate about bringing people to Ellicott City. I mean, my store is great, but I want other stores to be successful, too, because when you build a strong town and a strong Main Street, everything around it thrives.”

Even with her shop and board commitment, she still finds time to work as an art restorer for a number of historical societies and big estates. “I have a whole side hustle of restoration and conservation work,” she says. She loves relying on her years of learning and problem-solving, and there’s a little bit of chemistry, too. “It’s [figuring out] what paints they were using, what pigments, what solvents during different periods of time. So, it’s a lot of science and a lot of detective work.”

She stops. “I’m a strange bird,” she says. But she’s not. Just an impressive renaissance woman.

“They say it takes three to five years to build a business,” says Averill, who is now in year five. Last year’s goal was to double her business, which she did. So, her goal for this year is to expand her Ritual product line, which includes oils, simmer pots, and candles.

She learned to make candles when she was at SCAD, working at a shop called Kandlestix that did candle demonstrations for all the tourists. Averill would dip and hand-carve and create shapes over and over again. “I just always loved wax.”

She also loves what creating candles and oils represent—the act of doing something as self-care. “I mean, anything you can do, whether it’s having a glass of wine on your porch or lighting a candle, it’s about being present. It’s a constant reminder to just be there.”

She feels that way about art, too. It should give you pause and bring you joy. “There are so many different reasons to buy art, but it should not matter, as long as you have some kind of emotional reaction to it,” she says.

When customers come in, she tells them it doesn’t matter if they are sourcing art from a free cycle site, Goodwill, if it’s passed down, or if they spend thousands of dollars on it.

“It doesn’t matter, as long as you love it, as long as it makes your space feel like home,” she says. “That’s what art is. It’s that feeling of home.”

Like many Marylanders, Brian Treacy sat devastated as he watched news footage of flood waters rushing down Main Street in Ellicott City on Sunday, May 27. The town’s second catastrophic flood in two years had wiped out businesses, overturned vehicles, and taken the life of Sgt. Eddison Hermond, a heroic National Guardsmen who was attempting to rescue a resident when he got caught in the torrent.

“My heart just went out to them,” says Treacy, president of the Sagamore Spirit distillery in Port Covington. “Less than 18 months after the first flood, these folks were going through this again. I immediately sent off an email to my team saying, ‘I don’t know what it is, but we need to do something.’ By the time I came in on Monday, people were standing there at the door ready to talk about what we could do to help.”

At the time, Sagamore’s limited-release Cognac Finish—a rye whiskey five years in the making—was just about ready to go to market. But instead of shipping the bottles through distributors and retailers, the company decided to sell them directly from the distillery and donate 100 percent of the proceeds to flood relief efforts led by the Ellicott City Partnership (ECP).

“It was a challenging decision for us in some ways because we wanted to get it as far out into the market as possible,” Treacy says. “But the way things are set up in the three-tier system, there would be one third or less of the money left by the time we went through that process. We wanted to make sure the Ellicott City community had every dollar.”

This Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., the Cognac Finish will be on full display at a special iteration of Sagamore’s ongoing Whiskey on the Waterfront event. Aside from featuring the usual live music by local bands and eats from neighboring Rye Street Tavern, this weekend’s outdoor fête will focus on selling all 1,000 bottles of Cognac Finish.

Priced at $70 per bottle, the limited-release rye is 105-proof—featuring notes of spice, honey, almond, and vanilla from its time spent finishing in French cognac barrels.

“We proofed it pretty high, so it’s nice and strong just like the Ellicott City community,” Treacy says. “We thought it would be a great dedication to them. They’re extremely resilient, and they’re worthy of one of our best whiskies yet.”

More than 30 Ellicott City shops and restaurants have reopened since the flash flood, and officials are anticipating that traffic on Main Street could resume as early as this weekend. But there are still many residents and business owners who will benefit greatly from Sagamore’s direct donation.

“As sad as a devastating flood is, I’m uplifted each day by the generosity of people all over who want to help,” says Heather Gaetano, ECP board member and promotions committee chair. “When we’re having our rougher moments, it really helps to know that we’re still supported and people still believe in our town.”

In the spirit of community, Sagamore invited Ellicott City executives to the distillery campus earlier this month to participate in the bottling of the Cognac Finish. Gaetano—along with Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman, County Council representative Jon Weinstein, and other officials—were involved in every step of the process, and even got to initial some of the labels.

“Many of our hours are usually spent agonizing over individual stories and difficulties,” Gaetano says. “So this was a really positive way to be together and feel supported. It’s nice to see that people don’t want to let go of the magic that is Old Ellicott City.”

Treacy, who describes the bottling event as a “career highlight,” is looking forward to expanding that experience to the community this weekend. Though organizers are hoping to sell out at Saturday’s event, any leftover bottles will be available for purchase at the EC Marketplace on Saturday, July 28—which will be followed by the 2018 ECStrong 5K around the neighborhood.

“It doesn’t end once these bottles sell,” Treacy says. “Ellicott City knows they have a big lift in front of them, and they do it with a smile and they don’t complain. It’s our job to keep checking in to see what we can do.”