Article in today's paper



I'm so glad to hear about this. For one, an established shop is staying downtown instead of moving out of the city or closing its doors for good. Two, they're moving into a space that's been empty for months. Three, my daily walk to get my morning latte will be cut in half.

I used to go to The Dog House and the Courtyard Cafe when each establishment was open in the future Bentley's space, and thought they were a little on the small side. However, the Bentley's people told me that they will have the second floor to use as well, and it could be either table seating, a lounge area, or a combo. Probably they'll end up with a bit more capacity than they have now...with a larger kitchen that meets current codes, and they'll actually have working A/C. Yay!

This is great news, now I don't have to be in a rush to get there before they close. I'll give them to get settled, then I'll be checking the new joint out.

I'm glad they're staying open AND giving UGO the middle finger.

X100

I wonder where the people who have to appear in court will leave their cell phones when they go into the courthouse after Bentley's moves. Apparently you can't bring a cell phone into the courthouse, and the person running the metal detector just tells everyone to leave their stuff at the bagel shop now (would be a big pain in the a$$ IMO). I guess if the landlord fills it with another restaurant, then those tenants will be stuck with that obligation. I can't imagine the work that would be involved in bringing that shop (and that BUILDING) up to current codes, though, a necessity when leasing to a new restaurant tenant. Maybe somebody will rent it for something non-restaurant...or maybe it'll just sit there empty with some nice brown paper on the windows for a few years, like Nick's Gallery or the Shockey Building. I'm seeing lots of brown paper in the future. Sometimes I think that downtown's slogan could be "Downtown - Think Brown"

maybe they should let some kids paint on the paper. better than a plain brown wrapper.
I've never been in this place. I've never even heard of some of the ones mentioned that were in the spot that they're moving to! One of these years I'll try to venture to downtown Hagerstown and it won't be there!!! oh my!

The building they're moving into has had its share of restaurant occupants since I moved to Wash Co in 1994. When we came here there was a place called "Cafe Matisse" in the space. If I'm not mistaken that was followed by a cajun place very briefly, then was empty for quite a long time. A couple reopened it as The Dog House after making lots of interior improvements to the dining area (and the kitchen from what I've heard, which would be mandatory to bring to code). That place lasted maybe 2 or 3 years, then it changed to Courtyard Cafe under new owners with almost no break between. I guess it was Courtyard Cafe for 2-3 years, but it's been closed up for several months now, with all the furniture, decor and even the condiments still on the tables in the space. I'm glad to see it transitioning once again, and I'd imagine the bus stop people are too.

WVD, indeed you'll have to venture into downtown sometime, at the very least you can dance from musical note to musical note on SoPo, and meet some of us downtown riffraff!

The Dog House was good and they (John and Sheila) were very nice. The reason they closed is because their son didn't want to take over the business, and someone came in and basically offered to write a check for the business. That's too bad, they were so friendly.

Yeah a lot of here where I work really miss The Dog House. Good food and good people like those folks are hard to come by.

My husband was disappointed as well when The Dog House left. I liked the man who owned it with his wife, he sounded just like Cleveland on "Family Guy". :-) Nice folks, great dogs.

Well, I'm glad Bentley's is just moving, not closing. I like their breakfast bagels & coffee. I loved the floor & ceilings in that building though. Oh well.

I've never had their breakfast bagels. I ssume you mean like a bacon and egg on the bagel? I am definately going to have to get one of those if that's the case.

their breakfast sandwiches come on your choice of bagel or toast and they have several cheeses and meats to choose from. very tasty. you can even get steak on it. i like their omelet bagel sandwich, where they stir in peppers & onions & ham with the egg.

Is this a breakfast 'hour' deal, or can you get these all day?

They stop serving breakfast at 11:00, I believe.

You can call in a take out order right?

yeah. they do small caterings and downtown delivery too. also, they e-mail their specials every morning to anyone who gives them an e-mail address. they usually have two specials advertised in the shop, then one super-secret special that's only advertised via e-mail.

(no, i have no interest in bentley's for anyone who thinks so...i just go there all the time...)

changeisgood....is that you?!?

oh my god, that was too funny! i guess i should've seen that coming...

Today is Bentley's last day at their current location across from the courthouse. They'll be opening at the old Courtyard Cafe in a few weeks. I got an e-mail from them, sent to all their customers, about a going-away party they're having today from 4:00 - 6:30. They'll have snacks and drinks. Is anyone else going to go?

Clever !! That was a super secret!!!!

leave it to clever! lol

I'd like to make it tonight, but it just isn't in the cards. I'll be there when they open though.

Nah, it's all good, I just talked to Jordan and it's not super-secret, it's just a customer-appreciation thingie. Webbie, are ya going?

they told me yesterday that why will open up on the 18th at the new place.

I wonder how this will effect the Skyline coffee across the street.

Good question, I am sure it will have some effect, but Skyline does almost all its business just in drinks, right? And don't do much food? Probably people just wanting coffee drinks will go to Skyline and those wanting coffee drinks and food will go to Bentley's. I would imagine each established restaurant downtown has its regular clientele, which would be unlikely to change as long as quality and price don't change significantly. When Bones & Cones was open they also had an espresso machine, I wonder how much impact they had on Skyline (and Square Cup before it). I say the more the merrier. Gives people several options within a small area; if the line at the Plum is long then they'll go to Bentley's, and vice versa.

I don't think there were a whole lot of empty downtown places available, already set up for a restaurant and meeting current codes. The old Courtyard Cafe space just happened to be the best option for them...

So how was last night?

Fine. They were disappointed in the turnout - the rain came through just for their party - but several customers stopped by. There was a cake. And sangria. Today is supposed to be their big move where they get all their stuff out of the space. Man is that building ever going to look even more desolate once their shop is emptied out. There's something new going in on the corner of the Hamilton but not sure what it is. (There's a stop order on the door but (allegedly) they've been doing work in there at night anyway... ) until whatever it is moves in, the only occupants of the building are the comic book store and the state fire marshal's office. So sad!

Get new owners, and get nice office suites in there.

There is also that place that sells the kitchen cabinets.

whoops, I forgot about that place, you're absolutely right. Then again, it's owned by the landlords so I don't think it's moving out anytime soon.