Restaurant Roulette

I have participated in many entertaining conversations about restaurants in Columbia/HoCo that might best be described as “you know, the place that’s in the place that used to be the place that went to that other place.”

For example:

The Starbucks in Wilde Lake was previously a KFC, although many locals still call it the Jack in the Box. The Second Chance in Oakland Mills replaced the short-lived Fire Rock Grill, but, most folks remembered The Last Chance Saloon more vividly. I’m sure you can think of a few more.

When I saw this bit of news in the Baltimore Business Journal about Columbia’s Ale House I had a hard time believing they’d already been in business for ten years. It doesn’t seem all that long ago that they were building on the site of the well-known restaurant Rocky Run.

Ale House Columbia joins competition on Dobbin Road, Sara Toth, Baltimore Sun, December 12, 2012

And now they’re already old enough to consider a complete overhaul! The BBJ article by Amanda Yeager makes it clear that’s more than a fresh coat of paint. When you consider how hard the pandemic was on area restaurants, it’s surprising to me that Ale House is able to invest that kind of money right now. I hope it’s a sign that the owners feel that the Columbia location continues to be worth that kind of investment.

More restaurant roulette: (Musical chairs? Hopscotch? Tic tac toe?)

Frisco Tap House (which was originally Frisco Burrito and located at Stanford and Dobbin) has most recently been located on Dobbin and has now moved to McGaw Road where they will open in yet a new incarnation: Frisco and the Reckless Shepherd. Holy moly, that’s a mouthful. Potential nicknames? Any ideas?

As an aside, I recently saw someone on Facebook refer to Frisco’s original location as “the rebuild shopping center.” I like it.

It’s very old news that the Pepperjacks folks opened a second location at Annapolis Junction. But did you know that the same folks have opened Notch 8 Brewery? It appears to be in the same location, Annapolis Junction. I’m not finding a website at the moment. If you’ve been there, fill me in.

In somewhat related news, there’s a restauant in Ellicott City called Fox and Barrel which I have been wanting to visit purely because it looks to me like the original Pepperjacks location in Scaggsville.(Which used to be a service station, by the way.) See what you think. On the top, Fox and Barrel. On the bottom, Pepperjacks.

Do you have any good restaurant stories to share? Recent news? Historical tidbits? Post them here.

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