Meet Your Merchant- Hambleton Inn

Name:  Hambleton Inn

Address:  202 Cherry Street, St. Michaels

Website:  www.HambletonInn.com

Phone:  410-745-3350

Hours:  Open 24 X 7

Who are the owners?  Owners: Drs. Charles and Sherry Manning

How and why did you start your business?   Charles and I are both lifetime educators, and for us, creating an environment for others – for joy, entertainment, rest, nurture – one that shares both the history and the present of the Chesapeake Bay – is wonderful. We have beautiful rooms, grand views of the water, and serve gourmet breakfast each morning, with local sourced fruits and vegetables, eggs and bacon, right here from the Eastern Shore.

 

What do you do?   We host a Bed and Breakfast Inn right on the harbor of St. Michaels.

Where is your business located and why did you choose your location?  We are right on the water by the Honeymoon Bridge; very simply, it’s the best location in the town of St. Michaels.

What strategy do you use to draw people to your establishment?   We have excellent accommodations: a historic home, totally restored bathrooms in each room, flat screen TV’s, air conditioning, stunning linens, distinctive artwork from the Eastern Shore, gourmet breakfasts every morning, and complementary wine. We use the internet, electronic reservation system,  and our website for marketing, but truly the Inn and our service sell themselves.

What is your strategy for growth in the next year?  Do what we do best…

What is the best thing about running a business here?   St. Michaels is a treasure: the water, the light, the history, the Museum, the people. Very simply, it is wonderful to live here.

Like Another World in St. Michaels, Maryland

Like Another World in St. Michaels, Maryland

By Tracey Munson - Photos by Tracey Munson

As you cruise, paddle, or sail along the Miles River—or stroll among historic homes and storefronts, it’s easy to imagine yourself in another world while visiting the waterfront village of St. Michaels.

That’s because the authenticity of this Chesapeake town is abundantly preserved along its picturesque harbor, and among its historic district of boutique shops, romantic inns, four-star restaurants, and museums. 

It’s a peaceful place that includes all the modern-day amenities you would expect—minus the neon hustle and bustle that often comes with a resort town.

St. Michaels dates back to the mid-1600s, when it served as a trading post for area tobacco farmers and trappers. Throughout the 1800s and early 1900s, St. Michaels’ economy focused around the booming shipbuilding and seafood industries, which carries forward today in restaurant offerings of Maryland blue crab and other local seafood.

Located about halfway along the Chesapeake Bay’s Eastern Shore, St. Michaels shares 600 miles of Talbot County shoreline. This well-preserved port is situated between the Miles River and Michener's Broad Creek.

As legend goes, St. Michaels gained its name as "the Town that fooled the British” during the War of 1812. St. Michaels’ residents—forewarned that British barges were positioned to attack with cannon fire—hoisted lanterns high into the trees above the town. This fooled the British into overshooting St. Michaels’ houses and shipyards.

Today, families, couples, boaters, and other visitors are the focus of attention in St. Michaels, with tourism the modern-day economic engine of this vibrant town. It’s a place of celebration and reflection, and home to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, where the maritime cultures and traditions of the region are shared along 18 waterfront acres, without a single “do not touch” sign in any of its 12 exhibit buildings. A climb to the top of the 1879 Hooper Strait Lighthouse reveals a spectacular view of St. Michaels and the Miles River.

St. Michaels is also home to world-class spas and a Pete Dye golf course, not to mention friendly locals with a laid-back style. Biking and walking trails, waterfront parks, and various on-the-water activities— including kayaking, guided river cruises, crabbing, and fishing—give adults and families plenty to do. The town is also very dog friendly, with pets welcome at several inns and B&Bs, and water bowls found at dockside bars and local shops everywhere you turn.

The town also hosts several festivals throughout the year, including Eastern Shore Sea Glass and Coastal Arts Festival, WineFest in St. Michaels and St Michaels Brew Fest in the spring, and OysterFest in the fall. On select, summer weekends, log canoe sailing races can be watched on the Miles River, either by boat or on land.

A local winery, brewery, and distillery are situated along the town’s main street, with samples, tours, and demonstrations offered to visitors. 

Mementos from your trip won’t be found in plastic tchotchkes or through chain stores. Instead, you can enjoy the town’s boutique shops, where unique finds are yours to take home and treasure.  

Nightlife in St. Michaels brings the culinary treats of award-winning chefs to the docks and tables of numerous restaurants. Alfresco dining and live music make for memorable evenings, while the cool breezes from the Miles River envelope visitors walking the town’s historic neighborhoods and harbor by lamplight and foot.

While Baltimore Clipper ships and seafood processing plants are no longer found in this waterfront town, one thing remains—St. Michaels is like visiting another world—with its shipbuilding and seafood traditions carried forward in a way that engages the visitor in a truly authentic experience, one to be treasured and remembered for a lifetime. 

For more information, visit www.stmichaelsmd.org.  

Meet Your Merchant - Poore House Printing

Name Of Business: Poore House Printing

Location: 111 Fremont Street in St. Michaels and 

314 N. Aurora Street  Easton

Website info: www.poorehouseprinting.com

Facebook: Poore House Printing

Phone number: 410-745-3200

Hours of operation: St. Michaels 9:00 am to 4:00 p.m

Who are the owners? Larry and Sharon Poore

How and why you started your business? I had been the newspaper business in Annapolis and we moved back to St. Michaels, I saw the need for printing and copying in the area…so I began the business in 1985 with a copier located in the office of Big Al’s Market. I designed everything and sent it out to be printed. An addition was added to the upstairs of Big Al’s and we added office supplies…eventually moving to the shopping center…then purchasing the building in on Fremont Street where we are today.

What do you sell/make/do? Printing, Copies, UPS Shipping, Design & Mailing Services. I also am in the Sharp Copier business, partnering with Inacom Information Systems and have a showroom in our Easton location.

                                 

Where is your business located and why did you choose your location?  Poore House Printing is located on 111 Fremont Street, across from the Library…we purchased the building in 2010. We recently opened an Easton office on 314 N. Aurora Street with my son’s business Omni Business Solutions. The St. Michaels location remains our production facility.

What strategy do you use to draw people to your establishment? Recently we brought back a local mailer that I did over 20 years ago. When my son Josh moved back and started his own business, Omni Solutions Agency, marketing and design firm, he found that there was no true avenue to get your message out to the local area. So we have established Buy Local-Be Local Promotions…catering to locally owned businesses. We started out in the Bay Hundred area, added a Greater Easton mailer and soon hope to expand to Dorchester and Queen Anne’s counties.

What is your strategies for growth in the next year? Keep working on adding and retaining new clients for printing…and growing with the Buy Local-Be Local Mailer and the Copier Business

What is the best thing about running a business here? We both grew up here, so it is nice to have great lifelong friends and colleagues.

Meet the Merchant - Blue Heron Coffee

Name of Business: Blue Heron Coffee, LLC
Location: 500 S. Talbot Street-side entrance,
St Michaels, MD 21663

Phone: 410-714-0334
Website: Blue Heron Coffee

Hours: Monday-Thursday 5:30a-2:30p, Friday 5:30a-5:00p, Saturday 7:00a-5:00p, Sun 7:00a-2:30p.

Who are the owners?   Randy and Joy Royer

How and why you started your business?   What started out as a hobby turned into a passion for good coffee. Randy and Joy Royer have been roasting coffee for themselves for about 5 or 6 years and decided it was time to share what really fresh coffee is about with other people.

What do you sell/make/do?   Blue Heron Coffee offers freshly roasted coffee to either take a bag home with you or enjoy a cup in the small café. Bulk coffee is sold whole bean or ground. We will grind it to your liking, or sell you a grinder from Bodum so you can grind it fresh at home. We also offer variety boxes and individual pouches for a single pot.  You can also grab a bite to eat! Sourced locally, we offer baked goods from Magnolia Bread Company, Sudlersville, MD and yogurt from Nice Farms Creamery, Federalsburg, MD.

Where is your business located and why did you choose your location?  We opened a small batch roastery in St. Michaels at the corner of Talbot and West Chestnut Streets. We are located in the same building as Sophie’s Poseys and Shore Pedal and Paddle, on the side of the building where the parking lot is.  We opened it in a perfect spot where locals and visitor's can grab a cup of coffee and baked goods from Magnolia Bread Company of Sudlersville.

 What strategy do you use to draw people to your establishment?    We brew four coffees daily. The daily brews are posted early in the morning on Facebook, when we open at 5:30 a.m. during the week and 7 a.m. on the weekends. We also offer in store single cup pour-overs and 3 cup and 8 cup French Press preparations.  Our mission statement says it all!

• We provide always fresh coffee, by roasting it on the premises.
• Our coffee is always 100% from current crop Arabica beans.
• The in-store coffee service includes French Press, single cup pour over, and tasting flights.
• We offer Bodum coffee gear: grinders, presses, travel mugs, etc.
• Our food service is always locally sourced, from local farmers, bakers and chocolatiers.
• The bulk coffee bags are completely compostable, after the tin tie is removed.
• We place special emphasis on coffees from the Americas to help minimize trans- global transportation. It’s hard to be green when your main product is green coffee from around the world.

What is your strategies for growth in the next year?   Being our first year in business, we hope to grow quickly!

What is the best thing about running a business here?   We love St. Michaels and it's residents, the quaint small town feeling and enjoy meeting the visitor's from all over!

Meet Your Merchant - Antiques on Talbot

Name Of Business: Antiques on Talbot

Location:  211 N. Talbot Street, St Michaels, MD 21663

Website: www.antiquesontalbot.com

Phone number: 410-745-5208

Hours of operation:
April- Dec 10am-5pm daily

Jan-Mar Sun/Mon/Thurs 10am-4pm,
Fri/Sat 10am-5pm (closed Tues/Wed)

Who are the owners?   
Carol Krasnowiecki, Mary Harrison, Carol Burke- partners/LLC

Step inside Antiques on Talbot
for treasures waiting

How and why you started your business? 
Each of us had been in the business prior to our current venture, which we began in May 2008. Prior to this opening, we were most recently together in another nearby location in town and also individually in other locations both in and out of St Michaels. Mary Harrison and her late husband had also built a reputation and following by participating in local antique shows.

What do you sell/make/do?   The three partners are joined by five other antiques dealers offering a variety of antiques and collectibles, ranging from oyster plates/cans, decoys, nautical, old tools, sterling silver, china, glassware, artwork, jewelry, lighting, furniture, books, quilts, linens, rugs and other unique items of interest. We like to say that we have everything from “Chippendale to Cannon Balls!”

Antiques on Talbot, open year round

Where is your business located and why did you choose your location?  
We are located on Talbot Street at the far end of town, on the same side as and just before the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. We are known for having a blue canoe out front around which we decorate seasonally. We actually have people taking pictures in front of our canoe and have won a prize in the annual Waterfowl Festival outdoor decoration contest two years running. We chose our location because the size and interior configuration of the space met our needs and the exterior provided parking for our customers. This encourages local full and part-time residents to drop by and become regular customers in addition to our ever changing tourist population.

New finds every week at
Antiques on Talbot

 What strategy do you use to draw people to your establishment?   In addition to being members of the St Michael’s Business Association and appearing in the annual tourist guide, we advertise in local publications, distribute our rack cards widely and have participated in developing a flyer/map in conjunction with other antique shops on the Eastern Shore. We also participate in donations, contests and try to conduct business so as to establish our reputation for honesty, integrity and above and beyond service.

What is your strategies for growth in the next year?  Given that the number of antique shops in historic St Michaels has diminished greatly, we are looking at how the antique business overall has evolved and determining/reassessing what we need to do/supply to meet the needs/desires of our consumers. Just as in fashion and food and decorating, there are trends of popularity of antiques/collectible items as well and we strive to keep current and knowledgeable. We are always interested in meeting with other quality dealers who are like minded and might like to join us.

What is the best thing about running a business here?   Definitely, the people who walk through our doors and our returning customers. Visitors to St Michaels come from all areas of the globe and it is fascinating to learn how they discovered St Michaels, if they are enjoying their time in town and what they might collect or what catches their eye. The town itself provides a fantastic get away and the restaurants, B & Bs and inns all help to enhance the overall experience.