From MacKenzie Commercial Real Estate Services:
Popular Ocean City restaurant and brewery, Ocean City Brewing Company, will be making its Baltimore debut at The Boulevard at Box Hill project in Abingdon, Harford County, Maryland this fall. Ocean City Brewing Company will be taking the place of Joe’s Crab Shack that just announced their upcoming closing on September 9, 2015. MacKenzie Retail’s Executive Vice President/Principal Tom Fidler and Associate Laura Williams represent the owner of Boulevard at Box Hill, Ward Properties.
Ocean City Brewing Company’s move to Baltimore signifies more than the opening of another great dining option; it is a role reversal of the trend where a Baltimore company heads to Ocean City or neighboring beach towns. In the past five years, we have witnessed Baltimore-based Ryleigh’s Oyster, Buddy’s Crabs, Ropewalk Tavern, Dead Freddie’s, and Abbey Burger Bistro all make their beach debut. The Ocean City market continues to be a vacation destination for the residents of Baltimore and surrounding counties. With successful brands and dining experiences here locally, these restaurants have looked to Ocean City for the opportunity to expand that same customer loyalty, and mix in the impressive tourism Ocean City enjoys during the summer months. With the ever expanding summer season and Ocean City becoming a more year-round community, their customer base can now grow exponentially.
“The departure of Joe’s Crab Shack is unfortunate; however, any opportunity to revamp a freestanding restaurant as part of a larger mixed-use project, and to re-tool a menu to better serve the community, is always exciting,” said Jim Martin of Ward Properties.
“Ocean City Brewing Company offers a concept that will appeal to the masses in Harford County, offering a more extensive, broader menu and a unique dining environment,” stated Tom Fidler. “Now, add Ocean City Brewing’s infamous craft beer selection, coupled with the popularity that Ocean City has with everyone in the Baltimore area, and this will be a great success.”
Ocean City Brewing Company is a full-service craft brewery with a family restaurant, craft beer pub, and gift shop. Owner Joshua Shores, a true Ocean City native has split his time living between Bel Air, MD and the beach, and longed to bring something back to his hometown. His enjoyment of craft beer and admiration of the camaraderie among breweries, he decided this was what he wanted to do. Ocean City Brewing Company opened in June 2014 and has experienced tremendous growth and has established a solid following. Their motto – “Good beer, Good food, and Good people.” They are a full production brewery & restaurant serving numerous homemade American brewpub specialties and handcrafted beer. The growing business also recently launched a Beach Vodka line, handmade in their small distillery, and a house red and white wine which will debut in 2016.
“We are excited to bring our concept to Baltimore, specifically the Bel Air area which is a continuously growing market,” stated Joshua Shores, Owner of Ocean City Brewing Company. “To buck the trend over the bridge, the other way, and to be able to open in our own community, we are very confident the area will enjoy what we have to offer. We are very anxious to open this Fall.”
Ocean City Brewing Company’s Box Hill location will provide the opportunity for the establishment to grow its restaurant portion of the business. The 8,500 square foot layout will be a “tap house” that will showcase more than 150 beers, offers a family-style restaurant section with a family friendly outdoor playground, craft beer pub area, and have live entertainment on weekends.
With all due respect to Ocean City Brewing Company, and I am sure they are a great restaurant, I hope they can be successful where Joe’s failed. The Rt. 24 corridor has been saturated with so many new eateries since the BRAC announcement, I’m just not sure how the area can sustain all of them. Most people I know are still struggling financially, despite claims that the economy has bounced back from the recessionary lows. As such, dining out is low on their spending priority list. Good luck to them – I wish them all the best. We may stop in once or twice a year for a beer or 2.
While I agree that the “corridor” is saturated with places to eat, this particular location in Abingdon is not. There are take out spots, and fast food, but there are few sit down restaurants south of the Festival and north of 95, and there are almost no “chains”, or recognizably dependable places for anyone to go other than locals who know the good spots tucked away here and there.
Joe’s could have succeeded if they had marketed and made blue crabs more available and if it had been managed properly. When the opening was announced I knew it would fail if they didn’t offer “crabs” as anyone around here understands that term. They were even asked about that by the reporter in the article in the newspaper and they said they would have them. However, I went there probably 5 times, and not once did they have them available. Stupid.
Beyond that, outside the crabs, most of the food was average at best, and towards the end the service was not great.
We ate there once a few weeks after it opened. The service was terrible and the food was tasteless. I normally would give a place a second chance because I know anyone can have an off day, but when the manager didn’t seem to care about our concerns (and we weren’t asking for free food or a discounted check, but just wanted him to know that there were some issues so that they could be addressed) I decided that if the people running the restaurant don’t care then they don’t care if I never come back.
I’m just surprised they lasted as long as they did. I’m looking forward to giving Ocean City Brewing Company a try.
Us too – we rarely eat out at restaurants due to the high cost but definitely want to have a few of their 150 specialty beers their at least once. That sounds interesting.
Never ate at Joes and never heard anything good about the place
I ate at Joe’s. It SUCKED.
That’s what happens when a Texas-based chain tries to sell seafood in Maryland.
Doesn’t the owner Joshua Shores, also own a sports memorabilia business in Ocean City?
Not sure where it is, but if you do a little research –
A. Josh seems to be a habitual offender on the roadways – repeat offender for all sorts of traffic violations. Whatever, but let’s hope it stays contained to speeding and does not escalate.
Aa. Apparently, his ex and him had a pretty rocky relationship. It happens, but knowing her (and I do), she is pretty princessy (and not in a good way). Very vain, very egotistical, and one of the worst at judging you based on your zip code or HOA (like you don’t know the type).
B. His Sports Memorabilia business is pretty hidden on the intro-nets (yes, I realized I misspelled that)…no store front, no website…nothing. Various forums regarding memorabilia sales in the area have his operation to be shady, at best. Lots of comments and validated reports about forged signatures of athletes, misrepresented products, higher than average pricing, lack of customer service and support. Having never seen any of his products, I cannot lay stake to any truthfulness…but there are an awful lot of compelling posts (some with pictures and proof) and very little in the form of “Great Business” reviews. Regardless, if a fake signature on a Chinese baseball pays the bills….go for it, Americans are gullible, take our money!! LOL
C. He is also listed as an “interested party” in a Pawn Shop in Edgewood. Dirty places those pawn shops. Whatever, they are a gold mine for income if operated correctly…just don’t go there after dark. Regardless, with his newfound fame, you will only catch him at the bank depositing the money! LOL
D. He didn’t like to pay his contractors / vendors when opening the original establishment, and was sued (and lost).
Not trying to bash the guy, and sorry if it seems like I am…because I am not, but let’s hope it works out for him.
Beer in the Abingdon / Bel Air area? Especially the highly sought after micro-brews? Can’t wait for all of the hippies and beer connosseurs to come out of the woodwork and give their “highly relevant” opinion (yes, that was sarcasm).
If he can sustain a clean, family-friendly environment, then he has a potential hit on his hands. The parent article mentioned “Dead Freddies” made the move to OC, but failed to mention the collapse of their site in Bel Air. Yes, family friendly…because that is the majority in this county. Not the people who go out and expect total peace and quiet (Lootenuhht Dan).
If he can keep the midnight trolls, wannabe-still-in-highschool-postteens out of the place, and keep them from acting like Grade A A**holes in the bar and parking lot, he will win.
If he can keep the food inexpensive, he will win. While he does have to turn a profit, it will hard in this area when there are hundreds of other, more established, choices.
Just hoping that this turns out good for him, and does not wind up being trendy for a week…and then the stream of regulars abound and boast around Bel Air that they are “in tight” with the owner of the OC Brewing Company. Yeah, “in tight” because he has a death grip on your wallet….LOLOLOLOLOL
…oh, and as for the crabs…only people from Maryland take that stuff personally. It is the name of the restaurant, get over it. Go get your mercury tainted blue-crabs from the unsuspecting truck at the side of the road. NEWS FLASH: Most of your “All you can eat crabs” places in Ocean City, are NOT serving you Blue Crab. Blue Crab are an export and a major source of revenue for Maryland Crabbers…guess where the better profit is? YES – OUTSIDE OF MARYLAND! You are eating the ones from the tainted Gulf of Mexico! LOL
See, gullible.
Who are you?
My name is Lazy Dog.
Bel Air Man, Owner of Ocean City Brewing Company, Charged with $2.5 Million Internet Sports Memorabilia Fraud Scheme
http://www.daggerpress.com/2016/01/29/bel-air-man-owner-of-ocean-city-brewing-company-charged-with-2-5-million-internet-sports-memorabilia-fraud-scheme/
Try going out to eat anywhere in Bel Air. The wait times are crazy. I think a place like this will do much better than a place claiming to be a Crab Shack in Maryland and the only “crabs” you server are Alaskan crab legs. Craft beers are still hip enough to get people to give it a try.
Its not a big deal unless you attempt to eat in “Bel Air” between 6-8PM Friday and Saturday.
Wait times are an hour, and you have to put up with the whiniest, misbehaved children you’ve ever seen.
I never have a problem rolling into an empty restaurant at 9pm.
At least they’re building a Texas Roadhouse in White Marsh so the wait times at the Fallston location should go from 90min to something a bit more reasonable.
I think what Joe’s Crabshack did to it’s employees yesterday was unspeakable. Employees (some of whom had worked the very night before) showed up for work only to find a crane at the location taking the building apart! What type of employers are they!? I am appalled by this! Ignite Restaurant Group should be not only ashamed of themselves for this complete act of indecency but, they should be held liable for the loss of wages and utter embarrassment each one of their employees is now forced to endure. I know one thing myself, nor my family will EVER spend a dollar in one of their shoddy establishments again!!
Not to mention the food was awful, we don’t boil seafood here in Maryland!!!!!
Shame on you Ignite Restaurant Groups/ Joe’s Crab Shack!!!!
Really? No advance notice?
I thought there was some kind of thing (maybe a law??) that employers have to give employees notice, and possible severance? Kinda effed up!
Oh well, it is waiting tables and bartending work. I am sure you can go to the Looney’s sh1thole and get a gig there.
Will last one year, tops.