(July 14, 2016) The dozen or so people who attended the Historic District Commission meeting in Berlin last Wednesday got a preview of the town’s new butcher shop to be run by Councilmember and mayoral candidate Lisa Hall.
She hopes the shop will be open by the end of July.
Hall was there to get approval for exterior renovations of the building at 101 Williams Street that will include a new paint job, signs and a new handicapped-accessible door.
Her section of the building most recently housed Rainbow Florist. The Beez Kneez Boutique is a current co-tenant.
Decades ago, the structure was a gas station.
Hall called the present exterior “very unattractive,” and said she planned to do extensive remodeling.
“You can’t put lipstick on a pig,” she said. “I want it to go back to the ’40s, ’50s style-looking gas station. With the mansard all around it, it really takes away from it.”
She said co-tenant Lori Wagman “was all for” the makeover.
As for the shop itself, Hall said she had lined up fourth-generation Italian butcher Matt DiPietro of Brooklyn. She has a photo of his grandparents standing behind the counter of their own New York shop, celebrating their 50th anniversary in 1984, ready to hang.
“He’s the meat manager at the Food Lion, and he’s been here for nine years so he knows our market,” she said. “He and I have been looking into this for about five years. I just needed a good butcher.
“We’re all about quality and service, fresh meat, clean meat, grass-fed, organic. I’m just starting with beef, pork and poultry, but I’m bringing in smoked [meats] eventually,” she added. Hall said several local restaurants had already inquired about using the shop as a supplier for butchered products.
“I think it’s very exciting,” commission member Mary Moore said. The commission unanimously approved all three requests.
Also during the meeting, the commission approved a four-foot pressure-treated colonial gothic fence for a home on 26 Broad Street, as well as a change of color to the shutters and front door – and replacing windows – to a home on 103 South Main Street.
Planning Director Dave Engelhart, the staff liaison, reported that Berlin had received grant money from the Maryland Smart Energy Commission to change the old bulbs in all downtown streetlights to LED bulbs. He said that could happen as soon as late summer or early fall.
She hopes the shop will be open by the end of July.
Hall was there to get approval for exterior renovations of the building at 101 Williams Street that will include a new paint job, signs and a new handicapped-accessible door.
Her section of the building most recently housed Rainbow Florist. The Beez Kneez Boutique is a current co-tenant.
Decades ago, the structure was a gas station.
Hall called the present exterior “very unattractive,” and said she planned to do extensive remodeling.
“You can’t put lipstick on a pig,” she said. “I want it to go back to the ’40s, ’50s style-looking gas station. With the mansard all around it, it really takes away from it.”
She said co-tenant Lori Wagman “was all for” the makeover.
As for the shop itself, Hall said she had lined up fourth-generation Italian butcher Matt DiPietro of Brooklyn. She has a photo of his grandparents standing behind the counter of their own New York shop, celebrating their 50th anniversary in 1984, ready to hang.
“He’s the meat manager at the Food Lion, and he’s been here for nine years so he knows our market,” she said. “He and I have been looking into this for about five years. I just needed a good butcher.
“We’re all about quality and service, fresh meat, clean meat, grass-fed, organic. I’m just starting with beef, pork and poultry, but I’m bringing in smoked [meats] eventually,” she added. Hall said several local restaurants had already inquired about using the shop as a supplier for butchered products.
“I think it’s very exciting,” commission member Mary Moore said. The commission unanimously approved all three requests.
Also during the meeting, the commission approved a four-foot pressure-treated colonial gothic fence for a home on 26 Broad Street, as well as a change of color to the shutters and front door – and replacing windows – to a home on 103 South Main Street.
Planning Director Dave Engelhart, the staff liaison, reported that Berlin had received grant money from the Maryland Smart Energy Commission to change the old bulbs in all downtown streetlights to LED bulbs. He said that could happen as soon as late summer or early fall.