Along Westminster?s Main Street in Carroll County, shopkeepers not only know one another, but they pretty much know all of their customers. Less than a mile from Route 140, where large discount stores and chain restaurants line both sides of the highway, Main Street clings to its small-town origins. In some cases, the businesses are multigeneration “mom and pops.”
Heinz Bakery, anchored at the far end of the first block of West Main Street, is one such business, operating out of a two-story, red brick colonial-style building. Yvonne Luesse stands behind the counter greeting her regulars while serving coffee and pastry to the mid-morning customers seated at round, ice cream shop tables.
“I?m the cake decorator, but I do anything necessary here,” she said, adding, “My dad started this business on May 1, 1972, and still works every morning.”
Her father, Heinz Luesse, still owns the building, as well as the one behind it, which houses Chicken Coup Antiques. He also holds the mortgage on Paintball Wholesalers, a sporting goods shop next door.
“We?re not really touristy here,” his daughter continued. “I would say 95 percent are regulars.”
Rafael?s is an upscale restaurant and bar at 32 W. Main St. Anita Campitelli, bartender and manager, greets almost all of the lunch crowd by name.
“We?re a close-knit town,” she said. “That can be good and bad. Everybody knows everybody?s business, especially in bars.”
Chef/owner, Rafael Javier, in business for three years, owns the building.
As the only restaurant on the block, he is pleased to be anchored next to other owners who make constant improvements to their properties.
The Spare Room at 28 and 30 W. Main St. is a “treasures in the attic” kind of place.
This second-hand shop carries everything (all donated) from jewelry to furniture. Owned by the Westminster Rescue Mission, proceeds pay for the mission?s in-house care of the homeless and a rehabilitation program for the drug and alcohol addicted.
