In the early ’90s, Bel Air residents first noticed signs of change when a Chili’s opened on Baltimore Pike.
“That was unbelievable,” said Anita Brightman, a resident since in the late ‘80s who owns a thriving advertising agency.
“People waited two and three hours just to eat there,” she said.
Brightman moved with her husband T.J. to Bel Air from Hamilton in Baltimore and recalls how her mother couldn’t imagine driving to Harford County because it would take too long.
Anita used to joke with her husband that there was an “invisible rubber band” around Kingsville as the furthest point people were willing to drive.
“It snapped you back into the city.”
No longer just a stop along the “milky way” of the Ma and Pa railroad, Bel Air has become a destination community. Just ask the owners of Fells Point and Federal Hill watering holes like the Greene Turtle and MaGerks who have opened locations in Bel Air.
The town’s population has grown to more than 10,000 residents and over 75,000 people now reside in the rapidly expanding Bel Air area of Harford County.
A wide range of housing opportunities exists from condominiums to older homes to McMansions. The Harford Mall with its 75 stores – such as Old Navy, Victoria’s Secret, and Aeropostale — and a number of independently owned boutiques provide enough shopping options to keep residents from going elsewhere.
Bel Air’s rejuvenated Main Street area combines a rich history – evident in the old post office and the courthouse dating back to the 1800s — with a diverse and expanded offering of international cuisines – including Japanese, Indian, Teppanyaki, and Italian.
Savona Italian café sells muffaletta sandwiches, high-end prosciuttos and salamis, a selection of cheeses including a buttery gorgonzola, and Chinotto—a soft drink like Coca-Cola which tastes both bitter and sweet. Wine and beer are now available by the glass.
“Main Street has blossomed,” said owner Maria Boeri.
At Liberatores, another Italian venue, trendy “hipsters” sip cosmopolitans before dining on gnocchi napoletano.
“Finally, there’s more to Italian cuisine than red-checkered table cloths, spaghetti bolognese, and pizza,” said Jamie Liu, a DC-based food writer who was born and raised in Bel Air.
Open mics at Shamrock coffeehouse and live music at the Greene Turtle lend credence to the notion that Bel Air is flirting dangerously close to being “hip and trendy.”
Fear not, the entrenched values of this “old school” farming community persist. Small town amenities remain like the farmer’s market, black raspberry ice cream at Broom’s Bloom Dairy, free movies in the park during the summer — and football.
On Friday nights in the fall, teams from the Bel Air Terps youth football league clash under a lighted gridiron – and everyone flocks to Tucker Field to watch. With 600 players, 150 coaches, and 200 volunteers, it is one of the largest leagues in the state.
“I’ve witnessed Bel Air’s growth from a small town with a cow patch in the middle to a place with more and more metropolitan options,” said Liu. “Now you can go check out the cows at Broom’s Dairy instead of sneaking out at night to tip them.”
10 Things Bel Air
1. Savona
This adorable Italian café and grocery store at 2 North Main St., Bel Air, serves regional delicacies – and it embodies the transformation of Bel Air over the last twenty years. Featuring muffaletta sandwiches and Italian delicacies such as Chinotto, Savona is one of many charms along a resurrected Main Street. A beer and wine license has been recently obtained and patrons are now allowed to sample wines on site and take them home for a $3.00 corking fee.
2. Bel Air Terps Football
Over 600 kids from ages 5 to 13 play under the lights on Friday nights at Tucker Field in the fall. It is the place to be. The Bel Air Terps program is the second largest for youth football in the state and it has doubled in size from 2006 to 2008. “You Tube” carries videos of the games and supporters can buy Bel Air Terp athletic gear on the website.
3. Fuji Sushi
The sushi is outstanding at this restaurant located at 5 South Bel Air Parkway. Portions are expansive – and some star performers include the Volcano Roll with spicy yellowtail, salmon and tuna; the Dynamite Roll with spicy yellowtail, tuna and crunchy crabmeat; and the Black Dragon Roll with shrimp tempura, cucumber, eel and avocado. While it makes a strong case for being one of the best vegetarian restaurants in the area, meat gets a fair shake here as well.
4. Rockfield Park
This 51-acre park on Route 22 consists of rolling hills, undeveloped and developed
areas for active and passive activities. Rockfield manor is a historic home
available for meetings and special events. A beautiful and well-kept
stretch of Harford County parkland—this is a perfect place to picnic.
5. Carried Away Gourmet
A popular eatery on rejuvenated Main Street – 101 South Main St., to be exact –Carried Away Gourmet was voted “best caterer” in Harford Magazine. Massive gourmet salads and oozing panini
sandwiches as well as the grab-and-go sandwiches are popular items.
6. Ma & Pa Trail
The Ma & Pa trails, 702 N. Tollgate Road, provide citizens with a place to walk, run and bike
on off-road nature pathways. In most areas, the trails are in close
proximity to roadways and neighborhoods. There is also a dog park. A working railroad carrying mail and all kinds of Harford county products, the Ma & Pa also carried people—travelers, shoppers, theatergoers and relatives. People welcomed the screeching whistles and billowing steam clouds of the Ma & Pa railroad as a way to see what lay beyond their hometowns. Open from dawn to dusk.
7. The Green Turtle
Greene Turtle Sports Bar & Grille has opened a location at 117 S. Main St., in Bel Air. Revamped and redesigned, family booths have individual televisions. The menu can best be described as grown up bar food – all the favorites you’d expect, but with some more interesting twists. There are 12 different wing sauces to choose from, good salad options, especially the Southwest Chicken salad. The Greene Turtle has an amazing selection of brews.
8. Bel Air Athletic Club
Harford County’s #1 Athletic Club at 658 Boulton St., is bustling with fitness, aquatics, personal training and kids active programs everyday of the week. The club is conveniently located across from the Harford Mall making it easy for you to get active from work and home and is home to Harford’s County’s newest water adventure park.
9. Movies at Shamrock Park
Families gather to watch free movies at Shamrock Park (Lee Way and Hickory Ave.) on Friday evenings during the summer. Chick-Fil-A and Smoothie King provide refreshments for the crowd. Movies included Shrek III, A Bee Movie, Elf, and Daddy Day Camp.
10. Harford Arts Festival
Fifty-one artists present original, handcrafted work in a variety of media including watercolor, oil painting, sculpture, jewelry, glass, ceramics, photography, ironwork, wood, and fiber arts at Harford Day School, 715 Moores Mill Road. Face painting, puppet shows, creative workshops, and live music by talented youth from The Maryland Conservatory highlight the event. Takes place in November.
