I drove by Gabriel’s Inn this afternoon and noticed that there was a For Sale sign out in front of the restaurant.

Here is the listing.

I’m sorry to have to report this news.  I’m not sure if they are closed now or are continuing to operate while up for sale but it looked pretty quiet.

Also, looking over that realty office website, I see that Routzahn’s Furniture store on Rte. 26 is also for sale.

Here is a bit more information on the Festival of Greens that K mentioned in the comments of the November Events post.  This festival, brought to you by the Frederick Arts Council, takes place from November 20-29th and includes many events that are free to the public.  From the Gazette:

The schedule includes performances by Act Too! Children’s Theater Company on Saturday and a Children’s Day on Nov. 28. The free children’s activities provide an opportunity for local kids to make home-made gifts, have fun, and learn a dance lesson by Equinox Dance Company.

The celebration will kick off with The Holly Dance, featuring the Star Spangled Big Band, from 8-11 p.m. Friday. A cash bar and concessions will be offered. Tickets are $7.

Throughout the festival, The Fredericktowne Players will perform their holiday show, “Every Christmas Story Ever Told (and Then Some!),” beginning Saturday at The Cultural Arts Center.

A holiday artist market will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Nov. 27, showcasing the work of more than thirty regional artists. Attendees will be able to purchase items such as jewelry, paintings, pottery, photography, jewelry, hand woven items, and other hand-crafted products. Free gift wrapping will be provided by Downtown Frederick Partnership along with hot chocolate courtesy of The Perfect Truffle.

The event culminates on Nov. 29 with live music from 3-5 p.m. and the close of the silent auction. Successful bidders will be able to retrieve their wreath or tree in time to decorate their own homes or businesses.

Sounds like fun and a great way to get some Christmas shopping done.  Who can argue with free gift wrapping?

If you or someone you know runs a retail shop here in Frederick you may be interested in the first ever FMO Shopping Guide. I want to put together this guide to point out some of the great homegrown shops here in Frederick County that can help fill FMO reader’s holiday shopping needs.

To be included in the list all a business has to do is purchase on year of sponsorship on FMO.  We are even offering a special discount of $50 off the normal annual rate for businesses who sign-up to be a part of the Shopping Guide. That’s $150 to be included in the FMO Shopping Guide and have you ad in the sidebar of the site for a year.

The Guide will be a normal post except that it will be stuck in the top spot on the home page from  November 27th (Black Friday) through December 26th. That means that between Black Friday and the day after Christmas any of the thousands of people who stop by FMO will see the Shopping Guide first.

The entries would look something like this and be listed in the alphabetical order.

• Rambling Rose Antiques is located in the Emporium Antique Mall and features an eclectic selection of antique and vintage furniture, decorative home accessories, apparel, clothing, fashion accessories and textiles.
  Go there: 112 Patrick Street, Frederick, MD 21701 [directions]
  Contact: 301-662-7099, marcy@ramblingroseantiques.com.

If you’re interested in being part of the FMO Shopping guide send me an email. I’d love to get the great local shops in Frederick some of the exposure they deserve!

Maybe this is old news (I didn’t know it), but FMO reader Stephanie says there will soon be a Subway in Downtown Frederick:

Hi. I have two tips for you. One, the old Maxwell Place leasing office (On North Market right before you get to Carroll Creek, by the fire station/All Saints street) is going to be a Subway. I’ve been walking by there every day and seeing them renovating it, and last night they had the huge (ugly) Subway signs up. Interesting.

I checked subway.com and sure enough, this was listed in their locations …

Opening Soon!
69 South Market Street
First Floor
Frederick MD 21701

Stephanie also mentioned that La Docle Vita is “closed for renovations” until November 23. Thanks for the news Stephanie!

According to the FNP, the long abandoned police barracks on the Golden Mile will “soon” be home to a new shopping center:

“We call it the ‘Golden Mile Gateway.’ That’s something we’ve been hoping would happen,” said planning commission member Gary Brooks at Monday’s meeting.

The project will include a 16,861-square-foot shopping center and a 3,194-square-foot, free-standing bank structure.

I’ve harbored a pipe dream of buying the old barracks and turning it into a pizza place. I would’ve called it Jail House Pizza, since there was a little jail cell in the basement (at least there was a long time ago when I went on a school field trip there).

OK, I’ve found a few restaurant websites with their menus up for Thanksgiving so far.  Feel free to add a comment for anything that you’ve heard about and I can add it to the body of this post.  Check back for more links as I will add them when I find them.

The Bavarian Inn is having a special Thanksgiving menu this year.  For some reason, I expected it would be a buffet, but it’s not.

Brewer’s Alley is having a 3-course “pre fix” menu on Thanksgiving from 11-4, not a buffet like last year.

The Cracked Claw is having a Thanksgiving Buffet from noon-4PM.

Dutch’s Daughter’s website appears to be down but they have traditionally had some sort of buffet for holidays.  Not sure about Thanksgiving though.

The Comus Inn is having a buffet from noon-6PM.  At just under $50.00, that’s a bit steep for me but it sounds delicious!

The Carriage House Inn in Emmitsburg is having a buffet from 11AM-4PM.

Alexander’s has put up their Thanksgiving Buffet menu.  Their buffet runs from 11AM-6PM and at $18.50 for adults, it’s one of the better bargains.

Last year, we posted about Thanksgiving Out and since then, two restaurants we mentioned,  both G. Hunter’s and Mealey’s  have closed.

Have you heard of any other special Turkey Day menus?

Great Train Robbery is going to be playing at the Frederick Moose Lodge,  828 E. Patrick St. on Saturday, November 14th.

GTR has entertained audiences for over 2 decades all along the east coast, releasing 8 albums,
and  playing over 5,000 shows at colleges, festivals, fairs, corporate events, and night clubs. The Band has shared the stage with The Allman Brothers, 38 Special, BTO,
The Guess Who, Molly Hatchet, Kansas, Foghat, Marshall Tucker Band,
Charlie Daniels Band, Blue Oyster Cult, Blackfoot, and Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Wow, all those bands listed are like a blast from my teen years!  Here’s the pdf with all the information, including cost and times.

I got an email from Gabe, telling me about an upcoming fundraiser for Kids Are Heroes.

…our upcoming fund raiser for Kids Are Heroes. Actually it is Mary Kate McKenna who was the brains behind this – we are just going along for the ride. She is a DC photographer with incredible skills who recently moved to Frederick. She is offering a great holiday package for a killer price and still sharing half the proceeds with Kids Are Heroes, a local non-profit.  If interested, there are more details on the blog and people can sign up for the slots that are still available here.  This is a great opportunity to get some wonderful pictures by a true professional at a very reasonable price, and give back at the same time.

For all the details, check out this post on Gabe’s blog.

Once again, I learn of a new (to me anyways) establishment through the blue, ValPak envelope.  This time, it’s for a wine store in Mt. Airy called Vino 100.  Located at 1311 S. Main Street, Vino 100 promises “100 great wines for $25.00 or less”.

So many of us enjoy wine. How often, though, do we experience the frustrations of buying wine? Wine stores are all too often intimidating, snobbish and expensive, or are designed as wine “superstores” where the quantity of wines is overwhelming and the quality of wines and the service provided is underwhelming.

According to their ValPak ad, they offer wines by the glass, wine accessories,  cheese and cigar selections, specialty beers, and private parties.

The coupons offered are $3.00 off any 2 bottles of wine and 10% off a 1/2 case.  They also have a wine club membership.

In honor of tomorrow’s spooky day let’s all light a virtual campfire and tell each other spooky stories.

Try to stick to spooky stories you have heard (or that have happened to you) about Frederick and the surrounding area. But any old spooky story will do in a pinch.

Ready, set, boo!