View source for File:Serendipity Market on Maryland Ave in Spring 2018 opening Britany Grimm (left) and Diane Branson with Karin Tome.jpg

[[Category:Business]]:  Serendipity Market

From the Frederick News Post March 21, 2018

Less than a year after opening their first location on East Patrick Street, the owners of downtown Frederick market Serendipity have plans to open a second location in Brunswick.

The new Mini Dip store will be a smaller version of the Frederick store and will serve fresh food, camping supplies and meals to go from its location at 12 S. Maple Ave., said Brittany Grimm, one of the co-owners of Serendipity.

No opening date has been set, but Grimm said Friday that they hope to open in the spring.

The store will be a joint project with Towpath Creamery, an ice cream shop that will be run by former Brunswick Mayor Karin Tome.

Tome said Monday she was looking to open a small business after losing her re-election bid in 2016. She initially considered opening a bed-and-breakfast, but it was too big a project.

She said she would love to see downtown Brunswick revitalized, but understands that doing it will take a combination of efforts by the city, businesses and homeowners.

When visiting Serendipity, she thought it would be great to have something like that in downtown Brunswick.

She talked with Grimm and co-owner Diane Branson, and they agreed to join in the project.

The shop will also provide another food shopping option for Brunswick residents.

The city was without a grocery store from December 2013 until the opening of a Weis store in Brunswick Crossing last November.

For smaller municipalities, it’s a plus whenever you can get a new business downtown, Brunswick City Administrator David Dunn said.

The owners of Serendipity had initially looked at Brunswick for the main store, but decided that the East Patrick Street location was too good to pass up, Grimm said.

After opening their store last summer, they weren’t expecting to expand so quickly.

“The conditions were just too perfect to pass up,” Grimm said.

The logo will be similar to the current store, designed by the same artist.

They’ll also carry some of the local products that the Frederick store carries, including items from McCutcheon’s Apple Products and teas from Voila in Frederick, Branson said.

The location on South Maple Avenue is close to the C&O Canal towpath, a campground, and the MARC station, and Grimm said they hope to draw customers from the commuters looking to grab a quick meal on their way home.

Tome said her creamery will serve ice cream from Trickling Springs Creamery in Pennsylvania, with 12 flavors available at a time, hopefully along with soft serve and frozen yogurt.

They’ll offer sugar-free and dairy-free options as well.

She hopes the new store will be a fun gathering place, and a complement to places such as Beans in the Belfry.

“I think it’s going to be a real asset for downtown Brunswick,” she said.

Photo by Bill Green, FNP Staff Photographer