Beverage Journal

24/06/2025

Teddy's June installment took him 'out-of-this-world' with a visit to Hampden's Rocket To Venus. Ashli Mix Photography, LLC tagged along for the trip. Check it out!

An Out-of-This World Gastropub in Baltimore’s HampdenWhen Geoff Danek moved to the Hampden neighborhood of Baltimore in 2002, he had no idea that three guys back in the 1920s tried to build a 24-foot-tall rocket ship right in his garage. The local restaurant owner was told of the local legend by a...

01/05/2025

Our latest stop ... Facci Ristorante in Baltimore. Thank you, Teddy Durgin, for this great article.

Gino Palma is the embodiment of the American dream. The Pozzuoli-born restaurateur emigrated without any family to the United States at the age of 19. He had almost no money and spoke very little English, but he knew he could find employment in foodservice. He worked 15- to 17-hour days at Italian r...

05/04/2025

Teddy Durgin and Ashli Mix Photography, LLC did a fantastic job telling the story of Baltimore's Ministry of Brewing in words and images for this month's feature article.

There are some people who treat beer drinking like it’s a religious experience. The Ministry of Brewing in Baltimore has taken that to a whole other level. The brewery’s operations are based in the former St. Michael’s Church, which dates back to 1857. The combination of beer, food, and histor...

15/02/2025

Thank you Teddy Durgin! This piece on One-Eyed Mike's is special. "One-Eyed Mike’s is best known for its Grand Marnier Bottle Club, which has grown to a global community of more than 3,500 members. The club is a prime example of history and a shared love for a beverage coming together to create something truly special..."

Usually, I interview owners, operators, and managers of bars, pubs, taverns, and restaurants before or between busy periods at their establishments. In the case of One-Eyed Mike’s owner Akbar Vaiya, I got him to sit down and chat right after he finished playing golf. Fresh off the driving range, w...

27/01/2025

Ashli of Ashli Mix Photography, LLC is the best. She is one of the kindest and most professional people we have ever worked with. She and her business can not be over-recommended.

06/01/2025

Koco's Pub sells well over 2,000 crabcakes a week! Teddy Durgin and Ashli Mix Photography, LLC recently visited this Baltimore icon.

Almost 40 Years in, AND Selling More Crabcakes and Cocktails Than EverJohn and Joanna Kocovinos opened Koco’s Pub in 1985. Everyone knew John as “Mr. Koco,” so it made sense to endear his new business on Harford Road in Baltimore to the masses with the nickname on the sign out front. The coupl...

06/01/2025

Better late than never ... Davis' Pub was the December edition featured establishment in Teddy Durgin's ongoing series of articles on bars, restaurants, and taverns named after an individual...

When you talk about a business like Davis’ Pub in Annapolis, you don’t refer to its longevity in years. You tell tales of its evolution and survival in terms of decades. In the 1920s, on the corner of 4th and Chester Ave., lifelong Eastport businessman George Washington Davis opened a general st...

30/10/2024

Teddy Durgin's next stop ... McFaul's IronHorse Tavern at Sanders' Corner. Thank you Ashli Mix Photography, LLC for the great photos.

Glen McFaul likes to challenge himself. He could have named his bar/restaurant in Parkville just the IronHorse Tavern, and it probably would have been successful. But he decided to call it McFaul’s IronHorse Tavern. Ego? Nope. “By design!” he exclaimed, during a recent interview with the Bever...

09/10/2024

Teddy Durgin's latest stop ... Melanie’s at Griffith’s Tavern! Thank you Ashli Mix Photography, LLC for the great photos.

During this ongoing series of articles on bars, restaurants, and taverns in and around Maryland named after a person, we have chronicled establishments named after the current owner, after the current owner’s grandfather, and one restaurant baring the family name. And then we have Melanie’s at G...

05/10/2024

We will miss you Goose.

Teddy Durgin Maryland State Licensed Beverage Association Baltimore County Licensed Beverage Association

Words. At the end of life, at our funerals, words are all there is left. Kind words. Loving words. Words of fond remembrance. And when a beverage industry legend such as Tom “Goose” Kaiser dies and the assignment is given to write his tribute article, a word limit comes with it. So, rather than ...

15/09/2024

Michael's Cafe Timonium is Teddy Durgin's latest stop touring bars and restaurants named after their owners, families, or a specific person. Thank you, Ashli Mix Photography, LLC, for the great photos.

Michael’s Café is a family-owned and operated bar and restaurant that is thriving in two Baltimore County locations, Timonium and White Marsh-Middle River. In 1984, The Dellis family opened the doors of the Timonium site, and family patriarch Michael Dellis endeavored to give locals something the...

16/08/2024

Teddy Durgin's latest stop on his tour ... Max's Taphouse!

Max’s Taphouse in Baltimore’s Fells Point neighborhood will celebrate its 40th year in business in 2025. Husband-and-wife team Ron and Gail Furman have run the business pretty much from the get-go. And when you have stayed in the bar business that long, you are sure to get many up-and-comers ask...