Upper Main Street in Old Ellicott City Is Building a Weeknight Dinner Scene

"I want a space that doesn't feel like you're sitting in the suburbs of Howard County," Dave Carney told The Baltimore Banner this spring. "I want people to feel like you're sitting in the city."

Carney has owned The Wine Bin on Main Street since 2008. In July he opened Vesper at Pike & Main at 8210 Main St., where Main Street meets Old Columbia Pike. The opening matters because of when it plans to be busy. Vesper was designed for Wednesday and Thursday nights as much as for Saturdays. Up the hill, Phoenix Upper Main has spent six years making the same kind of bet. Taken together, the two say something new about the top of Main Street: it is being set up as a place Howard County can eat dinner midweek.

The corner at Pike and Main has a new tenant

Before Vesper, 8210 Main St. was home to Revel & Main, which closed in 2023, and before that to Pure Wine Cafe. The Baltimore Business Journal reported that Vesper opened on a Wednesday in mid-July 2026. The Banner had said in April it would open in mid-June.

Carney had wanted a restaurant for a long time. He told the Banner that he came close to signing a lease on a music venue and restaurant down the hill from The Wine Bin in 2018, backed out, and "has itched ever since" to open something else on Main Street. He also told the paper that Main Street has been "down on restaurants" in the years since, and summed up his reasoning simply: "We need to bring more people to town."

The Business Monthly reported an investment of $375,000. Carney described the room as "a mixture of brick, tile and wood," with seating for 72 split among a patio, a quieter dining room and a bar. For the look he aimed at the cocktail-hour scenes in Casino Royale. "There isn't anything like it around here," he said.

A kitchen designed for repeat visits on a Wednesday

The weeknight idea comes from chef Rachel Bindel. She grew up in Howard County, but her whole cooking career has been in Washington. The Banner reported her view that local diners would drive into the city for a weekend dinner but had nowhere nearby to go during the week, and that she hopes Vesper fills that gap. Bindel trained at the Culinary Institute of America and has worked at Michelin-starred restaurants, Tail Up Goat in D.C. among them.

The rest of the plan supports that goal:

• The menu changes every few weeks. It mixes small and larger plates built on French technique, with enough range, Bindel said, that people who come weekly won't get bored.
• The kitchen has no walk-in refrigerator. The space is small, so ingredients arrive daily, and Bindel said that naturally keeps the menu shifting.
• Prices are moderate. Carney calls it "a weekly hangout that's also the place for anniversaries, romantic dates and birthday dinners."

Opening coverage listed small plates such as beets and berries with burrata and a dirty martini dip. Larger plates included Wagyu steak with romesco and caramelized sunchokes, and seared scallops over risotto. The drinks list has rotating seasonal cocktails and wine by the glass or bottle. Those dishes are from July, so the fall menu will be different. The restaurant's website shows a food and cocktail menu dated September 30, 2026 and a wine-by-the-glass list dated September 22.

When the Ellicott City Partnership named Vesper its Merchant of the Month in August, Carney told the group he wants guests to feel "as if you're sitting in Midtown Manhattan or Washington D.C., not in the suburbs of Maryland or in Howard County." He said he paid attention to details down to "the proper seating" and "the proper glassware."

Phoenix Upper Main moved up the hill first

Vesper is not the first longtime operator to invest at the top of Main Street. Mark Hemmis bought the business then called the Phoenix Emporium about 25 years ago. He bought his current building on upper Main about four months before settling with Howard County on the old Phoenix Emporium property in April 2020, and ran both locations for a while. The move came as COVID-19 arrived. Carry-out still brings in about 15% of revenue, he said.

The county then bought the original building at the foot of Main, took it down and built Tiber Park on the site. During the pandemic it also sold Hemmis the alley next to his new location. Phoenix Upper Main now has 11,000 square feet across two buildings in the former Ellicott Mills Brewing Co., compared with 6,500 square feet at the old spot, and that figure leaves out the outdoor seating in the alley.

Hemmis is still adding to it. He told The Business Monthly in September that he has put a new roof on one building and installed new stoves and ice machines. The smaller building currently holds offices and storage. "We want to get it ready to serve the public," he said, and he is working with the Howard County Historic Preservation Commission on a tax credit. No opening date has been announced, so treat the extra space as planned.

The building has already had some fame. Hemmis said an episode of Gordon Ramsay's 24 Hours to Hell and Back, which included a cameo from Cal Ripken Jr., brought what he estimates was $3 million in economic impact for the county. That figure includes a significant investment in the building.

With both businesses counted, the top of the hill now has a 72-seat cocktail restaurant at Pike and Main and an 11,000-square-foot pub that wants to open more space. Both are run by owners who have been on Main Street for decades.

How a table at Vesper works

The seating rules are worth knowing before you go, and they suit a casual midweek visit.

• Reservations cover only the dining room, and the largest party it takes is four.
• Bar and patio seats are first-come, first-served.
• The upper part of the patio has no seating. Guests can order a drink there while they wait for a table.

The website lists these hours:

The bar serves snacks at all hours. Monday and Tuesday aren't listed. Those hours were posted in July, so check the website before you head out. If you're thinking about a weeknight, Wednesday and Thursday are the nights Vesper is open, and the 4 p.m. bar opening lets you stop in for a drink before dinner.

October on upper Main Street

Here's what's on the Main Street calendar this month and the next:

1. Haunted History Tours run throughout October 2026 in Historic Ellicott City, according to Visit Howard County.
2. Trick or Treat on Main Street is Saturday, October 31, starting at 4 p.m. The Ellicott City Partnership says more details are coming.
3. Small Business Saturday on Main Street is November 28 at 1 p.m., with details also still to come.

Parking advice depends on where you look. Visit Howard County says parking on Main Street is prohibited, that Lots A through F in the historic district are free, and that the Circuit Court and Roger Carter Center lots also have spaces. Vesper's visit page mentions free spaces on Main Street in addition to the public lots. The lettered lots are the safe choice, and on a Wednesday in October they are likely to be the easiest part of the evening.

I've followed Main Street in Old Ellicott City for a long time, and it's good to see a restaurant open at Pike and Main and Phoenix Upper Main planning more seating. If you're thinking about living within an easy walk or short drive of this stretch, I'm glad to talk through what that looks like with you. Let's Connect with Vicki Reyes.