#ShopSmall in Historic Ellicott City!

Let’s face it, nobody likes driving around a busy parking lot, looking for a space to park only to find one and somebody from the opposite direction snags it from you. 😦 This time of year you aim to get somewhere early to avoid blowing though half a tank of gas driving around…and around…and around the parking lots looking for that one empty space.  Well, Historic Ellicott City has a solution for you!

Do you know about the stairs that connect Main Street to the Courthouse Parking lot?  It’s as if a new parking garage was built without the nuisance of a new parking garage being built! 🙂     Thank you, Lyndsey, for helping me showcase the Ellicott City Stairs!                                       

These stairs lead you to hassle free parking! Located upper Main, behind the Phoenix Upper Main and close to The Wine Bin, the stairs serve as a great solution to parking challenges. The Courthouse parking lot may be used in the evenings and on weekends. Gone are your parking issues! Now you can easily support your local small businesses knowing that you’ll have plenty of parking on weekends!

Check out how fast you can get to Main Street when you park at the Courthouse:

Along with the newer parking option, Historic Ellicott City has several different parking areas along with street parking.

You can find directions, list of businesses and parking lot info here.

Here’s Howard County Councilman, District 1, Jon Weinstein and Howard County’s County Executive, Allan Kittleman, at the top of the stairs (nobody was blinded by the sun in the making of this photo 🙂 ).

Ellicott City’s Historic District is a wonderful shopping destination with a diverse offering of goods, services and restaurants and is home to a thriving art community.  You can find a list of businesses and events here.

Rachel Rawlings, manager of Salon Marielle, 8239 Main Street, shared with me, “Our salon guests love having the option of parking at the courthouse and taking the stairs. Especially during busier times like during our wonderful festivals. It’s a beautiful view and walk down from the top of town.”

Our charming town provides a plethora of choices for you and you’ll be certain to find the perfect gifts for your loved ones.

Evenings are magical, come on down to shop or dine!

Many great shops and boutiques, art galleries, antiques and collectibles, a diverse shopping experience for everyone!

Howard County’s Welcome Center is part of our Main Street community. This photo is from last year’s tree lighting ceremony at Midnight Madness.  Be sure to catch it this year on Friday, December 4th!                                        

So, head on down to Main Street in Ellicott City, support small businesses and don’t forget, parking is easy peasy!

When you’re on the stairs, be sure to take a selfie, use  #ECstairselfies and perhaps you’ll be added to the Instagram page! 🙂

Here’s how Richard Ellsberry, an Ellicott City resident, feels about the addition of the stairs, “For me, any long-term solid infrastructure is a good thing, and those stairs are going to be there in a hundred years. They look great & help with storm water management.”

Not only do these stairs help us by providing an entire new parking option, but as Richard mentioned, they have a phenomenal other purpose. Check out this amazing video, made by Cecilia Lane!

Shuttle Service today too!

Head to Historic Ellicott City and #ShopSmall! Have fun!

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Visitors – thank you for taking the time to read and view this blogpost and considering your visit to Main Street, Historic Ellicott City .  If you are ever in need of photography services, I’d love the chance to talk with you.  Here’s a little more info about us….. Whether you choose to be photographed in our studio, on location or along the quaint streets of our own beautiful historic town, you will truly enjoy your experience with Pam Long Photography. Clients enjoy a variety of portraiture, from maternity and babies, to children and families, high school seniors, pets, business headshots and special events. Whatever occasion life blesses you with, we will help you capture and document those moments to cherish for generations to come. To receive information about what we offer and how we can meet your needs, please contact us at 410.988.5563 or email us at pam@pamlongphotography.com to set up a complimentary consultation. We look forward to transforming your memories into your favorite works of art!

Celebrating the wonderful Tersiguel family!

If you have been to Tersiguel’s French Country Restaurant, then you know how amazing their fabulous cuisine is! In fact, they are celebrating their 40th anniversary of being in business this Saturday! I am thrilled and honored to be photographing this auspicious, sold out, event. We are all so excited about this major milestone and their outstanding accomplishment in Historic Ellicott City.

The founders of Tersiguel’s, Fernand and Odette Tersiguel, are amazing people and I’ve enjoyed getting to know them.  They are an incredible example of the benefits of hard work and determination. They came to the United States in 1963.  In 1980, they opened Chez Fernand on Main Street.  Sadly, the successful Chez Fernand burned to the ground in the fire of 1984.   Fernand and Odette persevered and  re-opened Chez Fernand in downtown Baltimore.   Fortunately for us, they wanted to return to their beloved Ellicott City and Tersiguel’s opened it’s doors, in it’s current location, in October of 1990.

Chef Michel is a 1984 graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in New York. After his time in New York, he worked in Baltimore, with his family, he also worked in France and in California (with Michael Chiarello) and later served as Chef de Cuisine at Left Bank in Larskpur.  In 1997, he returned to Ellicott City to take over as Executive Chef and owner of Tersiguel’s.

In addition to valuing and serving magnificent food, they also value family and preserving family history. I had the honor of photographing three generations of Tersiguel’s: Fernand and Odette, their son, Michel and his incredible wife, Angie, and their two beautiful boys; Lucas and Landon. What an fun morning portrait session we had, it was such a glorious day! I was fortunate enough to have Lauren Ward assist me on this sunny day with this very special family. We were inspired by an family photograph of Fernand and Odette taken on their wedding day, in 1963. (They just celebrated 52 years of marriage!) Congratulations! So, we, too, took a family portrait, and used Tersiguel’s as the backdrop. We also created portraits of this beautiful family inside Tersiguel’s, in the Brit dining room. The Brit is short for the Brittany Room. This refers to the region that Fernand and Odette are from. The dishes in this room are called Quimper. That is also the name of the city in which they are made.  Angie shared with me that Quimpler is one of the coolest places she’s been (perhaps that could be the location of your next family portrait session…..I travel 😉 ).  Be sure to view their story and history via their lovely portraits, as they are displayed throughout their restaurant.

Tersiguel’s French Country Restaurant is located at 8293 Main Street, Ellicott City, MD.  Be sure to visit and dine in this delicious  restaurant, voted Best French Restaurant in Howard County, Maryland.  This is definitely a restaurant that your meal time will become a wonderful dining experience and you’ll leave with delightful memories. Tersiguel’s has been the perfect setting for countless birthday celebrations, weddings, anniversaries, graduation festivities, business functions…..imagine if THOSE walls could talk, what an extraordinary story they would tell.

To Fernand, Odette, Michel, Angie, Lucas and Landon, thank you for allowing me the privilege of spending time with you, to get to know you better, and to document more of your family history, what a great honor. I enjoyed my time with you and look forward to enjoying many more great moments together!

To the entire staff, past and present, of Tersiguel’s, thank you for continuing to strive for the best.  You really help provide memorable moments for your dining guests, thank you.

I hope you enjoy these family portraits that we created together.

Until next time, au revoir and bon appetit!

  

  

I was so happy to deliver Angie and Michel’s 40″ gallery wrapped canvas of her beautiful family!  I, of course, was happy when Landon also approved it! 😉

 

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Visitors – thank you for taking the time to read and view this blogpost about this amazing family.  If you are ever in need of photography services, I’d love the chance to talk with you.  Here’s a little more info about us….. Whether you choose to be photographed in our studio, on location or along the quaint streets of our own beautiful historic town, you will truly enjoy your experience with Pam Long Photography. Clients enjoy a variety of portraiture, from maternity and babies, to children and families, high school seniors, pets, business headshots and special events. Whatever occasion life blesses you with, we will help you capture and document those moments to cherish for generations to come. To receive information about what we offer and how we can meet your needs, please contact us at 410.988.5563 or email us at pam@pamlongphotography.com to set up a complimentary consultation. We look forward to transforming your memories into your favorite works of art!