The Marriner family opened their popular Columbia destination Victoria Gastro Pub in the late fall of 2007.
Now, more than seven years later, things are getting busier. Their Ellicott City farm brewery, Manor Hill Brewing, has just started turning out its first beers, and the family recently said that it will open a second restaurant on the former Gateway School site in Clarksville.
The restaurant, Food Plenty, will occupy part of a building to be constructed on the site, which is near routes 32 and 108.
"The brewery is this year, the restaurant is next year," said Tori Marriner, who operates Victoria Gastro Pub with her parents, Mary and Randy Marriner. The groundbreaking for the project is months away, she said. And planning is in the very early stages for Food Plenty, which she said will have "more of a farm-fresh, comfort-food feel" than Victoria Gastro Pub.
Marriner said the family's focus is now their new brewery. The first of the Manor Hill's beers -- the Manor Hill IPA and the Farm Fuzz witbier -- should be available sometime next week, exclusively, at Victoria Gastro Pub. They will only be available at the Marriners' pub for a few months, until production increases, Marriner said.