From the bustle of Bel Air to the Havre de Grace boardwalk to the rolling hills of farm country, Harford County is filled with passionate people and business owners striving to make the community a better place to live.
Here we celebrate businesses, organizations and people that are the best at what they do.
Compiled by Mike Klingaman and Mary Carole McCauley
Out & About
Annual festival/event
Winner: Bel Air Festival for the Arts
Honorable mentions:
BBQ Bash
First Fridays
St. Margaret Fall Festival
Art studio/gallery
Winner: Amazing Glaze
Honorable mentions:
Made Me Mine
Aroma Candle Studio
Board and Brush Forest Hill
Charity/nonprofit
Winner: The Humane Society of Harford County
2208 Connolly Road, Fallston, 410-836-1090, harfordshelter.org.
The brown-black-and-white kitten was 3 months old and already on the second of his nine lives. Because of a birth defect, Tabby was born with a concave chest cavity.
“A local family had a teenage son with the same condition, and they heard about the kitten through social media,” said Erin Long, marketing coordinator for the Humane Society of Harford County.
“The mother called us and said, ‘My son would love to have a cat who is dealing with the same condition that he is.’ ”
Chalk up another pet adoption for the Humane Society, which this year celebrates its 75th anniversary.
For the fifth year in a row, 90% of the 2,715 animals that entered the Fallston shelter in 2020 were moved to different places. (That includes 982 cats, 558 dogs and 1,175 birds, fish, and farmyard animals.)
“Either the animals were adopted, their owners reclaimed them or they went to another rescue organization,” Long said. “We’re really proud of that.”
Honorable mentions:
Sexual Assault/Spouse Abuse Resource Center (SARC)
Harford Family House
Best Friends in Harford County
Kids activity
Winner: Annie’s Playground
Honorable mentions:
Amazing Glaze
Harford County Public Library, Bel Air Children’s Area
The Arena Club
Museum
Winner: Eden Mill Nature Center
Honorable mentions:
Steppingstone Farm Museum
Havre de Grace Decoy Museum
The Historical Society of Harford County
Park/outdoor spot
Winner: Ma & Pa Heritage Trail
Honorable mentions:
Susquehanna State Park
Annie’s Playground
Bear Legacy Adventure Trail
Private school
Winner: The John Carroll School
Honorable mentions:
St. Margaret School
Harford Day School
The Highlands School
Rainy-day activity
Winner: Horizon Cinemas Fallston
Honorable mentions:
Forest Hill Lanes
Amazing Glaze
The Arena Club
Special events venue
Winner: Hopkins Farm Brewery
Honorable mentions:
The Liriodendron Mansion
Rockfield Manor
Water’s Edge Events Center LLC
Food & Drink
Beer, wine and/or liquor store
Winner: Ronnie’s Beverage Warehouse
Honorable mentions:
Wine World Beer & Spirits
Bel Air Liquors
Friendship Wine & Liquor
Caterer
Winner: Liberatore’s Ristorante & Catering
562 Baltimore Pike, Bel Air, 410-838-9100, liberatores.com
Growing up in Highlandtown, Italo Liberatore relished Sunday dinners.
“Mom made soups, sauces and homemade pasta for the family,” he says. “I remember good food, good friends and laughter — and that’s what we aim for here.”
At Liberatore’s in Bel Air, diners savor the chicken Marsala, shrimp fra diavolo and veal saltimbocca; the cream of crab soup, lollipop lamb chops and shrimp risotto cakes. And though catering orders are down during the pandemic, hopeful patrons are locking in dates for gatherings this fall.
There are five Liberatore’s restaurants in all, one each owned by Italo, 62, and his three brothers, Pino (Westminster), John (Timonium) and Dante (Eldersburg). The fifth, in Perry Hall, is run by a family friend. All four siblings entered the business “from the bottom up, washing dishes in restaurants in Little Italy” early on, Italo says. Now each works to be the best.
“We are very competitive, but in a constructive way. We try to outdo each other,” he says. “If Dante makes something good, then I will try to do it better. That competition has made us what we are today.”
Honorable mentions:
Sunny Day Cafe
Pairings Bistro
Basta Pasta
Farmers market/stand
Winner: Bel Air Farmers Market
Honorable mentions:
Brad’s Farm Market
Harman’s Farm Market
Havre de Grace Farmers Market
Grocery store
Winner: Wegmans
Honorable mentions:
ShopRite
Aldi
Sprouts Farmers Market
Vineyard/winery
Winner: Harford Vineyard & Winery
Honorable mentions:
Fiore Winery & Distillery
Mount Felix Vineyard & Winery
Shopping
Antiques
Winner: The Painted Mill
1119 Main St., Fallston, 410-981-3181, thepaintedmill.com
Jennifer Jennings-Janson puts old things together with new ones. She’ll pair a Victorian chandelier with a chipped flagpole, or top a tulle petticoat with a bolero made from pine cones and see what kinds of conversations that starts.
The Painted Mill, founded in 2014 and operating in a 140-year-old former feed warehouse, is a store like no other.
Jennings-Janson thinks of what she does as “choreography.” She aims to create an atmosphere shared by all 27 vendors that extends beyond the walls of the 8,000-square-foot establishment.
Shoppers browse while listening to French music. Sometimes, there’s a food truck outside, but shoppers can have dessert first, thanks to baker Patrice Hooper’s delectable cookies and brownies.
“You fall in love with her food the minute you take your first bite,” Jennings-Janson said.
From one month to the next, the store changes completely. The store is open for just one three-day weekend a month. Each weekend is organized around a theme and has its own targeted merchandise, so even longtime clients never know what they’ll find.
“I have a following,” Jennings-Jansen said. “A lot of my customers come back each month.”
Honorable mentions:
Belle Patri
Seneca Cannery Antiques
JoRetro
Bridal
Winner: K&B Bridals
Honorable mention:
Edel’s Bridal Boutique
Car dealership
Winner: Jones Junction
Honorable mentions:
Boyle Buick GMC
Thompson Toyota Automotive
Heritage Honda Bel Air
Clothing boutique
Winner: Stalefish Board Co.
Honorable mentions:
Tiger Lily
Boutique 44
A Taste of the Teal Antler
Consignment shop/resale shop
Winner: Belle Patri
Honorable mentions:
Kid to Kid
Uptown Cheapskate
Aberdeen ReStore
Furniture store
Winner: Farmhouse on Main
Honorable mentions:
Belle Patri
Simply Grande
Ashley HomeStore
Gift shop
Winner: The Nest on Main
Honorable mentions:
Full Heart Soul-utions
The Mill of Bel Air
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store
Jeweler
Winner: Saxon’s Diamond Centers
Honorable mentions:
F&L Jewelers
Faye Daniel Designs
Kay Jewelers
Home
Flooring and carpeting
Winner: Bel Air Carpet
Honorable mentions:
Carpets by Denny Lee
Top Notch Flooring America
The Tile Shop
Garden center/nursery
Winner: The Mill of Bel Air
Honorable mentions:
Griers Nursery & Greenhouses
Kroh’s Nursery
Fritz Farm & Nursery
Home improvement contractor
Winner: Tar Heel Construction Group, LLC
Honorable mentions:
Carl’s Door Service
G J Goss Contracting
Lynch Design | Build
Homebuilder
Winner: Bob Ward Companies
Honorable mentions:
Huskins Builders
Gemcraft Homes
Pinnacle Design
Housecleaning service
Winner: Cornerstone Cleaning
2813A Bel Air Road, Fallston, Suite 200, 443-895-1915, cornerstonecleaningco.com.
Beth Derickson was 3 years old when she got her first broom. Little did she know that she was about to find her calling.
“I grew up cleaning, and I’ve always enjoyed it,” said Derickson, president and CEO of Cornerstone Cleaning in Fallston.
“My parents and grandmother were always cleaning. My grandmother had a routine: Monday was laundry day, Tuesday she dusted, Wednesday was for vacuuming and so on.”
After graduating from college, Derickson followed a corporate career path. But by 2010, she was feeling burned out. She wanted to leave the financial investment firm where she worked as a project manager, but didn’t know what to do instead.
“My husband told me, ‘You’re happiest when you’re cleaning. Why don’t you do that?’ ” she said. “A light bulb went off in my head.”
Initially, Derickson worked out of her home. Now in business for 10 years, she has an office in Fallston and seven employees.
“When you leave at the end of the day, and the home or office that you’ve been cleaning is pristine, you can see that you’ve made a difference,” she said.
Honorable mentions:
Merry Maids, Bel Air
The Clean Castle, LLC
Interior designer/decorator
Winner: Simply Grande Home Furnishings & Simply Grande Interiors
Honorable mention:
Bernadette Drew Interiors
Landscaper
Winner: Lawnscape
Honorable mentions:
StoneRidge Lawn & Landscaping
Turf Connection
T.A.P.’s Landscaping
Plumber
Winner: PlumbCrazy
Honorable mention:
Emerson’s Plumbing & Heating
Roofing
Winner: Tar Heel Construction Group LLC
Honorable mentions:
TSW Roofing Solutions
American Design and Build
Aberdeen Roofing Co.
Recreation
Dance lessons
Winner: Supernova Dance Co.
Honorable mentions:
The Rage Box
Dance Conservatory of Maryland
Dance With Me School of Dance
Golf course
Winner: Geneva Farm Golf Course
Honorable mentions:
Maryland Golf & Country Club
Mountain Branch
Bulle Rock Golf Course
Gym/fitness center
Winner: The Arena Club
Honorable mentions:
#getINLINE | a barre studio
Bel Air Athletic Club
Snap Fitness Fallston
Martial arts classes
Winner: U.S. Taekwondo Academy
109-A N. Main St., Bel Air, 443-243-4124
1301 E. Churchville Road, Bel Air, 443-243-4123, ustachang.com
From the start, grand master C.J. Chang levels with his grasshoppers.
“I tell new students, ‘This is not a seasonal sport; it’s a lifestyle,’ says Chang, 39. “Kids want to learn the kicking and punching that they’ve seen on ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,’ but [taekwondo] is so much more than self-defense. It’s the philosophy of living well.”
That tenet resonates with his 150 masked students, mostly youngsters ages 5 to 15.
“From Day One, we build them to become leaders,” says Chang, a sixth-degree black belt and former national champion. His family’s school, founded 40 years ago by his father, has produced “several hundred” national age-group titlists, male and female. It includes a travel team, which, before the pandemic, competed in more than a dozen state, regional and national tournaments a year.
The youngest student is 2 1/2 years old; the oldest, 63. Many have sought his tutelage for as long as five years. Some have talked their parents into joining up.
Says Chang, “All of them learn how to ‘earn their pillow’ every night.”
Come again?
“Work hard and give 110% in all you do so that when you go to bed, you pass out because you have earned that right.”
Honorable mentions:
Chung’s Martial Arts
Ninja Abingdon Martial Arts
Music lessons
Winner: Music Land
Honorable mentions:
Music & Arts
Jim Bowley Guitar Instruction
Swim club
Winner: The Arena Club
Honorable mentions:
Fallston Swim and Tennis Club Inc.
Bel Air Athletic Club
Rock Spring Swim Club Inc.
Yoga classes
Winner: True Yoga
Honorable mentions:
Yoga Centric
Love Evolution Studio
The Arena Club
Health & Wellness
Alternative wellness center
Winner: Salt Works Spa
201 Gateway Drive, Suites J&K, Bel Air, 443-819-3398, saltworksspa.com
Salt Works Spa is as close as most of will come in the midwinter to spending a day at a beach resort.
Under customers’ bare feet crunches something that looks and feels a lot like sand, but in reality is 250-million-year-old pharmaceutical salt. Beach-style reclining loungers beckon customers to sit, and the room’s walls are lined with Himalayan salt blocks.
Wafting through the therapy room is the distinctive smell of salty air. Close your eyes, and you’d swear you could hear seagulls.
Ambience aside, owner Lauren Moseley says salt therapy will do wonders for customers’ health. A machine known as a “halogenerator” heats the salt, micronizes it into a dry aerosol and disperses it through the air.
“Salt is naturally anti-bacterial, antiviral and absorbent,” she said. “It’s like a toothbrush and sponge for your whole respiratory system. It’s also great for your skin.”
Though the salt therapy is the marquee attraction, the spa also offers such traditional services as massages, a physiotherapy table, a sauna and acupuncture.
“We’re a one-stop show for physical and mental wellness and self-care,” Moseley said.
Honorable mentions:
#getINLINE | a barre studio
Lavish Salon & Spa
Everlasting Fitness
Chiropractor
Winner: Optimal Spine Chiropractic
Honorable mentions:
Evan R. Christman, Premier Chiropractic
Dr. Robert Poane, Dr. Poane’s Chiropractic Office
Chiropractic Care of Bel Air
Day spa
Winner: Spa on the Boulevard
Honorable mentions:
Salt Works Spa
Jordan Thomas Salon & Spa
With Love Beauty Bar & Studios
Dental practice
Winner: Laurel Bush Family Dentistry
Honorable mentions:
Bel Air Smile Partners
David Mergerian, DDS
Aesthetic Family Dentistry of Bel Air
Dispensary
Winner: RISE Dispensaries, Joppa
Honorable mentions:
True Wellness Aberdeen
Four Green Fields, LLC
Rev Canna
Eye care
Winner: Seidenberg Protzko Eye Associates
Honorable mentions:
MyEyeDr.
Wilmer Eye Institute, Bel Air
Advanced Eye Care
Medispa
Winner: Seidenberg Protzko Aesthetics
Honorable mentions:
Dr. Jeffrey Horowitz, MD
Chesapeake Skin Solutions
Bala Aesthetics & Medispa
OB/GYN
Winner: Upper Chesapeake Women’s Care
Honorable mentions:
Susquehanna OB/GYN and Nurse Midwifery
Capital Women’s Care
MedStar Medical Group at Bel Air Medical Campus
Orthodontist
Winner: Dr. Stephen L. Godwin, Bel Air Orthodontics
Honorable mentions:
Dr. Joseph Laponzina, DDS
Laurel Bush Family Dentistry
Amanda Gallagher Orthodontics
Orthopedic
Winner: Towson Orthopedic Associates, Bel Air
Honorable mentions:
John O’Hearn MD, LLC, Susquehanna Orthopedic Associates
Dr. Spiro Antoniades, MD
Pediatric dentist
Winner: Growing Smiles
Honorable mentions:
Bel Air Pediatric Dentistry
Bel Air Smile Partners
Chesapeake Pediatric Dental Group
Pediatric practice
Winner: Pediatric Partners
Honorable mentions:
Bright Oaks Pediatric Center, LLC
Bear Pediatrics, LLC
North Park Pediatrics
Physical therapist
Winner: Agape Physical Therapy and Sports Rehabilitation
Honorable mentions:
Innovative Physical Therapy
Drayer Physical Therapy Institute
Gold Medal Physical Therapy
Urgent care
Winner: Patient First, Bel Air
Honorable mentions:
MedStar Health Urgent Care
ExpressCare Urgent Care Center
ChoiceOne Urgent Care
Personal services
Animal hospital
Winner: Chadwell Animal Hospital
Honorable mentions:
Bel Air Veterinary Hospital
Hickory Veterinary Hospital
Jarrettsville Veterinary Center
Auto repair
Winner: Forest Hill Automotive
Honorable mentions:
Boyle Buick GMC Truck
Buddy’s Auto
Del Haven Services Station
Bank/credit union
Winner: APG Federal Credit Union
Honorable mentions:
Har-co Credit Union
Harford Bank
Freedom Federal Credit Union
Barbershop
Winner: Old Line Barbers
Honorable mentions:
Brian Bunce Barbers
Towne Barbers
Axels Barbershop
Child care
Winner: The Arena Club
Honorable mentions:
The Goddard School of Forest Hill
Stonewall Day Care Center
Forest Hill Nature Preschool & Childcare, LLC
Doggie day care
Winner: Best Friends Fur Ever
Honorable mentions:
Country Comfort Kennels & Camp for Pets
To Wag For: Boutique, Daycare & Grooming
Bow Wag Kennels
Dry cleaner
Winner: Zips Dry Cleaners
Honorable mentions:
Kroh’s Cleaners
Amyclae Cleaners
Tartan Cleaners
Financial adviser
Winner: Harford Financial Group
Honorable mentions:
The Kelly Group
Ryan Townsley, Town Capital
Bryon Knoble, Wells Fargo Advisors
Florist
Winner: Richardson’s Flowers and Gifts
816 S. Main St., Bel Air, 410-838-3883, richardsonsflowersandgifts.com
Sandy Riley and her husband used to own filling stations, but the work left her feeling, well, unfulfilled.
“That’s pretty much a guy’s field,” she says. “I told Bruce, ‘I’d really like to work in a flower shop.’ ”
So the Jarrettsville couple changed gears, sold the pumps and turned to posies. For two decades, they’ve owned Richardson’s Flowers, a Bel Air mainstay for 75 years.
Though Riley called this job more challenging, she and her staff of 20 have heartened local residents with their arrangements marking good times and sad.
“The invitation from our patrons to be part of their celebrations is very precious to us,” says Riley, 60. Her shop has, on occasion, been put to the test. One bride wanted a wedding bouquet of succulents (cactuses, agaves); another wanted one of nothing but greenery (leaves and vines).
Funeral arrangements have included flowers in the shape of a school bus (in honor of a driver), a guitar and a raven (for a football fan).
“It’s the ability to be flexible that helps us stands the test of time,” says Riley.
If there’s a plus to the pandemic, it is the requests she has received from recovered COVID-19 patients to send flowers and fruit baskets to the health care workers who nursed them.
“When a customer calls and says, ’Your flowers blew everyone away,’ well, that’s what keeps us going every day,” she says.
Honorable mentions:
Washday Floral
Amanda’s Florist
Flowers by Lucy
Hair salon
Winner: Jordan Thomas Salon & Spa
Honorable mentions:
Bella Vita Salon
Visage Salon
Hair by Sophia Musto
Pet groomer
Winner: 4 Paws Spa and Training Center
Honorable mentions:
Home Sweet Home Dog Grooming
LaBella Pet Boutique
To Wag For: Boutique, Daycare & Grooming
Real estate agent
Winner: Chris Streett, Streett Hopkins Real Estate
Honorable mentions:
Tim & Michele Langhauser, Compass Home Group
Brendan Butler, Cummings & Co.
Mary Jones Team, BHHS PenFed Realty
Senior Care
Winner: Katherine’s Keepers
Honorable mentions:
Brightview Avondell, Senior Independent & Assisted Living
Senior Transitions
MB Home care
Tattoo parlor
Winner: Flesh Tattoo Co.
Honorable mentions:
Instant History Tattoo & Art Gallery
Dark Arts Tattoo Studio
Tattoo Dynasty
Travel agency
Winner: Marvelous Mouse Travel, Brenda Tackett
Honorable mentions:
Travel Makers
Picture Perfect Travel
Travelworks International, LLC
Personalities
Clergyperson
Winner: Msgr. Kevin Schenning, St. Margaret Parish
Honorable mentions:
Pastor Ben Cachiaras , Mountain Christian Church
Pastor Wade Haskins, Freedom Church, Bel Air
Rev. Matthew DeFusco, St. Margaret School
Elected official
Winner: Tony Giangiordano, county councilman
Honorable mentions:
Jeffrey R. Gahler, sheriff
Barry Glassman, county executive
Erin S. Hughes, Bel Air town commissioner
Personal trainer
Winner: Jessica Kern, #getINLINE | a barre studio
223 Brierhill Drive, Bel Air, 443-787-4570, inlinebarreperryhall.com
“If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you,” says Jessica Kern. That mantra, her clients take to heart.
Teachers, nurses, stay-at-home moms and others flock to Kern’s studios, in Bel Air and Perry Hall, to work out with the 33-year-old trainer whose full-body exercise routines, called barre, are a blend of yoga, dance and Pilates. They swear by the upbeat, communal feel of the class, a 45-minute session in which one can shed 500 calories and exit smiling.
“If they don’t come in a good mood, they leave in one because they feel so much better for it,” says Kern, whose 150 clients include women from age 18 to 70 and in all shapes and sizes.
“We’ve had mothers-to-be who’ve taken classes right up to the week they deliver,” she says.
A cosmetologist by trade, Kern changed careers after her own daughter was born.
“This [barre] was the only workout that got my pre-baby body back,” the Bel Air resident says. “Ten years ago, there’s no way you’d have caught me in a gym. Now, it’s my passion.”
Honorable mentions:
Laura Broadwater, Bel Air Athletic Club
Anne Johnson, True Yoga
Heather Rockhill, Snap Fitness Fallston
Police officer
Winner: Jeffrey Gahler, Harford County Sheriff
Honorable mentions:
Daniel Petz, Havre de Grace Police Department
Robert Witt, Harford County Sheriff’s Office
Lee Dunbar, Harford County Sheriff’s Office
Principal
Winner: Anna Shanahan, St. Margaret School
Honorable mentions:
Tom Durkin, The John Carroll School
Ronald Wooden, Havre de Grace Elementary
Charles Hagan, Southampton Middle School
