ELLICOTT CITY — Tammy Beideman loves a good window display.
Her shop, Sweet Elizabeth Jane, has become known on Main Street in Old Ellicott City for its colorful, vibrant displays, whether for a holiday, a season, or another theme.
"I always had this passion to light up Main Street with the windows, to make it feel more vibrant and creative," she said.
Her elaborate displays started in her store's first location, the former Caplan's building, in the heart of town. She opened the doors in 2011.
"Oh, I loved those windows. They were so magical; there was so much opportunity to light up the town, and when I opened that store, that was my only form of advertising," Beideman said.
Everything was going well until the night of July 30, 2016.
"I'll never forget that night. It was obviously heartbreaking and traumatic and terrifying as we had actually had girls in the building at the time who floated out on cars," she said.
"We had to wait to see if they were going to be OK. It took hours to find them even that night, so that night itself was for me really dramatic."
The girls were found, and Beideman was relieved they were okay. The focus then shifted to the damage to her store.
The building was gutted, most of the merchandise carried out by the floods. They found merchandise strewn in trees and shrubs miles away from the store.
"The power of the water just literally emptied out over 4,000 square feet in a matter of 15 minutes," she said.
Down the hill from Sweet Elizabeth Jane was the Phoenix Emporium, owned by Mark Hemmis.
On the night of July 30, the Phoenix Emporium was filled with customers; it was, after all, a Saturday night.
"I was out with my family at a movie, and I got a call from one of my employees that expressed how bad it was. He was talking to me with one phone and had 911 on the other line."
As the first floor flooded, the employees moved everyone up to the second floor. They would all make it out safely once the floodwaters receded. When Hemmis got to the town, he was shocked by what he saw.
"There was such utter devastation to the infrastructure in town that there were gas lines that were snapped everywhere," he said. "I do get emotional sometimes when I talk about it. A lot of the stories that have gone on [about the] Ellicott City flooding are about the rebuild. There was a lot of loss that day as well."
On the top of the hill, Dave Carney was inside his store, the Wine Bin.
Water started to fill his basement, so he tried to leave and get to his car. The floodwaters got too high, so he climbed a cherry tree to safety.
"I'm sitting in the tree watching the dumpsters float [by]. Cars are floating. They looked like little tiny boxcars. Just everything was just floating around. It was surreal. It was weird. It was just bizarre."
Once the waters subsided, chaos and destruction remained.
"I had people calling me, customers and friends out of state who have businesses here. And I just was like, the town's gone. It's gone," he said. "It was unreal. It's amazing we were able to rebuild."
10 YEARS LATER
Beideman quickly decided she wanted to remain on Main Street and needed a space to reopen before the holidays. She found a new spot on the top of the hill and reopened in 17 weeks.
"I just learned how to be resilient and keep on reimagining what things could be because that was really the only choice I had," she said.
Sweet Elizabeth Jane marked its 15th anniversary. Beideman and her staff have branched out beyond shopping and host monthly events like girls' night out, Bingo, and sip and shop. She wants the store to be a place where customers can gather, connect and build friendships.
"I think that the community is proud of this town and I have to believe it's more than just the buildings," she said. "I think it's that the businesses just continue to show up for the people and the people show up for the businesses, so it's pretty cool."
Creating events and memories is also important to Carney at The Wine Bin. He reopened fairly quickly after the floods, and when it was safe, he restarted his "Movie Night at the Bin".
"The town is rocking now. You're afraid to jinx it, but it is rocking it. The town looks great. It's really coming back strong, so I'm excited."
He's putting that enthusiasm into his latest project, a cocktail bar and restaurant just down the hill. Vesper at Pike and Main opened on July 15. The project has long been a dream of Carney's to open.
"I went to Baltimore and started looking at places in Baltimore and went to Columbia, looked at places in Columbia, and nothing ever felt right. Ellicott City just feels- this feels right. This is home," Carney said.
Not far from Sweet Elizabeth Jane and the Wine Bin on the top of the hill is the Phoenix Emporium, in the former Old Ellicott Mills Brewing Company building. It's now called Phoenix Upper Main and is a much larger space but still has the same charm and hometown feel as it did in its former location.
"This property is a larger restaurant. It gives us a bigger opportunity to host even bigger events," said Mark Hemmis. "We've got birthday parties and reunions and things like that, so it's an excellent opportunity for us, which is great."
His former building is no longer standing. It was torn down in 2024 as part of the flood mitigation plans. Today, it is an open green space known as Tiber Park. Hemmis officiated his son's wedding there in May, 24 years after announcing his son's birth in that very space.
As for the town's future, Hemmis said he sees hope in the changes being made to the historic town to carry on its legacy for generations to come.
"New businesses bring new customers and bring new community and bring a younger generation to Ellicott City, which is what we're all looking for."