🍦New Italian restaurant in Merriweather District…

Good morning, Columbia. 21 years and 1 day ago, a 20-year-old Alex Ovechkin played his first game as a Washington Capital, scoring two goals in a 3–2 victory. And yesterday, he announced that this season will be his last. At press time yesterday, the cheapest seats we could find for his last regular season home game were $802. For context: You can grab tickets for tomorrow’s home opener for just $125.

In today’s Columbia Scoop:

Calvin Ball’s last State of the County
Garage opens at the mall
Longer mall hours

Let’s get to it.

— Michelle Sinclair

THAT’S AMORE

An Italian restaurant is coming to Marlow’s empty corner 🍝

That big corner storefront at the Marlow apartments in the Merriweather District has sat empty since the building opened. Now it’s getting an Italian restaurant called La Dolce Vita.

Thanks to some Internet sleuthing by Jeremy Dommu’s Merriweather Post, we know a building permit filed with Howard County on August 28 covers a $1.6 million build-out of the 4,727-square-foot space. That includes a new storefront and an outdoor patio. Nobody’s ever moved in, so it’s starting from a bare shell.

The man behind it is Gennaro DiBenedetto. Through his restaurant group, FIVESTAR Hospitality, Gennaro and his partners are responsible for Limoncello (St. Michaels and Baltimore), Amalfi Coast (Stevensville), La Vela (Solomons Island), and a few non-Italian spots like Red Eye’s Dock Bar (Kent Narrows).

His name has also been attached to other spots, including the Spaghetti Factory (Easton), Carmine’s (Chester), and Little Carmine’s (Severna Park).

There’s no menu or opening date yet. But we’ll let you know as soon as there is.

🍋 Want a preview? Limoncello in Baltimore is just 30 minutes away. And St. Michaels makes a fantastic weekend getaway.

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BALL’S IN YOUR COURT

Calvin Ball’s final State of the County 🎤

Photo: Howard County Government

When Calvin Ball took office in 2018, Howard County had two pickleball courts. Both at Atholton Park. Now there are 28.

That was one of the numbers Ball pulled out last Wednesday at his eighth and final State of the County. His wife, Shani, introduced him, and he opened with, “Y’all not supposed to be making me cry before I gotta give a speech.”

Most of the speech looked back at his last eight years. But a few things he discussed are still on the way:

🎭 Downtown arts – The Performing Arts Center in Downtown Columbia has been 15 years in the making, and it’s under construction now. It’ll have a 340-seat dinner theater and two 200-seat black box theaters.

🚇 Rocky the tunnel digger – A boring machine named Rocky has drilled through more than 2,300 feet of granite under Ellicott City. When the North Tunnel’s done, it’ll move over 26,000 gallons of water per second away from Main Street.

He also pointed out that by 2040, nearly one in four Howard County residents will be 65 or older. “And I hope to be counted among that group,” Ball said.

Voters pick his successor November 3. Here’s the county’s full recap of the speech.

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EVENTS

Coming up this week 📅

🎈 = family-friendly events

Wednesday

🎈🐣 Mornings at the Farm: Pumpkin Patch Chickens – A biweekly farm morning for toddlers and caregivers at Mary’s Land Farm, with storytime, sensory play, movement, and real farm animal encounters.

🍽️ Food Truck Wednesdays – Weekly rotating food trucks at Merriweather Row Plaza. This week it’s Tasty Empanadas and Islington Kitchen.

🎨 HCPSS Student Showcase Reception – The second annual showcase of HCPSS student art opens with a reception at the East Columbia 50+ Center.

Thursday

🌱 Autumn Gardening & Putting Your Flower Garden to Rest – The Longfellow Garden Club presents a talk on late-season color, bulb planting, bed cleanup, and fall lawn care. Bring a bag lunch.

🐮 Laurel Farmers Market – Fresh local produce, artisan goods, and community vendors through late October.

👻 Ghouls Night Out ~ A Pub Crawl with Your Girls – A ladies’ pub crawl through Ellicott City’s historic district, with stories of local feminine haunts and feminist history.

Friday

🎥 Movie Nights in the Park: Toy Story 5 – Free outdoor movie night at Color Burst Park with lawn games, trivia, and music before the film.

🍪 Cars, Coffee & Cookies Tailgate – The 4th annual car tailgate combines cars, coffee, cookies, and conversation for car enthusiasts.

🌙 Midnight Mini-Golf: Halloween Theme – 21+ night of mini-golf under the stars at Columbia SportsPark, featuring a Halloween-decorated course, lawn games, food trucks, and adult beverages.

👻 Lore of the Werewolf – A Halloween-adjacent lecture exploring werewolf legends from global folklore to Maryland’s own Patapsco Howler and Dwayyo.

Weekend

🎈🚒 Ellicott City Volunteer Fire Department Annual Open House – Free fire department open house with engine tours, a junior firefighter challenge, hands-only CPR, a Jaws of Life demonstration, and a chance to squirt the hose.

🎈🦴 Public Archaeology Dig Day at Historic Blandair – A hands-on archaeology day at a historic site for ages 5 and up. Kids join a real dig and learn about local history.

🎈🎃 Truck or Treat – Family-friendly Halloween event featuring trick-or-treating from decorated vehicles with activities and candy for kids.

🎈🐶 Haunts & Hounds ~ A Ghost Walk with Your Best Friend – A dog-friendly ghost walk through Ellicott City’s historic district, pairing spooky local lore with a wine tasting for humans. Part of each ticket supports dog rescue.

🚗 Columbia Cruise Night – Saturday night cruise-in featuring hot rods, street rods, and modern muscle cars, with free parking and nearby restaurants.

🏳️‍🌈 Howard County Pride – A free, family-friendly Pride celebration with the theme “Exist, Persist, Love!” gathering community members, allies, and families at Merriweather Park.

🐕 National Capital Kennel Club Dog Show – All-breed dog show at the Howard County Fairgrounds hosted by the National Capital Kennel Club.

Columbia Scoop’s full events calendar 📅
- Submit an event 📣

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In other news. . .

👖 Open Garage – Garage is now open at the Mall in Columbia. The Montreal-based clothing brand is known for denim, basics, and trendy women’s clothes for the Gen Z crowd. Although Gen Z is allergic to the word trendy. You’ll find it just down the corridor from Apple in between White House Black Market and Coach. On that note. . .

🛍️ Shop Till You Drop – The Mall in Columbia is open longer as of October 1. The new hours are 10 AM to 8 PM Monday through Thursday, 10 AM to 9 PM Friday and Saturday, and 11 AM to 7 PM Sunday. Just what I need. More time to tell myself I’m only going in for one thing.

🛝 Swing and a Miss – The playground at Centennial Park West closed Monday so the county can replace the equipment. The basketball courts, tennis court #1, and volleyball court around it are closed too. The work should take about two months. Here’s a list of other playgrounds if your kids need a backup.

🚧 Cone Zone – Two county construction projects started this week. The Merryman Street bridge over Cat Rock Run in Ellicott City is closed through mid-November for a new deck and stone wall repairs. Neighbors southwest of the bridge can use Hill Street to get to Main Street. In North Laurel, expect weekday right-lane closures on southbound US 1 near North Laurel Road through mid-December while the county swaps in a bigger water main.

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EXTRA SPRINKLES

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