Maggie Kovacs isn’t sure exactly how many milkshakes she has churned out in the last 39 years.
“Enough to maybe fill up the Mississippi River,” she said, as she mixes yet another thick shake inside The Duchess, a carry-out restaurant housed in a boxy brick building that squats unassumingly on a street corner in Ellicott City.
Maggie Kovacs has been making milkshakes for 39 years at The Duchess iin Ellicott City. Enjoying a treat are author’s sons Noah (left) and Logan.
Kovacs and her husband narrowly escaped their native Hungary when Soviet troops overran the country in 1956. They eventually landed in Howard County, where they bought the building — then a home — in 1968, turning it into a sandwich-and-milkshake shop in 1972.
During those decades, The Duchess has strayed into fried foods, wider deli selections and even a temporary closure after Kovacs’ husband passed away. But now the restaurant has returned to its roots, offering several kinds of simply-made sandwiches, along with the thick shakes that many people regard as the community’s best-kept secret.
Some customers have been visiting for decades, and now they’re bringing their children and grandchildren with them, said Kovacs. “People come in, and they eat all day,” she said. “Some of my customers, they’re like my brothers and sisters.”
Slow-Cooked in History
Thirteen miles away from The Duchess, Mary Ann Mitchell cooks up barbecue and Reuben sandwiches at Ma’s Kettle in Savage. Photographs from decades and decades ago are inlayed into the wooden bar, where customers settle into their seats and, often as not, point out their late family members or friends in the pictures.
Mitchell likes the history she is able to share almost as much as she likes serving good food. “People come in, they look at these photos, and they say, ‘Hey, that’s my uncle!’ ”
Before debuting Ma’s Kettle in 1972, the building housed Hackely’s Lunch and Soda in the 1930s, as well as a string of other dining establishments. Now Mitchell not only cooks in the restaurant but also regularly brings her barbecue out to local festivals and events. Her son, Bobby Mitchell, launched his catering business, Puttin’ on the Ritz, out of his mother’s restaurant.
Old school business Ma’s Kettle, of Savage, spawned the popular local catering business Puttin’ on the Ritz.
“I started off with one big kettle, and I still offer all homemade soups,” said Mary Ann Mitchell, who used her first initials to create the “Ma” in Ma’s Kettle. “Sometimes, I wish I hadn’t named it that,” she said, “because some people end up calling me ‘Mrs. Kettle.’”
Small-Statured, Bighearted
Running a snowball stand for 36 years? Where’d a business this small get that kind of staying power? Its stick-to-itiveness is drawn from the Woodstock community, where it has been sewn into the lives of residents and passersby alike, offering a summer spot for gathering and a place of employment for young people saving for college.
By supporting these small-statured, big-hearted places, people are not only getting a signature sweet treat, but they’re preserving an important part of American culture, said Miki Hall, owner of the stand.
“Let’s face it, there’s something non-relaxing about hanging out at McDonald’s,” she said. “There are too few places where you can count on getting a homemade treat or meal. Our culture is paying for something by segueing away from that little bit of food artistry.”
Offering umpteen flavors topped, by request, with marshmallow, the stand can satisfy even the extreme sweet tooth with options such as a cotton candy-flavored snowball with gummy bears.
Generations of customers have been coming to the stand — and then returning, year after year, sometimes in surprising ways.
The Woodstock snowball stand has been cooling off the community for 36 years.
“We had a couple whose first kiss was at the snowball stand,” said Hall. “So they asked if we would make snowballs for their wedding reception. The guests would get snowballs, then add their scotch, bourbon and gin. That’s how they made their cocktails.”
‘We’ll Be Here for Sure’
At Ann’s Dari-Creme in Glen Burnie, loyal customers can be assured their order is underway as soon as they’re spotted in the parking lot.
Though the original owner, “Ms. Ann,” passed away in the 1970s, the restaurant — which has been in operation since 1951 — still offers the same hot dogs and subs and, of course, soft serve ice cream and shakes.
“Probably 50% of our customers have been coming for a long time,” said Assistant Manager Trish Ludlum, who began working at Ann’s, which is located in front of Marley Station, when she was 15 and ended up staying 29 years and counting.
Miles away in Scaggsville, Lauren Flannery, co-owner of the sub and ice cream shop Pepperjacks, is also proud of the history that surrounds her business.
Longtime Howard County residents Ida Hines and her husband Jack have owned the property since the 1930s, and the building has passed through phases as a food shop, gas station and convenience store.
“I went to school in New Jersey and there were all kinds of ‘mom-and-pop’ food establishments,” said Flannery, “but I just wasn’t seeing them in Howard County.”
Flannery and her husband now serve local customers ranging from utility workers to teachers to little league teams, and Pepperjacks seems to have a firm footing and a loyal local following.
We just leased the building for another seven years, so we’ll be here for sure,” said Flannery.
