More News

On weekends, a flea market lures customers to the parking lot behind 17030 Oakmont Ave. where owner Lisa Gorman of Gaithersburg sometimes holds pig roasts and blues concerts.

"It's always the same clientele…and their children," laughed Kathie Claggett, who has worked at Hershey's since 1989. "It's a working-class bar and it's one of these places that you kind of get addicted to because everybody's friends."

Bikers, construction workers, songwriters and musicians call the place home.

The restaurant is a throwback to another time, said Gorman, who bought the business six years ago. She sat Thursday on the front porch, where regulars like to smoke and musicians linger. The 120-year-old building resembles an old rooming house or general store. Gorman is luring in a new crowd with open mike nights and a weekend brunch.

On the menu are Maryland crab cakes, steaks, burgers, sandwiches and subs, and appetizers, from old-fashioned fried chicken livers to jumbo spiced shrimp.

The restaurant once had red shag carpet walls, she laughed. It still has regulars such as Fred Smith, Bill "Killer" Kiloyne, and Larry "L.B." Broschardt, who are in their 60s and who have perched at the bar for "many moons," said Smith. They remember the days when William "Billy" King, whose family owned King Farm, had a private booth and telephone line. His pal, Tommy Hershey, ran the place.

"I had the first beer ever served there," said Francis Henderson, who said six friends, including Hershey, used to play cards above the store. One day in 1970, Hershey brought a keg, he said.

"He'd give the beer away, then the next night he charged for it. Then he decided to make a bar," laughed Henderson, who said friends called the restaurant's first bar, a small corner at the back, "the elbow room."

For years, the building doubled as a general store and post office, according to a framed paper placemat printed by Hershey, who ran the restaurant until 2003. Gaithersburg forefathers Henry Beard and James G. Craighead built the building in 1889.

Eleven owners preceded Charles and Doris Hershey, who bought the store and post office in 1952. They introduced "Grandma's Fried Chicken" a carry-out business with makeshift drive-through.

In 1969, son Tommy joined them and the "elbow room" opened a year later, Tommy Hershey said from his retirement in Florida. In 1978, the post office moved across the tracks and the restaurant and bar had their own space, he said. He ran it for 34 years.

Then Gorman took over, happy to carry on traditions and add her own. Every Fourth of July, she hosts a neighborhood pig roast and fireworks. On weekends, an auctioneer holds flea markets in the parking lot. Especially popular are twice-monthly jazz performances by bands, including Warner Williams' and Jay Summerour's Little Bit a Blues Band and The Bobby Lewis Blues Band.

"It's home," said Lewis who wrote songs for his new album, "Life on the Road," sitting on the restaurant's front porch.

Hershey's Restaurant at 17030 Oakmont Ave. Gaithersburg is open from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, 12 to 9 p.m. weekends. Bar open until crowds leave. Flea markets run from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Call 301-948-9893.

Come on in
Hershey's Restaurant at 17030 Oakmont Ave. Gaithersburg is open from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, 12 to 9 p.m. weekends. Bar open until crowds leave. Flea markets run from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Call 301-948-9893.