Gladchuk Bros. offers comforting food for everyone

A yellow building that conjures a mix of German and colonial architecture announces itself on West Patrick Street in Frederick as the home of Gladchuk Bros. Restaurant, a staple in the community since 1988. The restaurant started as more of a fine dining experience, with white tablecloths, an elegant dress code and a separate lunch and dinner menu, said Steve Gladchuk, one of the brothers of its namesake. Now, the restaurant has combined its menus to offer good food at a fair price. The ambiance is more casual now, so everyone can be comfortable dining in the restaurant. The menu offers different types of food, but they all share a common goal: to be simple, comforting and delicious. The food they offer is just as comforting as the inside of the restaurant, which is composed of wooden furniture and accents and colorful paintings.

— Clara Niel

GLADCHUK BROS. RESTAURANT

489 W. Patrick St., Frederick

301-662-7750

Website: gladchuks. com/index.html

Facebook: facebook.com/ GladchukBrosRestaurant

Hours: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m and 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, closed Sunday and Monday

Price: From $8 for small plates to $39 for steak dishes

Co-owner

Steve Gladchuk recommends: Gladchuk’s Polish pierogis, which has a potato and cheese filling. The pierogis are sautéed on a skillet with onions. A cream sauce with white wine, butter, country mustard and cheese. If you go on a Thursday, Gladchuk also recommends getting the eclairs, which are only featured on Thursday. Filled with pastry cream, the dough is topped with chocolate.

Frederick Jazz Festival returns for two-day event

BY COLIN MCGUIRE Special to The News-Post

John Maestri is one half of the team who originated the Frederick Jazz Festival all the way back in 2017. This year, it will take place June 24 and 25 and will be spread out across Sky Stage, New Spire Stages, Tenth Ward Distilling and the Baker Park Bandshell.

We caught up with Maestri to talk about the festival’s staying power, the challenges of running the event in Frederick, how they navigated the COVID-19 pandemic, if he has an exit strategy some day, and, of course, the mere notion of survival.

I wanted to start off by thinking back to years ago when you guys started this. I remember talking to you back then, and it’s been great to see that you’ve kept it going. It’s so impressive that it keeps going and keeps growing. How did you stick with it this long?

It’s very hard. The first event was in 2017, and ‘17 through ‘19 were really the growing years for us. When we hit 2019, we really felt like we knew what we were doing. We felt we had a handle on how this thing works, what the people want to hear, all the costs, that kind of stuff. Then 2020 hit and we were just like, “Now what are we going to do?” because of COVID. We were building this momentum as much as we could, and then everything came to a halt. We had to rethink what we were doing because we couldn’t get people together.

We were pretty independent up until that point. In 2020, we reached out to the Frederick Arts Council to see what they were doing during COVID. We were kind of in a wait-and-see mode. Then, we started doing this outdoor event at Sky Stage, and we tried to spread it out over three nights over the summer, thinking maybe we could get people to be socially distant and wear face masks. We were just rolling with the punches, and 2021 was when we had a festival in the fall at the Weinberg Center because by then, things were somewhat back to normal, even though people were still uncomfortable being in big group settings. After that, we continued with the Sky Stage summer series, trying to space it out instead of doing just one big event. This year is the first one we’re back to doing a single day — or at least just a weekend, instead of spreading it out over three months. And you’re at multiple venues, too, right?

Yeah, this year, we’re at Sky Stage because we have a good relationship with the Frederick Arts Council through the COVID years. Then, we’ll be at New Spire, because we developed a little relationship with the Weinberg and then found out that the Weinberg was taking over New Spire. Then at Tenth Ward [Distilling], I knew some people from playing jazz gigs there myself. Then, the Baker Park Bandshell, we have a partnership with Celebrate Frederick and their concert series. So, we’ve grown in terms of working with other organizations who took notice of what we’re trying to do and maybe thought, “OK, they haven’t died yet, so I guess maybe they know a little bit” [laughs].

Have you seen attendance steadily grow? You can eliminate the COVID years if you like, but have you seen a better turnout through the years?

It seems that way. Our mailing list has definitely increased over the years. At the Weinberg, we had fewer people than expected, and that was surprising. But all of our summer nights series — the three nights we did at Sky Stage — were all considered sell-out crowds, about 75, 80 people. So, it seems like our audience is growing, but it’s kind of hard to tell with all the COVID stuff. Now that we’re partnering with all these other organizations, we want to track and maintain who is attending. It seems like it’s growing, but I don’t know for certain.

I remember you guys doing it on the Creek. You did that for a few years, right?

Yeah, 2017, ‘18 and ‘19 were on the Creek.

Did you want to get away from the creek? How did that go down? It’s a big place, and I know it can be tricky, but did you consciously decide you didn’t want to be on the Creek anymore?

Yeah, the Creek has its pros and cons. The pros are that it’s open, it’s very accessible, and the music can be heard up and down the Creek to so many people. But some of the cons were coordinating with the City of Frederick Parks and Recreation Department and the Downtown Frederick Partnership. It was also expensive to use that area, so we felt it was more cost-efficient to do something at Sky Stage and with the Frederick Arts Council and Celebrate Frederick. But, yeah, the Creek is a great location, but logistics-wise, it’s difficult. Some of the artists we bring in, their management companies were like, “We want a green room, we want catering,” and they wanted all these things we couldn’t really do at the Creek.

We had all these people help at the library — that ended up being our green room. Then, we brought in trailers and RVs for artists to hang out in, and all of that stuff got really expensive really fast. In order to have really good artists — they’re just expensive. It’s like 25 grand for one night to get a national touring act, and we couldn’t do that, so we had to come up with some other creative solutions.

Comparatively, how do you think this lineup stacks up to lineups in the past?

I think it’s pretty good. We have some Grammy-nominated artists and Billboard artists headlining at New Spire. We have some monster musicians coming out of Montgomery County and D.C., who are performing at Sky Stage and the Baker Park Bandshell. Then we have ... Tenth Ward. So, I think it’s going to be a really good lineup. We’re trying to have high musicianship.

Was there anyone you reached out to and really wanted but couldn’t get?

There were a couple who actually reached out to us, but we were just like, “We’re sorry, but we can’t afford you.” Grace Kelly reached out and really wanted to play. Moonchild was another one. People were really interested in playing. There is no shortage of talented artists who want to play, and they’re easy to get in touch with. It’s just a matter of can we afford it and does it make sense financially.

Speaking of that, is there a way you can quantify this year being a success? Are there certain goals you want to meet?

Yeah, we always want to draw a crowd and sell as many tickets as we can. We want to get people downtown — that’s also one of our main goals, to promote the city in general. We want to make it a weekend trip for people who can come from out of town and hang out. We want to hear that kind of feedback — are people doing that? I think that would be a big measure of success, because that would be good for all of Frederick and not just our little festival.

How long do you see yourself doing this? It’s probably an impossible question to answer, but like I said at the beginning, you’ve been doing it for this long and one of the hardest things to do must be to just keep going. I know that from experience. Is this something that you hope to do for the next five, 10 years? Have you thought of that at all? we aren’t structured like a nonprofit. We don’t have a board; it’s just me and Kenny. So, it’s just me and Kenny going, “What do we do now? What would be fun and challenging? Here’s what we think our budget is going to be. What can we do with this?”

Yeah, I’d like to see the festival continue, but I’m not sure how my personal involvement will look. It is tiring. It is challenging. There’s a possibility I may not be involved five years from now, but the festival itself should continue.

What are some of the biggest challenges you face each year? Are there bigger challenges as this festival grows?

Frederick Jazz Festival

Learn more at frederickjazzfest.com.

Has your team expanded? When we first met, it seemed to be just the two of you running the whole thing. Have you gotten more people on board?

We were growing, people-wise. We had more interns. Some people from the community reached out to us and said, “We like to see what you guys are doing. How can we get involved?” So, it has grown in that sense, but the main decision-makers and the vision of the festival is still with me and Kenny [Darby]. ... The thing about this festival is that

I think the biggest challenge is managing the cost of artists, to be honest. I kind of think that our biggest challenge will be to grow slowly and not super fast. It’s going to take time, so we have to go with smaller, lesser-known artists who aren’t going to cost an arm and a leg and who aren’t super-duper demanding. I think that’s one of the coolest things about our festival — the artists are really happy to play, they’re really happy to be there. They’re just so awesome. I think that excitement and joy comes out in their playing during their performance and it’s received by the people listening.

I’ll tell you a story. In 2019, after we were all done, Kenny and I were sitting on the stage. Everyone had left, everyone had packed up. It was just me and Kenny sitting on the stage on the Creek and it started to rain. We were just like, “We’ll sit here and reflect on the day,” and we felt like people genuinely had a good time. Overcoming all the challenges with coordinating with different groups and different organizations, different policies and fees. All the stuff the vendors bring and all their baggage, all those challenges, at the end of the day, are worthwhile because you can see people came out and enjoyed it. We all survived, you know?

Yeah, and that has to be a great feeling, to know you survived.

It is. It is a great feeling.

Colin McGuire has been in and out of bands for more than 20 years and also helps produce concerts in and around Frederick. His work has appeared in Alternative Press magazine, PopMatters and 72 Hours, among other outlets. He is convinced that the difference between being in a band and being in a romantic relationship is less than minimal. Contact him at mcguire.colin@gmail. com.