El Rancho Grande: The story behind the name
There's a pretty interesting story behind the name of El Rancho Grande, the year-old coffee shop at 3608 Falls Road in Hampden.
Owner Peter Schmader's father, John, spent a lot of time in the Southwest in the 1930s, and took Peter there when Peter was a kid.
John had a record called El Rancho Grande. It was by a guy named Ramon Armengod, and came out in the late '30s. It was an album in the true sense of the word ...
Inside, El Rancho Grande was filled with little photos and descriptions of Mexican states -- a real photo album. When it came time for Schmader to name his cafe, he thought back to that album.
"I wanted to have some link to stuff in my past," Schmader said. "There were a whole lot of names in the hat and that name just kept coming back. When all was said and done -- when all the other names filtered down -- El Rancho Grande hung in."
I've been The Baltimore Sun's nightlife and local entertainment reporter for a couple years, and it's surprising how much the scene has grown in that time. Most of Baltimore's bars and clubs are unpretentious places with fairly cheap drinks and plenty of character. I like dancing and think this city needs more clubs, but nothing beats having a cold, locally brewed beer with friends in a comfortably full corner bar.
Comments
Interesting story, I really love going there to listen to the live bands that play!
Posted by: Rob Brulinski | February 3, 2009 2:56 PM