Photography by Stephen Buchanan
Changes abound. Fishpaws Marketplace in Arnold on Ritchie Highway has experienced plenty of that in its 88-year history. It started out in 1935 as a liquor store, tavern, and service station called Fishpaw’s after owner Bill Fishpaw. Then it was renamed Bill and Etta’s Tavern, and later changed to Bill’s Tavern, then to Arnold Liquors, in 1982.
Current owner Kim Lawson’s parents bought it 1983 and Kim took it over six years later. Under her leadership, it has seen significant growth. It’s one of the largest liquor stores in the county at about 7,000 square feet and offers more than 800 wines and 100 craft beers. And Fishpaws will even fill customers’ growlers.
There’s also an array of gourmet foods, some of which you can’t get anywhere else. Offerings include more than 100 cheeses and more than 100 charcuteries (variety of meats), and accouterments such as bread, crackers, olives, hummus, jams, jellies, honey, and nuts.
And there’s a wide selection of foods to go: crabcakes, pizzas, ice cream made by Annapolis’ Always Ice Cream Company, as well as soups such as cream of crab, spicy crab, and oyster stew.
“It makes us a one-stop shop where you can get all your entertaining needs,” Lawson says. “We stand out as a different kind of liquor store. Not a run-of-the-mill one. Other liquor stores don’t even have food products. Except maybe junk food. We have specialists that can make platters up for you. That’s what makes us unique.”
To learn more, we sat down with Lawson to discuss Fishpaws Marketplace.
Photography by Stephen Buchanan
What is the top-selling gourmet item?
Canal Cheese is a really good seller. A cross between gouda and parmesan that’s imported from Holland and aged for 18 months. It sells like crazy. It has little crystals in it. It’s just easy to eat. It tastes fabulous. Pretty much everyone likes it. If you like hard cheese and you also like soft cheese, it’s for you.
What else do customers crave?
Our fresh baked biga bread is probably our next best seller. It’s a true French baguette. It’s nice and crispy and not like something you get at the grocery store. It’s more a true French crispy baguette bread that you get in Europe. It has flavor. It is crispy on the outside and nice and soft on the inside. It’s just delicious.
How do you ensure your gourmet foods are the best?
We taste a lot of things and sample them before we bring them in. We go to different food shows. We go to a fancy food show in New York, and our Cheese Specialist Teri Pheobus goes at least once a year to a cheese conference.
Talk about the tastings of beer, wine, and bourbon. What does that involve?
For the bourbon selections, we go to Kentucky, pick out barrels, buy them, and bring them in. We do that as a staff. I normally take a couple of people with me to pick them out. We taste everything we purchase. We have a wine manager and beer manager that does that as well. We are about twice the size of the average store. I would say in Anne Arundel County, we have more craft beer selections than most places. We have 7,000 square feet of space. So that helps us have a broader inventory. Most places are about 3,000 square feet.
Photography by Stephen Buchanan
Talk about what you’ve done over the years to enhance the business.
We had a deli that we closed 10 years ago. We pretty much added gourmet foods when we closed it. The liquor license goes back to 1935. My family bought it in 1983 and I came aboard in 1989. We did a construction project almost 20 years ago, where we doubled the space and renovated the whole building because it was in disrepair. We added the tasting bar 10 years ago and the tap lines for beer and wines. And during the pandemic, we added about 12 parking places.
How was business during the pandemic and afterwards?
The pandemic was absolutely a zoo. It was just so busy. I hired six to eight extra people. A lot of them were for delivery. Everybody was stuck at home. Doing things with neighbors. Everybody was having parties in their cul de sacs. It has been consistent since. We never really had a down year. We try to be innovative.
Can you talk about your delivery service?
We have online ordering. You can pretty much order anything in the store: beer, wine, liquor, gourmet foods, and baguettes. We deliver within a 10-mile radius. Severna Park, Arnold, Millersville, and a good portion of Annapolis. It’s a benefit.
Photography by Stephen Buchanan
You have been at Fishpaws for so many years. What does it mean for you to work with family?
I have worked with my father since I was 13. We had a marine supply store across the street, and I would go with him every weekend. Then we had these gift stores where I worked. I have family that works with me now. My sister does office work, my ex-sister-in-law, both my kids, and my nephew have worked for me. There’s a real comfort level and we have good relationships. A lot of other people who work for us are like family. They have been here a long time—some for 25 years.
Fishpaws Marketplace 954 Ritchie Highway, Arnold | 410-647-7363 | fishpawsmarket.com
