Laurel arts district makes progress

Mary Jurkiewicz gets questions from visitors at Montpelier Mansion about where they should go to grab a bite to eat, somewhere that’s high quality and unique to Laurel.

“We have a hard time recommending places,” said Jukiewicz, the historic Laurel home-turned-museum’s manager. “There used to be nice Main Street restaurants, but they’re mostly gone now. When Main Street is not successful, we have nowhere to send folks when they visit.”

A coalition of Laurel artists, businesses and planners are looking to slowly expand the range of culinary and entertainment options in and around Main Street, largely through an arts district designation. The district is slated to get a major facelift in the form of an apartment development at Municipal Square.