Renovating the Newberry Building in Brunswick, MD

Renovating the Newberry Building in Brunswick, MD We are the new stewards of The Newberry in historic down Brunswick. Follow the transformation!

Omygoodness, many of you have been IN the completed Newberry building, but for those of you who have been following alon...
01/02/2026

Omygoodness, many of you have been IN the completed Newberry building, but for those of you who have been following along from a distance, I am sorry that I dropped the ball on updating the final months of the project.

We worked right up until opening day of Roots & River Yoga and then had to learn how to drive the big ship of the Newberry and its many businesses inside including Potomac River Interiors, Whistle Punk Farm Deli, Food Truck, & Catering, Integrum Ops, C&O Tattoo and of course, Roots & River Yoga.

I will work on a series of posts to share the "before and after" of many of the spaces to show you the transformation in its entirety, but in the meantime, check out this exterior transformation!

We painted the facade and installed gold lettering, a nod to the 70+ years that this building was the JJ Newberry.

It’s been an epic process but the Newberry building is nearly complete and teeming with activity. Here’s a tour of the R...
09/13/2025

It’s been an epic process but the Newberry building is nearly complete and teeming with activity. Here’s a tour of the R&R space.

Thanks for following along and offering support during a grueling 3.5 year renovation process. Ultimately, it was totally worth it. Downtown Brunswick is revitalizing and the Newberry is a shining star.

Eric and I are so grateful for the grants, financial refinancing, and tax credits we were able to apply for and receive from State of Maryland and City of Brunswick programs. They were game changers in our ability to realize our vision.

Alongside Roots & River Yoga, businesses that share the Newberry with us are and . Inside Roots & River, services like acupuncture and massage are provided by Rebecca Dimmerling, Kasey Cecchini and Tanya Pederson.

I couldn’t be more pleased and proud.

For those of you who have followed along with the renovation, be sure to keep an eye on our page to see some impactful before and after collections I’ll be posting soon. If you haven’t been following , now’s your chance to go check out our page. We have documented the transformation of the Newberry from a rotting wooden box to a historically preserved, yet modern code compliant, beautifully restored space that will be an anchor for downtown for 100 more years.

Many thanks and much gratitude!
-Machelle Lee, building owner and founder of Roots & River Yoga (est 2016)

We've taken several trips to Second Chance in Baltimore during the Newberry Building project. Some of the employees star...
12/30/2024

We've taken several trips to Second Chance in Baltimore during the Newberry Building project. Some of the employees started recognizing us and greeting us by name. This is Paul and he has helped us load some heavy things into our truck. He has a hearty laugh and a great sense of humor. It's a highlight to see and talk to him.

On our last trip we bought a salvaged 7 ft slab of black granite. It has green-blue flecks in the stone that is the exact color that we had painted the walls.

We bought the granite for $80! That piece would have easily been 1-2K had we bought it new.

I studied images of 1920s store counters to come up with a design idea for Roots & River's front desk. Eric drew it out and his brother, Greg, built the base around the granite so that we didn't have to cut it. We "only" had to bevel grind and buff the edges of the stone.

What was once was once someone's kitchen counter, this granite was given another life, a second chance, as our check-in desk.

Perfection! Be sure to check out the last pic! 🤩

Second Chance, Inc.
Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development
The City of Brunswick, MD
Brunswick Main Street
Frederick County Office of Economic Development
FiND iT Frederick Magazine



Yoga is good for many things, like cultivating balance so that I can wash the studio windows that start at 5 ft off the...
12/28/2024

Yoga is good for many things, like cultivating balance so that I can wash the studio windows that start at 5 ft off the ground and end at 10 feet. 😂

These windows were here when we bought the building, but the Newberry sat empty for a very long time. I know these windows haven't been washed for at least 10 years... and then we added all the drywall and floor sanding dust. Cleaning them has been quite the feat. Each one has taken me about an hour. I've washed 17 so far, over many days.

I haven't posted much about the progress at the Newberry for the last two months but we've been forging ahead. We have so many detailed projects that we are finishing that it seemed better to wait and show you once the fit and finishes were completed.

This week and next, I'll catch you up.

It's so pretty in here and our soft opening is just around the corner.

We must be close... I'm washing windows.

I haven't been posting very much about our progress in our Roots & River Yoga space in the Newberry. We are working on s...
10/04/2024

I haven't been posting very much about our progress in our Roots & River Yoga space in the Newberry. We are working on so many fit and finish projects that I am documenting but I'm waiting to share until I can show you the "before and after" of each transformation. I have lots more to share soon.

This week I wire-brushed loads of decades-old coal dust off of the wood beams in the upstairs yoga studio space. I discovered some old termite damage that you can see in one of the images.

There's been a lot of life and stories in this old building. Check out the saw mill marks on the beams. We suspect the beams are 150-200+ years old and they had a life in another structure first, before being reclaimed and reused in what became the Newberry building.

I'm working to get this room all cleaned up and pretty before we host a Maryland Main Streets Managers tour of Brunswick next week.



Brunswick Main Street
Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development
Frederick County Office of Economic Development
The City of Brunswick, MD

Today was an epic day of six ribbon cuttings for new/expanding businesses in downtown Brunswick...Four of which were in ...
09/18/2024

Today was an epic day of six ribbon cuttings for new/expanding businesses in downtown Brunswick...
Four of which were in our recently renovated building,
the Newberry
Lisa of Potomac River Interiors
Chris and Michael of Integrum Ops
Alexis of Whistle Punk Farm Deli, Food Truck, & Catering
and
Amy of C&O Tattoo

Down the street, Abbie of Maple & Rye Bakery and Eirik of Bridegway Bikes also had their ribbon cutting ceremonies.

Good things are happening in Brunswick.
Shine, shine, shine!

Newberry renovation isn't quite done. We are still working on the fit and finish for the yoga and wellness center. Roots & River Yoga will have its ribbon cutting when we expand into the Newberry later this year.

Stay tuned, you'll be invited! 🤩

Brunswick Main Street
Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development
Frederick County Office of Economic Development
The City of Brunswick, MD
Brunswick Economic Development Commission
FiND iT Frederick Magazine
Discover Brunswick, MD/Brunswick Economic Development Commission

If you've walked in downtown Brunswick in the last 10+ years, you have likely encountered this precarious sidewalk "cell...
09/06/2024

If you've walked in downtown Brunswick in the last 10+ years, you have likely encountered this precarious sidewalk "cellar" door in the heart of our main street.

This hatch served as a gateway to the basement of the JJ Newberry building - likely for coal and heating oil, and potentially merchandise deliveries. There are still rows of storage shelves in the basement that served the JJ Newberry's inventory.

For the first 7 years we lived in town, I'd step across this hatch cautiously, even though I could feel it give and rebound with my weight. I saw others go out of their way to avoid it, for fear that it might eventually give way and they'd fall through. None of us knew it's true condition.

In April 2022, Eric, and I bought the Newberry building and this sidewalk door was part of the property and became our new responsibility.

One of the first things we did was head to the basement to see the real situation underneath the hatch. It turned out to be much more tenuous than we initially suspected. It was barely hanging on!

Knowing we couldn't replace it right away, Eric supported the entire sidewalk door with several 6x6 posts. That shored it up really well so that people could walk over safely. However, over the next many months, it started to aggressively rust, which posed new layers of concerns.

Well, a major transformation occurred in the last couple of weeks. Eric and his brother, Greg, removed the old sidewalk door and built frames for a new concrete slab. We hired a professional, Jeff Mentzer, to pour, level and texture the concrete just right!

About a week later, Doug, Ricky, and Bobby from Brunswick Public Works followed to re-lay the brick details asking the edge of the sidewalk.

It's one more puzzle piece in place as we work towards the Newberry's complete renovation. It's also one step closer to the meaningful revitalization of downtown Brunswick. We are happy to play our small role.

Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development
The City of Brunswick, MD
Brunswick Main Street
Frederick County Office of Economic Development
FiND iT Frederick Magazine


Have you been affected by the trains blocking access between downtown Brunswick and the Marc parking lot/C&O Tow Path or...
09/05/2024

Have you been affected by the trains blocking access between downtown Brunswick and the Marc parking lot/C&O Tow Path or campground for long periods of time?

Have you tried to come to a class at Roots & River Yoga and not been able to arrive to class on time ....or get back to your car easily, because of a train blocking your access for more than 20 minutes (or up to an hour+)?

Has the stopped trains prevented or affected your ability to come to or leave from a downtown business?

The City of Brunswick, MD and Brunswick Main Street are asking for your help in gathering stories about your experience. They need concrete examples of the train blocking the tracks and making it hard for people to access Brunswick's businesses or other amenities.

If you have an experience(s) to share, email the Brunswick Main Street Manager, Carmen Hilton, at [email protected].

These stories will assist the The City of Brunswick as they apply for funding to build a pedestrian/bike bridge over the tracks to assist in alleviating SOME of the challenge of this ongoing issue with CSX.

Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences.

*This post and page is not intended to be a forum for discussing or debating this issue, but rather to get the word out that the City of Brunswick is collecting stories.*

This was the "door" to our only working bathroom in The Newberry for well over a year. 🤣Now there are five bathrooms. Al...
09/05/2024

This was the "door" to our only working bathroom in The Newberry for well over a year. 🤣

Now there are five bathrooms. All equipped with real doors, handles AND locks! 💖


We are full steam ahead on Roots & River's fit and finish. One big project that is now complete is the installation of t...
08/30/2024

We are full steam ahead on Roots & River's fit and finish.

One big project that is now complete is the installation of the vinyl flooring in the hallway and treatment rooms on the second floor. We saved as much of the original wood floor as we could but about 1200 SQ ft couldn't be salvaged. It was too brittle. Real wood replacement was too expensive and labor intensive. I'll show pics the floors that we DID save and refinish in the next could of days. We are staining the main floors this weekend!

For the vinyl installation, we give high praise to Lewis Allison who is a master of all things flooring. He and his assistant swooped in and transformed the second floor waiting area and "wellness rooms". Thanks to all our local friends and Facebook followers who recommended him. We couldn't be happier with his work and professionalism.

Lewis Allison Flooring
Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development
Brunswick Main Street
The City of Brunswick, MD
Brunswick Economic Development Commission
Frederick County Office of Economic Development
FiND iT Frederick Magazine









08/30/2024

Reminder tonight is the first of 4 meetings if you are interested in being part of an art initiative here in our community

The second floor beams, their journey of being protected and then revealed while we transformed the second story of the...
08/18/2024

The second floor beams, their journey of being protected and then revealed while we transformed the second story of the Newberry. 🥰

Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development
Brunswick Main Street
The City of Brunswick, MD
Discover Brunswick, MD/Brunswick Economic Development Commission
FiND iT Frederick Magazine

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30 West Potomac Street
Brunswick, MD
21716

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