In Worcester County, Eric Fiori buys small commercial properties to create affordable rentals for local business owners.

Two years ago, in Berlin, he and his wife went to take a look at the property at 10103 Old Ocean City Blvd, which would soon become Forgotten 50 Distillery.

“My wife and I walked into the building and looked up at the beautiful three-foot I-beams that were constructed in Baltimore at Bethlehem Steel, and she just shook her head,” Fiori said.

When he asked what was wrong, she said, “You just can’t make this a commercial rental. You have to do something really special with this building.”

About a month later Cody Miller was looking for property in his hometown of Berlin, Maryland. He wanted to open a small craft distillery.

He was able to meet with Eric Fiori who had just purchased the building on Old Ocean City Boulevard and pitch his idea and vision for Forgotten 50 Distillery.

“And I said, why not?” Fiori said.

Moving toward a solid plan for Berlin’s new distillery

It was in February of 2021 that they got started with moving that idea into reality.

The plan was to have the distillery with a small tasting room and bottle sales.

“Then we thought we needed food to pair with those cocktails,” Miller said.

At first, they thought of having a local food truck on-site a few days a week, but eventually felt that it wouldn’t be enough for their needs. Instead, they designated a portion of the building for a small kitchen.

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The kitchen is focused on a farm to table model and pairs with the cocktails that are provided with their spirits that are being made in the distillery.

“We really want to capitalize on the farm to table. Whether it’s the bakeries or the local beef and cheddar,” Miller said.

All the bread at Forgotten 50 is from Crack of Dawn Bakery, Chesapeake Bay Farms supplies their beef and cheddar along with many other foods sourced from local farms in the region.

Shareable items are the star of menu at Forgotten 50. They want people to be able to come in, order different shareables and eat a portion of each.

“We found that other restaurants have really done well off of that and we wanted to bring that element to Berlin,” Miller said.

A seafood expert adds authenticity to dishes

The menu for food and the cocktails were created by executive chef Jeff Phillips of Phillips Crab House, who brings in years of seafood experience.

“We’re so excited to have him on board and his culinary creations blow us away every day,” Fiori said.

The crab guacamole and bread pudding are a couple of Fiori’s favorites.

With the food decided instead of a small cocktail bar for the tasting room they fully embraced having a restaurant distillery.

The building was originally built for a Plymouth dealership, and they wanted to keep a 1940s theme throughout the building.

“That’s one of the reasons why it took so long to construct this building,” Fiori said. “We didn’t want a standard box for a Berlin distillery. We wanted something that was period correct and something that people could come in and enjoy, not just the drinks and not just the farm to table food but enjoy actual architecture and the hand-built attention to detail.”

Around 15,000 red bricks went into the building. It was done with the effort of keeping the building correct for the period and keeping the acoustics.

Combining an elegant dining experience and a lively bar

Miller and Fiori wanted to create a lively environment for locals and everyone passing though Worcester County.

Inside can accommodate 90 seats with another 50 seats outside.

When first walking into the building from the front it has a quieter more elegant dining room feel. Once you walk to the back it opens to a bar that can sit almost 30 people.

“I think we were successful in creating almost two separate environments within the building,” Fiori said.

From the bar in the back there are large glass panels that divide the room from the distilling equipment. Giving a look behind the scenes for the process of making spirits.

From a soft opening to a locals’ favorite

For locals the two-year wait was worth the detail and work Miller and Fiori put into the distillery.

They had a soft opening the beginning of August before the grand opening on Aug. 31. That allowed the restaurant to get up and running and for Miller and Fiori to get feedback from locals.

“They’re blown away by the esthetics and ambience of the building,” Miller said.

Reclaimed barn wood and corrugated metal were elements that are featured in the building that were sourced locally.

“We were in construction during the COVID era. Things weren’t available so we grabbed what we could locally,” Fiori said.

Decor pays tribute to the site’s automotive roots

To tie in the 1940 automotive theme Fiori and Miller were able to meet the relatives of the family that originally owned the Plymouth dealership.

“They’re sharing some family photos with us that we’d like to bring into the building,” Fiori said.

With the permission of the family, they will start displaying around the building.

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They’ll be bringing together elements of the Plymouth branding, cars and the roadway into their own labeling.

That history of time long gone is what lead to namesake of the distillery, Forgotten 50.

“This used to Route 50, and it’s been forgotten about,” Miller said. “People don’t realize that this used to be your way getting to Baltimore to Ocean City.”

Showcasing Maryland in cocktail offerings

Currently at Forgotten 50 Distillery they are showcasing Maryland distilleries in their cocktails.

“I love the fact of when folks come into our establishment and they kind of look behind the bar and look at the liquor sitting on a rack and you just hear, I’ve never had that before,” Fiori said.

Once they start producing their own liquors to sell, they plan to continue showcasing products from other small batch distilleries in Maryland along with their own.

And a move now to creating their own vodka, gin

With the opening behind them Miller can now focus on creating local spirits. Starting with vodka which will be one of Forgotten 50’s main spirits.

“Then we’ll incorporate a few different gins, English style gin, American style gin to different flavor profiles,” Miller said.

Keeping with the farm to table model Miller plans to use local herbs and spices in their gin production.

They won’t be stopping with just vodka and gin. Miller wants to get started on rums, whiskeys, and brandies.

“The sky is the limit,” Miller said. “What’s great is we can do such small batches that I could create multiple flavors.”

“We’ve created such an establishment that we have just the highest quality in food from farm to table, the highest quality cocktails. That allows Cody to get freed up for his creativity and to create some alcohol,” Fiori said.

Sometime in October Miller expects to have three different spirits made from Forgotten 50 Distillery.

A white whiskey will be included, sold with small barrels for people to take home to age the whiskeys themselves.

“We’re just very, very pleased with the outpouring of support from our locals here and we’re even seeing license plates from New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia, you know, everybody that’s coming. It’s just a fantastic experience and that’s all we could ask for,” Miller said.

For more information on Forgotten 50 Distillery you can visit their website at https://forgotten50distilling.com/