OAKLAND, Md. — About 10 miles from Deep Creek Lake, in the heart of Garrett County, is the small town of Oakland.
Quinn Thomas grew up there and started her business, Bougie Bottoms Boutique, while she was a West Virginia college student in 2020.
Bougie Bottoms has now outgrown its space on Alder Street and is about to move to a bigger storefront.
Thomas said she sees customers from all over, with Oakland and Deep Creek Lake being "a very popular destination now."
Oakland is definitely growing. They're trying to get a lot more downtown, which is good, but it still has that small-time charm when you come here, for sure.
Thomas opened her store across from Englander's Antiques & Grill, the popular "spot we always eat breakfast as a family," she said.
She's now hoping to add an event space and party planning to her business. Some of Bougie Bottoms' more popular products include Lovervet jeans, and menswear.
"There's not a lot in the area for men to shop, so I decided to carry Kimes Ranch," a line of Western-style men's wear.
The tourism traffic from Deep Creek Lake has been a big factor in Oakland's success, she said.
"The weekends are super busy. A lot of people have just made downtown Oakland part of their trip coming to Deep Creek. So, like, they'll come on a Saturday; they'll walk around all the shops. We have the local farmers' market that happens down here and lots of little events, like this upcoming Christmas, we have Small Town Christmas, Small Town Business - all the little small-town, charming events. So people are definitely adding that on their list to stop when they come. So we do see a lot of people from out of town, which helps all the businesses in downtown Oakland," she said.
Other businesses to check out include Black Hawk Coffee Company, which opened about a year ago; Green Acres Flower Basket, and Favorite Things Corner Gift Shoppe (set to get dressed up soon for Christmas); and the previously-mentioned Englander's eatery.
Maureen Troublefield, owner of Favorite Things, said she sells Kinkade and Wild Wings artwork, baby and children's clothes, and has expanded on toys, stained and painted glass, and Irish gifts.
She described Oakland:
Along Second Street we have the museum, local art gallery, book store, clothing store, and vinyl record shop. On Alder Street, Englanders has been a part of the town forever. We also have entrance to my store, primitive decor and ladies wear, salon, a microbrewery and a bar & bistro. Both serve nice sandwiches/meals. Liberty street has the train station, transportation museum, and Cabin Fever antiques/collectibles.
Black Hawk Coffee said: "We picked Oakland to open our shop because we felt that the town has a ton of charm but was lacking a community gathering spot!... The community is absolutely amazing and welcomed us with arms wide open! We have built lasting relationships with our customers and have gotten the privilege to be involved in very significant moments of their lives such as pregnancy announcements & wedding catering!
We would like visitors to know that Oakland is really an extension of Deep Creek Lake but with the small town charm. When you shop in Oakland you are supporting small town family-owned businesses!"
The upcoming event "Great Small Town Christmas" presents a perfect opportunity to check out the shops in a festive atmosphere.
Oakland leaders also noted that there's a major holiday donation drive in Oakland, being organized by the Garrett County House of Hope.
Town of Oakland Business Coordinator/Main Street Manager Valerie Stemac said: "They are an incredible regional organization who works entirely on private donations to help community members who have needs that the typical service organizations cannot meet, usually due to funding constraints."
They're holding it Dec. 7 in downtown Oakland.
See more about what Oakland has coming up here.
