Vintage Inspired Boutique to Open in Caplan’s Building in Old Ellicott City

Intrigued by the scaffolding on the old Caplan’s Department Store building? Wondering what’s coming now that, after 23 years, Caplan’s antique store has ?

In just a few weeks, the building will reopen its doors as Sweet Elizabeth Jane. The grand opening is tentatively scheduled for April 1, also the date of Main Street’s , when most of the Main Street stores will be open until 8 p.m.

The store will  be styled as a “vintage-inspired lifestyle boutique,” owner Tammy Beideman explaned. Named after her grandmothers, she said “my hope is that Sweet Elizabeth Jane will create an experience for customers to explore for vintage curiosities and find new possibilities for creating great surroundings.”

To that end, both new and vintage furnishings will be for sale, as well as hardware, accessories, jewelry and other gifts.

But before ringing in the first sale, there’s work to be done on the building. Its three owners are doing some interior structural and utility work – restoring it to its “former glory,” as one of the owners said.

They are also repainting and re-mortaring the exterior brick.

Beideman is redoing the interior lighting and painting. She is using old architecture to create "departments" within the space; the steps and railings for the lofts were taken out, and she purchased 28 antique steps that are being made into 2 staircases for the lofts.

She is adding old iron gates for the railings. She is also having a partial wall built with old barn wood to create a small storage area.

Getting to this point has been a long adventure for Beideman.  Originally an elementary school teacher, she left education to stay home with her family and began painting vintage furniture, which eventually led to a small booth in a slow paced antique co-op.  She wanted to see if she could sell any of the furniture.

She found she could. Her hobby quickly became a passion and business grew rapidly. 

After a few months, Beideman rented space in busy Lucketts, Va. 

“Lucketts has a great following and people come there from all over looking for cool vintage stuff,” she said. It was a big step and a learning process, but she caught on quickly.

“The customers were always looking for a good deal and a great find.  I was constantly scouring flea markets looking for ‘buried treasure.’  The experience I gained was invaluable but,” she said, “when my third child was born, the distance became too much for my family, so I decided to look for a place closer to home.”

Seeking to stay local, Beideman first took space at the Pink Cabbage, and eventually became co-owner of Vintage Girls, also on Main Street.  But her ultimate goal was to open her own store – someplace between the traffic lights on Main Street with a prominent store window – which brings us to Sweet Elizabeth Jane. 

“I love flea marketing, antiquing, and bringing new life to old things,” she said.