You might ask yourself, “What is Franklin‘s?” Is it a restaurant? Is it a brewery? Is it a general store? The answer to any of these would be yes.

I met Mike Franklin, the owner of Franklin’s Brewery, at a Brewers Association of Maryland sponsored event a few years ago. I enjoy talking with him and tasting his beers. It was one of those events where you get a few tokens and drop them into a jar to vote for your favorite beers of the evening. Franklin’s got at least one of my coins. I also remember at the Baltimore Beer Festival tasting their saison and thinking that this is well-made. It made an impression me and kept them on my beery radar.

Am I quest to visit every Maryland brewery. That is a moving target as more breweries come online it seems almost monthly. I found a recent opportunity to stop in the Franklins. The location is the former Hyattsville Hardware Company. When you walk in you’ll notice the old hardwood floors and immediately know that this place has some history.

You also notice the artwork which is the product of the Hyattsville School community arts alliance

We found an extension food menu with something for everyone’s pallet. They have a full bar upstairs, so you can feel free to order a favorite cocktail even though it’s not on the menu. The food was tasty priced right and with imagination.

As usual for me, on my first visit to a brewery I have a flight four beers. They were all European styles, a Kölsch, English ESB, Weizenbock, Dopplesticke Alt beer. I enjoyed all of them, and settled on the Weisenbock to have with my food and ordered a pint. We ordered the kroketten, a breaded and fried mash potatoes with horseradish sauce. I enjoyed the smoked mushroom tacos and my wife found her vegetable and mushroom spaetzle very tasty.

We were there on a late Saturday afternoon and the place was busy. It took awhile for the serving staff to find us but after that the attention was prompt, friendly and very helpful. It sports a massive layout on two floors. I would rate Franklins as very family friendly.

As you walk to the front door you may notice the outdoor beer garden they have named the Quarantining Room. I'm sure this is in light of social distancing required during the pandemic and has remained as a nod to that time.

The Brewery

The Brewery is visible from the upstairs dining area. If your table isn't upstairs you should take the walk anyway. You can see the brewing equipment, the stainless steel tanks and oak barrels use for aging specialty beers. Unfortunately, they didn't have any wood-aged beers on tap when we were there. The bar is upstairs, too.

The General Store

After finishing our meal we had to take in the General Store since it was right there and very engaging. The place just sucks you in. Cold beer and other drinks, greeting cards, clothing, etc. I picked up a couple chocolate bars for the drive home.