Local Chef Hunts for Funds to Transform Historic Germantown Cidery Into a Bakery

Cider Barrel in Germantown, Maryland, a historic landmark that halted apple cider production 14 years ago, is possibly getting a second life thanks to a local baker.

Brandi Edinger, most recently executive pastry chef at Army Navy Country Club, recently got the green light from the owner to turn site into a bakery. Edinger, who lives up the street, plans to sell cider, hot cocoa with flavored marshmallows, fresh pastries, cakes, and ice cream made with dairy from local farms.

“I drive past this beautiful building every day and it saddens me to see it sit vacant, year after year,” she says.

Edinger estimates the re-construction of the site — which she says has “structural issues” — to come in at $140,000, with up to $30,000 needed for kitchen equipment and inventory. A new Kickstarter campaign hopes to raise $85,000 by Saturday, October 7 to restore the foundation of the building.

Don’t expect its patriotic-colored barrel out front to disappear as a result of the proposed makeover; since it’s a historic landmark, only the interior can get modernized. Local entrepreneur Andrew Baker built the site in 1922, purposely positioned next to his orchard so he could easily make fresh apple cider.