By David Walker
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
You Are Family Here: These are the four words that MaGerk’s Pub & Grill owner Bridget Lloyd says best describe her restaurant in Bel Air.
“One big happy family,” Lloyd said. “It has been 20 years of family, friends and community. That’s the biggest part, community. This community is wild.”
Opening its doors in 2006, MaGerk’s is now a staple, known for “the best cheesesteaks south of Philly.” The pub has become a go-to place to watch an Eagles or Ravens game, grab a beer with a buddy or take the family out to dinner on a Sunday night – or any night, actually.
Lloyd’s journey at MaGerk’s started in 2000 when she got a bartending job at its Federal Hill location. She wasn’t hopeful at first after the staff wouldn’t give her an application. “They wrote my name and number on a napkin,” she said. “Then they called me, and said, ‘Ok, come in this day.’”
Only four months into her new gig, she became curious about how the whole restaurant thing worked.
“I turned to Paul [Dolaway], one of the owners, and I said, ‘What does your food cost? What does your alcohol cost? What’s going on?’” said Lloyd, who explained to him that she was trying to learn about the business. “Then, he promoted me to manager. I had never managed before, but he said, “You be the manager. You’ll figure all this out.’”
Lloyd managed MaGerk’s Federal Hill for five years before another opportunity down the street came her way.
“I was approached by one of our regulars, who was acquiring a piece of property near Camden Yards, and he offered to make me a partner if I ran the restaurant,” Lloyd said. “I thought that’s a great idea. Mind you, I had no plans of anything. My husband and I just bought our house, renovated it and everything.”
Lloyd seriously considered the offer. Federal Hill was a great area for her and her husband. But she loved her time at Magerk’s with its great staff and loyal regulars and decided to talk to co-owner Dolaway about her dilemma.
Dolaway had another idea. He and his brother, John, who was his business partner, were planning to open a MaGerk’s in Harford County. “They said, ‘Come to Bel Air. It’s a pot of gold,’” she said, accepting their offer to be a partner and run the new location.
“The first year was pandemonium,” she recalls. She was used to the hustle-bustle of high-top tables and bar stools in Federal Hill. Bel Air was a different animal.
“It’s bonkers. It’s families. It’s kids’ menus. It’s highchairs,” Lloyd said. “It’s different up here. You’ve got to have entrees. You’ve got to have a host … have servers.”
Contrary to many other local bars, MaGerk’s is a kid-friendly environment. Saturday nights may have a busy bar crowd late into the night, but the crayon-stained booths and macaroni noodles littered on the floor after a Thursday night rush tell a different story.
Even the food decisions were made with kids in mind. Lloyd quickly gave up on the kitchen making its own mac and cheese after a wise liquor rep told her to go with the Kraft brand.
“Thank goodness, we listened because it would have blown up in our faces,” Lloyd said. “Kids love Kraft.”
Two decades later and MaGerk’s is humming. Lloyd is always putting out little fires, buying a new piece of equipment and keeping the peace.
“There is always something. We had the housing market crash in’08, I had my first kid in 2011, there was obviously COVID. Some things are just out of your control,” Lloyd said. “The grit that you get from working in the restaurant business, one foot forward, you just keep going.”
Bar manager Amie Bradfield has worked at MaGerk’s for 17 years. Starting as a host, then moving to server, then to bartender and now as one of the four primary managers.
“I love Bridget. I mean personally and professionally, she is such a boss babe,” Bradfield said. “I’m always amazed at how she can juggle so many things.”
Bradfield, after working with Lloyd for so long, has developed a friend-co-worker bond with her boss. She says these types of relationships are what make MaGerk’s stand out from other bars and restaurants.
“The level of teamwork and enthusiasm here is kind of uncanny,” Bradfield said. “We’re just always helping each other out because we genuinely want to. We genuinely care about making sure someone isn’t weeded (overwhelmed), making sure our customers get the best service.”
Erin Tate is the Bridget Lloyd of MaGerk’s in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania. Before she was running her own restaurant, Tate was a bartender and server under Lloyd in Federal Hill.
“Bridget taught me so much. I truly still look up to her today,” she said. “I credit her for a large portion of my success. She and I are best friends to this day.”
Lloyd stresses the importance of working in food service. She believes the life experience you get serving tables, pouring drinks and dealing with customers is next to none.
“Everybody should do it. You can tell when people haven’t worked in the industry,” Lloyd said. “You gain awareness, seeing bigger pictures than what’s in front of you.”
Lloyd certainly knows her way around a restaurant. Whether it’s a busy dinner rush on a Friday night or a slow Wednesday lunch, she figures out exactly what hole to plug to make sure “her baby” is running smoothly.
“When I’m here, I’m present. I’m in it,” Lloyd said. “I’m on the floor. I’m in the kitchen. I’m aware of what’s happening at the host stand, the bar. You’ve got hands on everything at the same time. I go table to table, checking on customers. Then somebody will be, ‘Bridget, you’ve got to get in the kitchen.’ You’re like, all right, got to go.”
Lloyd loves what she does and feels MaGerk’s is in a great place right now. She may even become involved in a new location in Baltimore County.
There will always be the broken fryers, the impossible-to-please customers and power outages, but Lloyd comes to work each day with the same hope: That people will come in ready to “Make it MaGerk’s.”
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