In Memory of Precious Gifts, and in Celebration of a New Expansion

It's finally here... after 6 years since we opened, we finally expanded our indoor space on our ground floor!

This expansion is extra meaningful to us. Many of Old Ellicott City locals may recognize our new space as the former home to Precious Gifts, run by the late Mrs. Sun. We first would like to take a moment to honor and remember the legacy of this place and our wonderful neighbor.

Precious Gifts played a pivotal role in Historic Ellicott City and has been one of the longest-standing businesses in our community; it has been an honor to share the same space with someone as strong, kind, and supportive as Mrs. Sun. Sun Pacylowski and her business had thrived on Main Street for over 33 years. She was able to survive the tragic loss of her husband in 2016, alongside the two epic floods that nearly destroyed her livelihood. On August 29th, Sun passed away peacefully in her home of 44 years, with her family by her side. With her passing, the OEC community will forever commemorate her strength and dedication to making sure her family and the community.

Main Street will continue on without Mrs. Sun and her store for the first time in decades, and my parents, Mr. Frank (King) and Mrs. Julie, are honored to continue her legacy in bringing life to Main Street. Like Mrs. Sun, both of my parents immigrated to America and built their business from nothing, and we will always support other small businesses that have also tread through this path.

Support your community, hug your family, eat well, and encourage love. These are the pillars that my family has steadfastly believed in, and we hope to spread this with UMI. Rest in peace, Mrs. Sun. We hope to make you proud, and that this space will continue to grow to become like the space you've created for us and everyone else.

Mrs. Sun's grand opening of Precious Gifts in her original location on upper Main Street, and below, her new opening in 2017 next door to us (way before UMI was born!)

As for our newly renovated space, we will incorporate a lot of new ideas to include more community-oriented events and a new bar that will be open 7 days a week, unlike our upstairs bar, which is usually reserved for the weekends. And similar to our upstairs bar, this space would be open to event rentals. We are open to all suggestions on what our customers and community would hope to see after our soft opening this Sunday, May 18th!

A beautiful Japanese pine tree (matsu), symbolizing longevity and endurance, overlooks the bar; the perfect backdrop for live musicians and inspired by Japanese kabuki stages! This mural is hand-painted by me (Coco) and took me 4 weeks to complete, since I am still in college and will be graduating in a few weeks.

So far, we are looking to add karaoke events, live music, and happy hours, and grow our Japanese liquor and cocktail selections. Join us for our soft opening this Sunday for live karaoke, open mic, and free mocktail tastings for anyone who wants to come by and celebrate!