“Coming Soon! Pizzeria|Bistro River House on Main” – so say signs on the doors of the beloved Tersiguel’s restaurant building on Main Street in Old Ellicott City, which closed after 50 years in December 2025.
Nathan Sowers bought the space when Tersiguel’s closed, located at 8293 Main St. He and his wife, Kimberly Kepnes, are renovating the space for the latest iteration of their River House Pizza Co. restaurant.
Sowers’ connection to Tersiguel’s goes back decades, as he worked there as an apprentice while he was a stay-at-home dad. Eventually, Sowers began focusing on bread-making, pizza especially, and River House Pizza Co. was born.
He began doing business on his own out of Lot D in Ellicott City in 2014, near Little Market Café and some other small shops before moving to a larger location on Baltimore National Pike in Ellicott City.
Mark Hemmis owns and operates The Phoenix on Upper Main, just across the street from where River House on Main will open, and is also treasurer of Ellicott City Partnership. He is looking forward to the new restaurant in the neighborhood and has high expectations for the quality of both the food and the renovations taking place.
“I have no idea what’s going on inside, but I know it’s going to be amazing,” Hemmis told Baltimore Fishbowl. “I’m delighted to have them in town. This town needs more restaurants, not less. A vibrant dining scene benefits everybody in town. It benefits all the merchants. It benefits the other restaurants.”
Hemmis did not know if Sowers planned to have two floors of dining, as Tersiguel’s did, or an exact timeline for opening, but said he imagined Sowers would love to be in there “as soon as possible” while making sure to do the renovations the right way.
Baltimore Fishbowl reached out to Sowers for comment and will update the article as needed.
