Waitress Stella Gambino wore Hampden's traditional ethnic costume to greet the governor yesterday: a beehive wig, rhinestone eyeglasses, frosted lipstick with matching fingernail polish and her lucky Pimlico bracelet made of dice.
"Hi, Goob," said Gambino as Gov. Parris N. Glendening began his tour of Cafe Hon, recently expanded with the help of a state loan.
"I've heard you're revitalizing the neighborhood. You might want to start in my closet," Gambino said, fingering the pink polyester sweater that she borrowed from her grandmother for the occasion.
Glendening and an entourage of state bureaucrats and legislators spent the afternoon in Hampden's commercial area, a long-struggling site that is making a rebound with 20 new businesses opening in the past 18 months.
Glendening came to see what Cafe Hon owner Denise Whiting has done with her $146,000 state loan, which helped her relocate the popular restaurant across the street, in the 1000 block of 36th St., doubling her seating capacity to 100.
She said the loan -- at 3 percent interest -- will help her reopen her old restaurant as a coffee bar. It helped her open a catering business and a gift shop.
Glendening told the crowd that his Neighborhood Business Development Program -- funded with $7 million this year -- is intended "to make a special commitment to the slowdown of suburban sprawl" by reviving old communities such as Hampden.
After visiting Cafe Hon, Glendening walked across the street to hand an oversized $50,000 check to Dawn Sautter, owner of Paramount Press, who opened her business in July as an "environmentally safe" printer.
She uses "tree-free paper" made from a plant, recycled paper made from blue jeans and old shredded money discarded by the U.S. government.
The 4 percent loan will allow her to buy new equipment, she said, as she spoke at a podium inside her print shop with 50 people applauding.
In the crowd was James W. Campbell, a Democratic state delegate who has represented Hampden for 18 years and is pleased by the new face of Hampden's commercial district.
Alice Ann Finnerty also was there. Three years ago, she founded the Hampden Village Merchants Association to promote the area, which was riddled with vacant storefronts.
Yesterday, most of them were filled with new businesses. And here was the governor, extolling Hampden's virtues.
"Who would have thunk it," Finnerty said.
Pub Date: 5/29/96
