What's Going on at Buttermilk Hill Tavern?

Approximately 20 cars sit on an empty lot on Route 1 by the former Buttermilk Hill Tavern, and two men stationed in a van said the cars were for sale.

However, it remains unclear who was the winning bidder when the tavern property at 6100 Washington Blvd. was offered at auction in July or whether that deal even closed.

The property, which is zoned for restaurant/commercial development, sold at auction in July with a winning bid of $500,000. However, the bidder did not wish to be identified at the auction, and the auctioneer declined to comment on Sept. 28 on whether the deal went through after cars started rolling onto the lot in front of the tavern.

As of Oct. 1, the property had not changed hands, according to the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation.  The property still belongs to an auto company in Silver Spring that has owned it since 2011.

The two men who were parked in a van on the lot Monday declined to identify themselves or the business they represented but did say that they were selling cars. A phone number on the vehicles parked on the lot goes to M. Gordon Auto Sales, Inc., which has offices on Montevideo Road in Jessup and in Chambersburg, PA.

The Department of Inspections, Licenses and Permits for Howard County said that as of Sept. 28, it had not received any applications related to the property at 6100 Washington Blvd.