Streetcar 82 co-owner Mark Burke honored for nurturing area’s Deaf ecosystem

December 16, 2022
Heather Marléne Zadig
Streetcar Suburb News

Hyattsville’s own Streetcar 82 Brewing Co. has already made its mark as a popular watering hole in the four years since it opened — and now, one of its co-owners has received top honors from the State of Maryland for his contributions to the local Deaf community. On Oct. 11, Mark Burke, co-founder and co-owner of Streetcar 82, received the Spirit of the Deaf Ecosystem Award, presented by the Governor’s Office of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, “for his support and empowerment of the economic mobility of Deaf and hard of hearing individuals,” according to the press release.

The Hyattsville Life & Times recently spoke with Mark Burke about the award’s significance and the Deaf ecosystem championed by the governor’s office.

“We did not open [Streetcar 82] with the intention of being a Deaf brewery — just a brewery that happens to be owned by Deaf people and brings the community together,” Burke said through an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter. “But with the Deaf ecosystem, I think that we have had a lot of impact.”

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