By Zach Brook
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Wegmans Food Market, Inc., opened a new grocery store at the recently developed Foundry Row shopping center in Owings Mills last week.
Wegmans is the first of many retailers that will be opening at the shopping center throughout the next few months.
Sara Trenery, the business development representative for the Baltimore County Department of Economic and Workforce Development, said Foundry Row will create “a vibrant new gateway to Owings Mills.”
Trenery said the 375,000-square-foot open-air retail center will also include everything from an LA Fitness and DSW to a Panera Bread and Massage Envy. There will also be other restaurants, furniture stores and a wine outlet.
Foundry Row is located at the intersection of Painters Mill Road and Reisterstown Road, where the old Solo Cup Co. factory used to be located.
“The developer demolished the outdated manufacturing buildings, recycling most, if not all, of the debris,” Trenery said. “The project required significant on-site earth moving and traffic improvements to the surrounding roads to accommodate the expected increase in traffic.”
Jared McLaughlin, the service area manager at Wegmans, said he is sure the store will attract a regular clientele.
“They’re certainly going to keep their regular customers, because the proximity is so close,” McLaughlin said.
Nancy Sall, who has lived in the Baltimore area for over 20 years, said she was a regular customer at the Wegmans store in Hunt Valley. She said she was thrilled about the new store being so close to her home.
“The best part of it was the customer service,” Sall said. “All of the employees are so nice there. There was an item that I buy at the store in Hunt Valley but they didn’t carry it in Owings Mills. The manager told me to try a similar item that he had and gave it to me for free.”
When asked about the potential problems with the new location, only one came to mind.
“It’s a little too early to tell yet,” Sall said. “It will certainly cause more traffic problems, but I think they have tried to alleviate potential problems as best as they could.”
McLaughlin sees the development as a step forward for the community.
“It’s going to have a positive impact,” McLaughlin said “The place will be a gathering point. It’s a bridge for Owings Mills, Pikesville and Reisterstown.”