At The Harris Teeter Grand Opening

It's shocking to see the crowds that will show up for cheese cubes and free shrimp.

The Harris Teeter in Maple Lawn opened today, and the parking lot was so packed in the early evening that we left the car on the service road and walked through construction.

Frankly, it looks like the Harris Teeter in Kings Contrivance. I don't know why I expected something different in Fulton. No Starbucks in the front, but otherwise, it looked the same to me. The store was chaotic because people were alternatively strolling, shopping, and standing in line. One woman leapt in front of us to grab free chocolates at the entrance. Fun to see my neighbors' baby, but I'll be happier to go back when it's quiet and I can really browse.

What happens now to the Bloom?

Harris Teeter in Fulton: Free Snacks At The Grand Opening On October 6

The Maple Lawn Harris Teeter finally opens its doors with free snacks from 5:30 to 8:00 pm on Tuesday, October 6, 2009.

Maybe be more than snacks if you walk the whole store. They're calling it "Taste of Teeter" and say they'll have samples. Ribbon-cutting at 5:30. Snacks until 8:00. The store opens for business the next day and runs 24 hours a day.

Watch your mail. Kim of the Prosaic Paradise blog sent me an email with a photo of a Teeter mailing that announced the October 7 opening and offered $40 in savings inside.

Harris Teeter

Maple Lawn Farms

8184 Westside Boulevard

Fulton, MD 20759

NEAR: Harris Teeter is on Rte 216 west of Rte 29. You go through the traffic circle at Maple Lawn Boulevard where you see a bank. The Harris Teeter is at the next traffic circle. You'll see it on the right.

One Month To Harris Teeter?

One month to Harris Teeter in Fulton? The sign is up, and the Maple Lawn developer has said at various times that the new supermarket on Rte 216 would open on October 6 or October 7, 2009.

(Update: The Maple Lawn newsletter says there will be an official opening ceremony on the afternoon of October 6, and the market will open to the public on October 7.)

The store has been move-in-ready for months now. But an anonymous comment said last week that the Harris Teeter in King's Contrivance was advertising for workers at the new location. By Saturday, there was a huge poster in the window advertising as well.

Turf Valley Town Square will also get a Harris Teeter, according to Tales of Two Cities who reported last week that they signed a lease with work starting next year and a store opening in late 2011. I don't commute past Turf Valley so I can't obsessively keep on this. Send me updates when it happens!

Harris Teeter Still Coming To Maple Lawn, Developer's Agent Says

Harris Teeter still intends to open a store in Maple Lawn in October 2009, the developer' s agent told the Tale of Two Cities blog.

I had seen comments that Harris Teeter had pulled out of the Fulton development. The developer was telling Maple Lawn residents that the store will open on October 6, 2009, but HT's parent Ruddick Corp. had announced that it was reducing or delaying new store openings because of the economic climate.

Apparently, the October 2009 date is still on. (Update: Harris Teeter's customer service says the opening will be October 7, 2009.) It's weird because the store is ready to open. But there are some accounting and financial reporting reasons why public company executives might enjoy opening a store six days into their fiscal year.

Harris Teeter in Fulton Update #3

The Harris Teeter in Fulton is scheduled to open at 5:30 pm, October 6, 2009, according to the Maple Lawn developer.

(Update -- Click here for the latest news on Harris Teeter in Maple Lawn.)

Stuart Greenbaum spoke at last night's Maple Lawn annual meeting, and he said that Harris Teeter on Rte 216 has that official start date five months in the future. Like me, he says that the store looks like they could open far sooner. He says the developers have finished their work on the site, and they would love Harris Teeter to open before October. But the schedule has some connection to Harris Teeter's fiscal year.

Harris Teeter's parent company appears to have a fiscal year that starts October 1.

In other Maple Lawn news, the developers said they're in talks with two people about replacing the Daily Grind coffee shop with a morning/breakfast restaurant. Mrs. HowChow would love a Starbucks. No one mentioned the name of the possible tenant, but Greenbaum talked about how Starbucks is closing stores, so that dream doesn't appear likely. They said they hope to have some news in a few weeks because they want that site occupied for their commercial tenants.

Harris Teeter in Fulton Update #2

To me, the Harris Teeter in Maple Lawn looks like it should open in Summer 2009 -- not the Fall 2009 that I have seen in official announcements.

On Saturday, the store had plate glass windows that were new since our last visit on Easter. Outside, the parking lot is lined and mostly landscaped. Inside, you could see signs for the different departments, which suggests that they're deep into interior construction. People were working on Saturday, which meant Mrs. HowChow wasn't dying to snap a photo out of the car window.

Of course, I was overly optimistic about construction at the Fatburger. But I can't believe Harris Teeter wants an empty store sitting around all summer. Anyone know more? (Update: Kristin comments below that a cashier at the Kings Contrivance Harris Teeter told her Maple Lawn will open in October. That seems so far away!)

Click here for the latest news on Harris Teeter in Maple Lawn.

Harris Teeter in Fulton Update

The exterior of the Harris Teeter in Maple Lawn appears to be almost finished, although I can't find anything predicting an opening before Fall 2009.

Maple Lawn has built the roads for an entire shopping area off Rte 216 in Fulton. Mrs. HowChow and I drove around on Easter Sunday. You can wind your way all the way around the Harris Teeter and through an area that will one day host a collection of other stores. It even connects to the existing commercial area.

The Harris Teeter's brick exterior looks complete. The entryway is covered with plywood, so you can't see inside. But the parking spots have been painted, and the outside looks cleaned up, swept, and even landscaped in spots. It looks like one contractor finished its portion of the job. Anyone know more?

Click here for the latest news on Harris Teeter in Maple Lawn.

Looney's South and Harris Teeter in Fulton

The new Looney's South in Maple Lawn is flying leprechaun awnings outside, but the indoors is still a moving-day jumble of chairs, tables and ladders. The last I heard was that "soft opens" should start this week. Does anyone know more?

Looney's fills the hole where Trapeze closed last year. Looney's sent me an email saying they'll open March 12, and people are already advertising a "grand opening" party in Fulton on March 14, 2009 hosted by 98 Rock. That means they'll be safely open for St. Patrick's Day on the 17th.

(Update on March 18: Looney's is now open and people are leaving reviews in the comments below. The opening week crowds were huge, and I hope business is rubbing off on neighbors like imWine.)

Although the Daily Grind coffee shop closed last weekend, Maple Lawn is also getting the second Harris Teeter in Howard County. The Maple Lawn Web site has a press release saying that market will open in Fall 2009. That is the construction site to the west of Maple Lawn Boulevard on Rte 216. The walls were up when I drove past last weekend. No windows or anything that looks like a supermarket yet. For the latest on Harris Teeter, click here for News on Harris Teeter.