The German grocery store chain Lidl will open its first Baltimore City store next week at Northwood Commons, joining at least 16 other locations throughout Maryland.
The company will hold an open house event from 6-7 p.m. July 12, when shoppers can tour the store and sample products.
Lidl representatives and local leaders will then hold a ribbon cutting ceremony for the store’s grand opening at 7:40 a.m. July 13.
The first 100 customers in line before the ribbon cutting will receive a gift card ranging from $5 to $100.
Shoppers can enter to win a Tesla car and/or a $500 Lidl gift card, as well as receive special offers and giveaways during the grand opening.
The company will also donate $1 to the Maryland Food Bank for every customer who downloads the myLidl app, signs up to be a myLidl member, and sets their home store to be the new Northwood Commons location between July 13-17.
Located at 1500 Havenwood Road, the store will operate from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
Lidl signed on in 2019 to open a store at Northwood Commons, as part of a redevelopment of the former Northwood Plaza Shopping Center.
The new store at Northwood Commons will provide an additional source of fresh foods for Morgan State University students and residents of nearby communities, said Morgan State University President David K. Wilson.
“The northeast corner of Baltimore, anchored by Morgan State, has been waiting for decades to have a first-rate supermarket in our community. We are finally getting one,” Wilson said in a statement. “Our communities are excited to welcome a place where they can shop for fresh food, including meats, seafood, fruit and vegetables, and to get those items at reasonable prices. We are no longer a food desert. Hallelujah!”
P. David Bramble, founder and managing partner with MCB Real Estate, which helped redevelop Northwood Commons, said the new Lidl store is a welcome addition to the area.
“MCB is excited to welcome Lidl to Northwood Commons,” Bramble said in a statement. “We truly believe that they are the perfect anchor tenant to this redevelopment project, filling a void in the community.”
“We’ve waited a long time for a quality grocer to come to the Greater Northwood neighborhoods, and like many, I’m looking forward to having my first Lidl experience right here in my own community,” Baltimore City Councilman Ryan Dorsey, who represents District 3 including the neighborhoods around Northwood Commons, said in a statement.
Lidl said the Northwood Commons location will create more than 45 jobs. The starting pay for all employees is $15.50 per hour, and the company offers healthcare for all full- and part-time workers.
USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards recently ranked Lidl as a top grocer in the U.S.
Lidl operates more than 11,500 stores across 32 countries, including more than 150 stores in nine U.S. states along the east coast.
