Trader Joe’s plans to open a grocery store in the vacant Party City retail space at the Anneslie Shopping Center on York Road near the Baltimore City-Baltimore County line.
The national grocer announced plans for the new store on its website this week. It didn’t provide a specific opening date for the store, saying only that it’s “Coming Soon,” which means likely before the end of the year. Alcohol won’t be sold at this location.
The shopping center at 6401 York Road once contained one of the first suburban branches of the venerable Stewart & Co. department store chain and Caldor’s after that. It also had a branch of Hamburger’s clothing store. The department store has been converted to a Baltimore County office building called the Drumcastle Government Center.
South of the office building is a collection of retailers and service providers surrounded by a sea of parking, including branches of Petco; M&T Bank; Panera Bread and MedStar Health Urgent Care. Party City, which occupied about 13,000 square feet of space at 6311 York Road, was a retail anchor until it closed in late 2024.
This will be the fifth store in the Baltimore area for Trader Joe’s, along with locations in Annapolis, Columbia, Pikesville and The Shops at Kenilworth in Towson. The grocer had a store in the heart of Towson before it moved to the former Stebbins Anderson space at The Shops at Kenilworth.
It’s a strategic location for Trader Joe’s because there are healthy neighborhoods to the north and the south. The dividing line between Baltimore City and Baltimore County is Walker Avenue on the east side of York Road and Gittings Avenue on the west side of York Road. To the north, on the county side, are Anneslie; Rodgers Forge; Stoneleigh; Wiltondale; Yorkleigh; Overbrook and Knollwood-Donnybrook, among others. To the south, on the city side, are Lake Walker; Belvedere; Bellona-Gittings; Lake Evesham and Cedarcroft.
Across York Road is another shopping center, York Road Plaza, anchored by Giant Food at 6340-50 York Road. Another well-known area retailer is Wells Discount Liquors at 6310 York Road. WMAR-TV has its headquarters at 6400 York Road.
“We’ve consulted our maps and compass and have found a terrific location for a store in Baltimore,” the company said on its website. “We are proud to be joining the neighborhood.”
