With all due respect, you are completely wrong. First of all, just because a shop is located in Arbutus does not mean ONLY Arbutus residents would shop there. Not that I think for a moment Arbutus residents could not afford/would not appreciate and enjoy/do not "rate" a Trader Joe's-type grocery, but even assuming you might be correct on that point, what about affluent Catonsville and Relay just down the street? Don't Arbutus's middle class, upper middle class and flat-out wealthy neighbors factor in?

I am working class, live paycheck to paycheck, earn an hourly wage, etc., etc. and I drive to Columbia on a regular basis to shop at Trader Joe's, MOM's Organic Market, Harris Teeter, and cannot wait for Wegman's to open. I travel to Hunt Valley to shop at their Wegman's and to Towson for Fresh Market -- not convenient, but totally worth it. I may not do all of my day-to-day shopping at these stores, but I look forward to shopping there whenever I can. From talking to other moms at my childrens' school and social events, I know for a fact that many many other women take their grocery dollars to Columbia as well.

Too bad for Arbutus, a nice shop would have raised the bar and attracted a lot of revenue and drawn customers to other shops in town, might even have encouraged existing store fronts to spruce up to stay competitive. Instead, a store like Save A Lot only adds more mediocre unappealing junk to the pile.

While Arbutus does have its share of "blue collar, struggling" people, there are also quite a few people who don't fit in that category - for example, white collar workers who take the train to city jobs and like living in a nice community with yards and older homes, and people affiliated with UMBC. You've probably made the same silly generalization many people do based on price of homes and so forth. Actually, the fact that it's not a super-pricey area gives me MORE money to spend on things like decent food.

Also, even blue-collar people have some concern for what they and their families eat. Eating healthy is on everybody's radar screen these days, and a lot of people are concerned about what they eat and don't just want to inhale a bunch of lousy canned or sugar-heavy food because it's cheap. Much less serve it to their kids. You feed kids a bunch of sugary cereal and you're peeling them off the walls all night.

Bridgett also makes a good point that a decent store would draw people from outside the area to shop here. The only problem I see with that is the current Superfresh location is not the most accessible place in the world for traffic coming off major thoroughfares, and as other people have noted, the building itself might not be big enough to do a good job of accommodating a Trader Joe's.

Sorry, Shirley, but every time I ever went into Superfresh (maybe once a month?) it was dead. The aisles were too narrow to get more than one cart through at a time. The produce was hit or miss. The lighting was dark.

There aren't enough people in Arbutus to support Mars, Giant and a third full grocery store... especially since Walmart opened. I talk to my father and he does all of his non-perishable food shopping at Walmart because their everyday prices are in fact cheaper than sales at Mars.

as i drive out of my way to not shop at the walmart i will make sure i go out of my way not to shop at this other ghetto store. not even for a stick of gum. starting to hate this area more and more. ive always said if i wanted to live in the ghetto i would have moved in the ghetto. i was tricked into thinking arbutus was a mayberry town. its more like ghettoberry.

You are in the distinct minority. I also regularly ride up to Rte-175 to buy groceries at Trader Joe's for specialty items. And for general goods, I go to Mars. There isn't a need for 3 major grocery stores within 3 miles of each other.

you were making sense until you said "ghettios". once i read that the only thing i got from your post was a basket of lean cuisine and spaghettios. you cant do both if you are looking to eat right. either you are or you arent. just sayn.

Allow me to take off my Patch hat and speak as a resident. East Drive is hardly a no-man's land. I don't know if you've looked around downtown Arbutus recently, but there's a lot going on. We have good Tex-Mex, a kebob place, a hookah bar, Larry's 1332, Heister's Grille, Ben's Beans, Art and Cake. Many of these are new. There is a lot going on in Arbutus now.

I would have to disagree w/ your statement regarding East Drive "is a no-mans land other then Sorrentos and Rita's". Please don't take this the wrong way, but what happen to Leon's, Paul's, Hollywood, Hair Studio, Shell Station, Lucky's Curves, Domino's Pizza,, Mikes Pizza, Rite Aid, Sherman Williams, Center Court, Subway, Papa Johns, Dollar General, Center Court! Please don't make the area sound like all we have is a little coffee shop & sandwich shop. I don't feel Arbutus has a major business issue.... Maybe a few shops located on East Drive could use a make over but I don't think we should consider it a no mans land by no means is this a ghost town!

In reference to the Sulphur Spring Inn.... Its only been vacant now for what 2 months! Not all business shut down due to lack of customer business. Please know the facts before making it sound like the Arbutus Community has abandoned their own!! ;)

Said Center Court Twice! LoL....

Thanks Bruce... Goes to show you "Great Minds Think Alike"!!!! ;)

East Drive may not be a no-man's land, but not long after the Sun goes down, it sure looks and feels like a ghost town.

Let me think of all the places I go to do business in Arbutus:

1) Hair cut at John's
2) I am always in Rite Aid (East Drive)
3) Mike's Pizza
4) Sorrento's
5) Subway
6) Mars
7) Rite Aid (Maiden Choice)
8) Rita's
9) Arbutus Library
Probably more if I think about it.

Whoops! I forgot:

9) 7-11 on Francis Ave (99% of the time, I drive to that one instead of the one in Violetville. I hate the one in Violetville. It's so...greasy feeling.
10) The Chinese restaurant in the same shopping center as the 7-11 on Francis Ave.

Sean, I have to agree with Bruce on this one. There are a lot of good businesses in arbutus and Ben's Beans specifically does NOT close its doors at sundown. On Every Friday evening, they have live music and this week it will be saturday too. Perhaps you should stop on in.

Killi, I disagree with your statement that "Arbutus doesn't support its own" I believe a more correct statement is "its own, doesn't support Arbutus". Which is exactly what you pointed out that people want to go to Dunkin Donuts instead of Bens Beans and quite frankly, Bens coffee tastes better than Dunkin Donuts and less expensive.

If the residents don't support local people and their businesses than all we are left with is places like Sav-A-lot. In addition, Our Saviour Lutheran Church in Lansdowne has been a pick up spot for One Straw Farm CSA all summer. Perhaps those looking for fresh, organic vegetables at reasonable price should inquire about picking up next season which starts in May.

Forget the Save-a-lot. Turn that into a parking lot for downtown Arbutus. I never shop at any of the stores on East Drive because there's never anywhere convenient to park! I gotta compete for street parking at home, I don't want to mess with it when I shop, too.

i hear that. will not ever support a store whos exclusive soda is called bubba.

sounds like you overestimate your positive qualities there. good for you for being so arrogant. when you said we love taking walks to the icc. first thinking was why you walking to the inercounty connector the it hit me ice cream cottage. guess my overestimated way of thinking got the better of me regarding how educated you are. althought it wasnt hard to figure out as you talk of fresh fruits and veggies yet you then you talk of only ice cream and dollar store purchases. sorry i think most around here have a higher standared for living. please leave the city in the city.

as you contiune promoting trash maybe you should stop wondering so much about what i do for this community and start worrying more about what you are doing to this community. like many others i would like to see the increase in the community value. not campaign decrease. i was not aware caring about the value of my home and the community appeal was being rude. look at the other locations of those stores and compare house values in those locations. im sick of people like you who support the low life ghetto trash appearance. you must not be worried of your house value either. i mean its only one of the most important investment we make. but since you wonder what i do to better the community i will tell you like i tell everyone on here that writes silly things such as you. i put the lid on my trash can.

its sad but the only people that will understand this concept of the store bringing down the community and area value is those that have invested our hard earned income. losing 20-50 thousand dollars in property value is not on an renters mind nor do they care. its sad that the rest of us have to put up with their ignorant ways.
if my house value hadnt taken such a hit in the last couple years i would have been gone a long time ago. but i cant unless i take a loss or rent it out to someone in which then i would gamble getting a poor renter who will distroy my property which will cause more hardship. in 2 years this area will be nothing more then city life.

Stephanie - Check out Mom's (My Organic Market) in Jessup, too. Fabulous place. And all their produce is non-GMO.

IF it takes a snow storm to get some people to spend $20 at the new Save-A-Lot, that's not a good 'forecast' for the economic success of the store. Now, if we lived in Alaska...?

Ranting on about Ghettoberry isn't going to get Floyd, Barney, Andy, or even Otis to come back to Arbutus.

Just to validate a well thought-out post, here's to you, Mike. Thanks for posting!

its because they packed up and moved to relay with thoughts now of renting out their houses and just moving to ellicott city.

A possible motto: "Save a lot: Stop Save-A-Lot." ;-p

I'm sure the Save-A -Lot executives are quite knowledgeable in demographic research. After even a less than delving research they would see that many of the negative comments were just reiterations a few peoples adamant displeasure, and that many of these same folks post complaints on many other issues. They'll take their chances on their already gathered research. Yeah it's a bummer that this is the best store that we are able to attract. Maybe it's a sign of the neighborhood's future. Who knows. Why didn't the recent arrival of some small promising shops cause even a fraction of positive comments that this store got in negative ones?

What a great idea, Lorna. This location/space would have been great for a rec center. It's a shame that, instead, "the county" decided to tear down trees within a 14-acre forest and build a rec center next to the library and senior center.

I advocated for (and continue to advocate for) rehabbing existing spaces rather than building in a forest and taking down trees.

Mentioning the words "teen center" today seems to be accepted as a negative....and that is unfortunate. Arbutus Teen Center was renowned in the 50s and 60s as THE PLACE TO BE ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. Rules were in place, everyone felt it was their social scene to protect and therefore rules were followed. Anyone stepping beyond the boundaries set was banned and that was a huge social no,no. It could work today with the right mind set and I think teens need that social seen, great music, place to talk, laugh, dance and enjoy among their peers. A whole lot better than walking the malls. Yike!! Does require some chaperoning.. but during the 50s, 60s teen center scene the chaperones were hardly noticed at all. Teens helped to make the rules and peer pressure controlled the scene nicely.

Sounds wonderful, Lorna! Do you know who sponsored the Teen Center? And was it only open on Friday & Saturday nights?

couldn't have said it better myself.