Oh, Boy! Just what our area needs, another thrift store.

way to go arbutus keep reaching for the stars.

Good grief!!!

Guess its better than having a vacant building just sitting there

There goes my dream of Trader Joe's or some up scale grocery store.

Good, this means some jobs for people !

Can't we fight for something better?!?!?!?!?!?!?

whos bright idea was this anyway? rather shop at the walmart. well guess i will keep driving over to columbia or shop at giant.

Omgosh. Just looked up the current locations. ....

Grocery chains use the median income of an area to determine where to open stores. As we have seen in crime reporting, Arbutus is lumped into rest of the 21227 mix. That, and coupled with the fact the former A&P/SF building cannot expand to the square footage a "modern" grocery store would need, is why no upscale store would come here. (Example: When Mars opened on Maiden Choice Lane, they took the space formerly occupied by High's next door.) Aldi would be a nice fit, but they seem to prefer newly constructed buildings. Frankly speaking, I'd rather see Sav-A Lot there than it sit vacant, or become a storefront church. It's the lesser of several evils.

Sounds like some people can't tell the difference between 21227 and Rodeo Drive...such snobs.....................Im from Wynnewood....so what does that make you people from Arbutus...............

walker, The Elkridge store is supposed to be a polished up version of the Food Depot stores owned by the grocery wholesaler B. Green Co. Their canned goods are packaged under the Richfood label, IIRC. My work takes me near their store in the former A&P/SF at 2401 Frederick Ave. on occasion, they cater to the bleach throwers at Wal-Mart crowd. As said before, Arbutus could have done alot worse.

walker, B. Green says they are trying something a little different at Elkridge, and one of their executives lives there, as stated over Elkridge Patch. You are right, though because B. Green will have to compete in the 21075 arena. Bottom line is, it's all about median household incomes, demographics, and the ability to compete with the non union Wal-Mart.

I went to a Sav-A-Lot once because it was the only store right by a camp where I was working. I had a short list. They didn't have one thing I wanted to buy. I left empty-handed. Pretty much the only thing they sell is high sugar cereal and processed, gross "food". Not much in there I'd even eat. With a tiny produce department, Sav-A-Lot is one of the reasons that urban residents without transportation lack access to healthy food. I'd rather see it vacant.
The Fresh Market took over the SuperFresh in Towson. I checked it out. It was an extremely pleasant experience and I'll drive the half hour to go back. I have lived here 20 years and have never understood why we can't get any decent stores.

@ Linda ... Your neighbors ; )

karen, please explain "decent". I've lived here all my life, and of all stores that have come and gone in Arbutus , Mars is the most in tune with the true Baltimorean palate.

@ Bruce Goldfarb- Is it possible that you could get Jeff Metzger @ Food World or some other trade writers take on this ?

http://best-met.com/newspaper/food-world/

Is this deal signed, sealed and delivered? If not, maybe Geresbecks on the east side of town could be contacted to see if they would be interested. They are more like the old Sanitary Store. I'd rather see the building torn down that a Sav
A Lot. I think I might contact Sav A Lot and tell them how we feel.

We need responsible landlords to work toward upgrading tenants. The Arbutus Business & Professional Association Economic Development Committee has approached Baltimore County Economic Development and was working to get a tenant who would increase the value of our neighborhood. Unfortunately, this landlord was unwilling to work with us. We stand ready to, not only stabilize the business district, but to upgrade the neighborhood. We welcome Sav-A-Lot and look forward to working with them.

The feelings expressed about the new tenant who will occupy the vacant SuperFresh building is completely understandable. With our community real-estate values plunging & the conditions of a few vacant houses in our area we too were hoping for a more positive change.

Communities who have successful participating involvement in their area achieve greater resident satisfaction w/ in the community. Someone once told me community participation is the soul of an empowered community. Unfortunately when the AIA reformed many of these issues were already existing. As we move forward w/addressing issues in the area as well as recruiting more resident participation we are making great progress but its still not enough. We need more participation & active members in the association to help voice concerns so they are heard loud & clear! The future of our little town rests in our hands.

Last Sunday’s meeting was a huge success & clearly shows how passionate we are about Arbutus. After the meeting there were discussions w/individuals about different areas & leadership in the community. What we heard from individuals were all positive changes to help our community make a turn around. ABPA is working hard to keep the business district area maintained, TownHall / Arbutus Association are planning community holiday events, AVFD has all types of different upcoming events. All in which to better our community involvement and to strengthen the area as a whole.

I can't see how anyone can say Arbutus isn't still a very nice place. I think it is right out of the 1950's. Personally, I don't understand how it can be so conservative, politically speaking, considering strong unions and such are what allowed so many families to move up the ladder to such a fine place as Arbutus, but, to each his/her own.

trash brings the rats. we need stricter code enforcement laws and stricter people to enforce them. my neighbor was sited 5 times with warning after warning. everytime someone from the county would come out he had some lame excuse after another. im not sure what finally made him correct the problem but sure glad it happen. good schools and safe neighborhoods cant be possible if people keep getting away with not mowing their laws. leaving trash cans lay around. open bags of trash that fly all over the place. dogs left outside to run in their own waste with food just tossed out to them. property fences broken and falling apart. over grown yards. cars parked in yards. homeless sleeping on benches. cars out front of houses with no wheels. i could go on but i am at work to pay for a house i purchased that now is worth less then what i paid for it 4 years ago. which by the way is no ones fault but my own as i thought i was moving into an area that actually cared about its enviorment. now i cant sell it and get the heck out of here.

I will never go to that store, but I never went to Super Fresh, so it's no different in that respect. However, with respect to attracting new business, stop by Larry's 1332 or Art and Cake Bakery. Support them, give them a reason to stay, and new business may follow.

I, just like Bruce have to remove my Patch hat and put on my 31 almost 32 years worth of residency hat on. After reading this loooooong and drawn out thead of whining about a Save-A-Lot entering a vacant building within our community I think Sharon Nolan hit the nail right on the head. Get involved in your community if you want to see change and if you want to make a difference. Good schools, ha we have great schools. Just look at the Maryland Report Card for Arbutus, Relay, and Halethorpe Elementary Schools. Relay is right at the top with HES and AES not far behind. We have great families, hard working families who live in this community (my family as one of them) and work very hard to keep our community desirable. It is ashame that their are several bad apples here, but let's get really real here for a moment. In Howard County there are multi million dollar homes sitting empty, because the "rich" can't seem to pay their mortgages. So, a so called nice neighborhood with upstanding citizens not "ghetto people" like us Arbutians have difficulties too. WOW! It's called life and not every community is perfect as we all know. I think in the last year with the addition of Larry's, Heisler's Grill, and the new Cake Bakery not only is the moral of the community increasing, but the addition of the new businesses are making Arbutus more appealing to outside visitors. There are GREAT things going on here. Just remove your negative attitudes and look around.

Read the Patch. I am proud to say that I am a Kendrick. My grandparents Naamah and George Kendrick who the Arbutus Recreation Center was named after along with our family who reside in Arbutus has put in endless hours of service to keep this community going forward. It is so ridiculous to hear such whining about a Save-A-Lot. I understand the idea of the Save-A-Lot and the fact that Save-A-Lot doesn't have name brand foods, and blah blah blah, but let's fight for more important things. How about the fact that Chesapeake Bank was robbed not long ago and there is a bus stop right outside of the bank. I'm sure those wonderful people who work at the bank would rather see debates about removing that bus stop. I patronize as many businesses in the community as possible. I eat at Larry's which by the way is FABULOUS, we see movies at the Hollywood several times a month, get pizza at Sorrento's, eat ice cream at the ICC, and I still believe in eating a nutritious diet even though I eat ice cream and pizza. I volunteer in my kids classes, we go to the Arts Festval and see the 4th of July parade and watch Santa (my uncle) come in on the fire truck....I could go on and on with all the wonderful things that this community offers that people around here do and work hard to organize. I sadens me to hear such awful things about our hard working people in our community, because when you say Arbutus is ghetto it's personal to alot of people.

Especially all over a grocery store. I never knew that a grocery store could raise such a stinct. Thank you to the AIA and the ABA for being optomistic. Our comminty needs some positive vibes.

I could never be so happy. My husband Tyrome and I cant wait to use our assistance card and double coupons. BTW... the public transportation to this area is wonderful.

Way to go AMY!!!! I have a friend visiting for 6 weeks from AZ and she loves our little town of Arbutus!!!

Super Fresh was a rundown store with a beat-up parking lot across from an unattractive shopping strip (with a Dollar General in it). So I'm not exactly shocked that a store typically built in low income neighborhoods would be taking its place. Whether we fit the bill or not, that's the image our town projects. Arbutus lacks flavor, it lacks charm and it lacks identity in the business district. That's a rut we've been caught in for a long time and when "Save A Lot" becomes the new big anchor store, it's not going to help.

As a 25 year resident of the Arbutus area, I know the area well. The economy has taken its toll on every community. We do not live in a bubble. Arbutus is suffering from the same ills as the rest of the country. A lot of people want to govt. to fix everything and have been brain washed to believe that's actually possible. Be accountable and hold others accountable...Personal responsibility! If you don't like something...do something to change it. Pissing and moaning doesn't work! Arbutus has always been a working class neighborhood. If you don't like it here than move. And, If your house isn't worth what you paid for it, well welcome to the club! It's always ME ME ME! Whatever happen to US? The ABPA and AIA work hard to strenthen this community, but we can't do it alone! Get off your *%# and do something! And as far as Save a lot, the older residents of OUR community, who live on a fixed income, I'm sure would have no problem shopping there to save some $. Get off your high horses & don't drink the koolaid!

koolaid. what. surly not drinking koolaid over here. older folks you speak of sure they like to save money. but once my grandmother gets robbed at the save a lot who do i blame then. you speak of not being able to do anything to being able to do something. bring in city trash like a save a lot how is that going to help our crime. how many officers will be put in danger when responding to a call. think of the area where that store is located and all the exit routes one could take. that store will do nothing and i mean nothing but further put this community in a hole.

Exactly, people are complaining! And no, working class neighboorhoods, or any other neighborhood should ever expect shootings and assaults. Arbutus is suffering from the same ills as the rest of the country. The economy has taken it's toll on everyone. We can come together as a community or we can stand around and complain. The choice is yours.

You totally missed the point... Stop complaining and worring about "class." Put your energy into action and get involved in a civic organization that will benefit the community as a whole!

clearly from a comment that was made on here about someone using their public assistance card and heading in on public buses shows what that store will bring. 3 years or sooner i am telling you its not going to be pretty. wake up. and you tell us to do something about it. tell me what to do and i will do it. want me to sign something. want me to write a letter to someone. want me to paint something. done. i will even drink your koolaid if it means change for the better.

It's not my Kool Aid! Get involved in the Arbutus Improvement Association or other civic organization to make a difference in Arbutus as a group. The squeeky wheel gets the oil!

Saw the preview pictures on Elkridge Patch of the new Green Valley Marketplace opening at the old Superfresh in Elkridge. Sure wish our Superfresh was going to look like that!!!

Me too!! I'll drive the extra 3 or 4 miles to shop at a nice looking place like that. I hope their prices are good too.

Expect the same garbage that frequents wal-mart, now even closer. I appreciate the comments about arbutus and the 1950's. As someone born in the 1980's, I certainly feel - or felt that way when I grew up here and chose to stay here. However, we all know from experience what happens when low end retailers come to the neighborhood. Nothing could have been worse for e neighborhood than wal- mart, and I can tell tell you that myself and several other residents refuse to go near e place- so who is it serving? The same people that will shop at save a lot and continue to ruin the neighborhood.

beth gutwald. kids are grown. bit awkward to volunteer in a school dont you think. i would surly think it would be awkward if an adult with no children volunteered in the school or program my children were in. do i belong to an association. sure. do i shop at local stores. sure i do. but have no need to shop at a save a lot. so beth why do you want to know anyway.

i will not shop there. no one can make me or anyone else shop there. and i am not a grandparent age yet. enough about me, what are you doing.

i hope i get the job there at save a lot i had a entervew and all