Discount Grocery Store to Open in Bowie

Sites in Bowie and Suitland are under consideration for an expanding grocery store chain new to the Washington, D.C., area.

Lidl, a German discount grocer, is seeking approval of its plans to a 31,000-square-foot store at the intersection of Annapolis and Church roads in Bowie, the former site of Melvin Motors. The county’s second location would be at Branch Avenue and Curtis Drive in Suitland.

Lidl is gearing up for expansion throughout the East Coast, with plans for its U.S. headquarters to locate in Arlington County, reports the Washington Business Journal.

Bowie shoppers were thrilled this spring when Bowie city officials announced that the Harris Teeter grocery store chain had signed an agreement to open at the Bowie Marketplace Shopping Center on Annapolis Road.

The store will serve as an anchor to the new shopping center set to replace the existing marketplace, which faced a downturn until developer Burman Enterprises bought the property in 2013. Constructed almost 50 years ago, the company razed the structure and will completely rebuild onsite.

Securing a grocery store was a critical step toward rebuilding the shopping center and bolstering Bowie’s economy, officials said in a news release. site. In March, Kroger, the parent company of Harris Teeter, Berman Enterprises and the grocer signed an agreement to bring Harris Teeter to Bowie.