Lidl Opens In Perry Hall

PERRY HALL, MD — Shoppers lined up Wednesday morning to be the first inside the new Lidl in Perry Hall. More than 200 were bundled in coats, hats, scarves and gloves for the 8 a.m. grand opening off Belair Road. The line stretched from the store's entrance in the shopping center to the edge of Silver Spring Road.

The first 100 shoppers were treated to gift cards. Autumn Cangelosi, 36, was at the head of the line. Cangelosi arrived at 6:11 a.m. Wednesday and told Patch she was surprised she was the first one there.

Her mother, Cosette Hayes, drove from Owings Mills, to meet up with her. "We've been planning this for a few weeks," Hayes said. She arrived at 6:15 a.m. and was the second person there, joining her daughter.

"I get everything here," Cangelosi told Patch, saying she had been driving to the Aberdeen Lidl to get groceries. "I'm kind of just here for the excitement of the grand opening," Cangelosi said. Because she was the first in line, she was eligible for a gift card up to $100.

Shoppers were also given free Lidl reusable shopping bags and special offers. There will be Lidl giveaways through the weekend, including a $500 gift card people can enter for the chance to win by downloading the Lidl app.

The Perry Hall Lidl is the company's 90th store in the United States. Lidl's goal is to have 100 U.S. stores open by the end of 2020, from Georgia to New York.

The Perry Hall Lidl opened at the same time as the store in Catonsville, marking the company's first foray into Baltimore County.

It's not the first time the company has bundled its grand openings together. The German company made an entrance in the United States in 2017 with 10 store openings on the same day, in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, according to Chandler Ebeier of the Lidl public relations team.

She said Lidl also opened four stores in Richmond, Virginia, on one day.

"We're trying to get them open as quickly as possible so customers can get in and experience it," Ebeier said. "Sometimes it lands on the same day, which is a fun thing for us because grand openings are always fun."

Watch the ribbon cutting at the Perry Hall store:

Before the Perry Hall store opened, the nearest Lidl was in Aberdeen. There are also stores in Prince George's County, where the first Maryland Lidl opened in Bowie in 2018.

"We obviously are looking for the most convenient locations for shoppers," Ebeier said. In a shift from previous designs, the company's real estate division is tweaking layouts to put the store's footprint in existing spaces.

"We're excited to see how it does," Ebeier said. The goal is always to make for the most efficient shopping experience, she said.

"This one and the Catonsville store are fit-outs," Ebeier said. The Catonsville Lidl used to be an hhgregg store. The Perry Hall store used to be a Mars grocery store.

"Our office worked for three years to fill the vacant Mars supermarket space," Councilman David Marks said in a statement Wednesday following the grand opening. "Lidl will help stabilize this aging shopping center and provide new options for shoppers in Perry Hall."

The company now has about 11,000 stores across the world and 32 counties. Lidl first opened in 1973 south of Frankfurt, Germany, and has been expanding into the United States in recent years, competing with fellow German grocer Aldi. In 2015, Lidl opened its U.S. headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.

All new equipment and furnishings were installed at the Perry Hall store, which has eight aisles, according to Ebeier.

The store has about 50 staff in Perry Hall and 65 in Catonsville. People can apply on the Lidl career site.

Lidl is at 8667 Belair Road in Perry Hall.