Stores

Roberto Pagan-Franco didn't have a bank account for decades. His employer paid him in cash or with a check that the Baltimore resident took to a check-cashing store. A few years ago he lost his job after a severe illness and for a time was homeless. Not exactly the type of customer you'd expect a big bank to court. But Pagan-Franco enrolled in a PNC Bank program that targets consumers who otherwise might be shut out of the banking system. And today, the 54-year-old has checking and savings accounts at PNC and is in the process of getting a credit card.

The father-son owners of Carol's Western Wear in Glen Burnie are so attached to the legend of John Wayne that they know his boot size and preference for plain brown with a squared-off toe. They will mark the 105 t h birthday of America's well-known cowboy Saturday with a storewide sale that includes everything from alarm clocks and mugs with the Duke's image to several nearly 6-foot tall cut-outs of the actor in full-Western regalia....

If the Black Eyed Susan were a race horse, it would be a sprinter. It makes one strong move, then fades quickly. The strong move occurs this weekend when the cocktail will be in demand at Pamlico Race Track, during both the running of the Black Eyed Susan Stakes on Friday and the Preakness Stakes on Saturday. Over these two days, about 25,000 servings of the libation, poured into commemorative glasses, will be sold at $8 apiece, track officials say. But as soon as Preakness weekend ends, so does the does the local thirst for the Susan.

A crowd of "unruly" school kids rushed into a downtown 7-Eleven store about 2 p.m. Wednesday for a free "Slurpee" promotion, and didn't leave until they'd caused a commotion — allegedly shoplifting and getting into a physical altercation with the store owner. According to police, between 20 and 30 middle school students rushed into the store near the intersection of Light and East Pratt streets all at once for the special promotion of the frozen drinks, called "SlurpFREE Day. " The company said the event was to promote its new sugar-free version of the drink, and to "launch the upcoming Slurpee season.

After a seven-year delay, Randallstown residents cheered Monday over an announcement that a Walmart will open on Liberty Road next year. Officials and residents have long hoped that the store — a planned $9 million, 160,000-square-foot supercenter with groceries and a pharmacy — would revitalize the aging commercial corridor, encouraging other national retailers and restaurants to set up shop in the affluent, largely black community....

Five Baltimore-area F&M stores have been sold to the Drug Emporium chain as part of a $39 million deal that also involves 18 Detroit-area stores, the two companies announced yesterday.Meanwhile, F&M, a deep discount drug and variety chain, said it is also seeking to sell all 12 of its remaining stores in Maryland.The five F&M stores slated for new ownership are in Dundalk, Towson, Bel Air, Glen Burnie and Baltimore.One of those stores will close rather than convert to a Drug Emporium, but Timothy C. McCord, chief financial officer for Drug Emporium, declined to identify the store that will close.

Buyers have stepped forward to snap up a dozen Superfresh grocery stores slated to be shut down in July as its bankrupt parent works to pay off billions of dollars in liabilities. Superfresh owner A&P said last month it was trying to sell 25 Superfresh stores, mostly in the Baltimore area. The Montvale, N.J., company said 1,500 workers would lose their jobs unless new owners decide to keep the current employees. Any sale would require the approval of a bankruptcy judge. A hearing is expected June 14. A joint venture between Mrs. Green's Management Corp.

Natural Markets Restaurants Inc. has opened eight of its Fresh & Green's supermarkets in Maryland and Washington, D.C., as it takes advantage of space made available by the departure of a rival grocery chain. Superfresh closed 25 stores earlier this month as its bankrupt parent, the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., looked to cut costs and raise money to pay creditors. It found buyers for 12 of the stores but wasn't able to sell the others. The Fresh & Green's stores had all been opened by Monday, but will continue to stock up in coming weeks, the company said in a release.

The owner of the Superfresh grocery chain said Wednesday that it will shut down 13 area stores in July because it can't find anyone to buy the properties. Superfresh owner A&P, which is working its way through bankruptcy, said last month it was trying to sell 25 Superfresh stores, mostly in the Baltimore area. It announced earlier this week it had found buyers for 12 locations, and notified the bankruptcy court in New York on Wednesday. The company said it should generate more than $40 million from the sale of the stores.

The Associated Press is reporting that Macy's Inc. will close nine underperforming stores nationwide:  five Macy's and four Bloomingdale's. Among the closures are Macy's store in Laurel and the Bloomingdale's in North Bethesda. Overall, according to AP, more than 830 employees at the nine stores will be affected. They will be eligible for new jobs at other stores the retailer expects to open.

When Frank Spruill first looked into franchises more than 30 years ago, he found three options: fast food, automobiles or books. "It was a no brainer," Spruill laughed this past week, standing inside his Little Professor Book Center in Eldersburg. Soon after deciding to pursue the book market, he opened Little Professor in the Carrolltown Center in 1977, where it was located until six years ago, when it moved to its current location at Liberty Station Shopping Center on Liberty Road.

  Need a new paella pan or a souffle dish? Best Buy Co.and Cooking.com have teamed up to launch an online store for cooks. The Best Buy Kitchen Shop, a microsite run by Cooking.com, offers more than 3,000 cookware and kitchen products and is accessible within the bestbuy.com online store, the companies said this week. Executives at Best Buy, which sells small and large appliances along with electronics, said the partners hope to offer customers  a “one-stop shop for all of their cooking needs - including a broader assortment of housewares, food and even recipes,” a Best Buy statement said.

Boscov's department store will return to White Marsh Mall Oct. 7, filling the empty anchor spot the regional chain vacated nearly four years ago after it filed for bankruptcy. "I'm glad we are returning to White Marsh Mall," Albert Boscov, the retailer's chairman and CEO and son of the founder, said in a statement. "It was a great store, and we look forward to creating a new, more exciting Boscov's in the Baltimore area. " The family-owned chain, based in Reading, Pa., once had half a dozen department stores in Maryland.

Nearly four years after closing, Boscov's department store will reopen at White Marsh Mall in November, shopping center owner General Growth Properties announced Thursday. Boscov's, a well-known regional retailer, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2008, leading to the closure of stores at Baltimore's three large shopping centers: White Marsh Mall, Owings Mills Mall and Marley Station. The new Boscov's will occupy 197,000 square feet at White Marsh. The department exited bankruptcy protection in late 2009 and is headed by chairman and CEO Albert Boscov, the son of the company's founder.

Maryland-based Giant Food says it will be moving into a Perry Hall shopping center at Belair Road and Hannon Court. Construction workers are now turning a 57,000-square-foot retail site, formerly occupied by Super Fresh, into a Giant Food store. The new store will open later this year. Earlier this year, Giant acquired and converted two stores in Baltimore in Parkville.

James F. Bray, a retired grocery store manager, died Tuesday of an aneurysm at his Jessup home. He was 76. Mr. Bray was born in Virginia and raised in North Carolina and Baltimore, where he graduated from city public schools. He served in the Army for three months and was honorably discharged in 1958. Mr. Bray worked for Food Fair and later as an evening grocery manager at Pantry Pride from 1952 to 1981, when he retired. During the 1980s, he worked for several years for Valu Food as a manager.

Syms Corp., the owner of Filene's Basement, announced today that both companies have filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11. Rather than reorganize its finances and continue operating, though, Syms said it concluded that liquidation was the best move for shareholders. The 102-year-old Filene's had been in bankruptcy in 2009 when Syms, founded in 1959, acquired the retailer's assets in a bankruptcy auction. But a turnaround wasn't possible. In a statement, Syms CEO Marcy Syms said: “This has been a challenging time for Syms and Filene's Basement.

An article in your newspaper last week shared the anticipation of the manager of the soon-to-open Wegmans that this one store would be a "destination" drawing customers from a 25-mile radius ("Wegmans officials readying for opening in Columbia," April 19). Another article discussed Howard Hughes Corp.'s plan for additional development at The Mall in Columbia, a regional shopping center of 175-plus stores, and how this new residential and retail complex "might not be as car-friendly but more people-friendly" ("Planning Board gives approval to Warfield plans")

If local pharmacists could write the regulations, Marylanders probably wouldn't ever have been allowed to get their prescriptions filled at chain stores like Walgreens and Rite-Aid. Independent video stores probably would have liked to outlaw Blockbuster, just as small bookstore owners probably would have been just as happy if the state had a ban on Barnes & Noble. (For that matter, Blockbuster might like an injunction against Netflix and Barnes & Noble on Amazon.com.) And most of all, Main Street merchants everywhere would probably love a world where Walmart was illegal.

The kerfuffle over the proposed wine store in Wegmans' newest location in Columbia heralds the next looming battle in consumers' fight to modernize Maryland's alcohol policy. The recent Howard County liquor board hearing demonstrated the intensity of both sides' arguments. The local retailers, backed by the alcohol distributors, fear increased competition — while consumer groups clamor for greater convenience and selection, and lower prices. The alcohol industry in Maryland has traditionally dictated its own regulations.