Stores In Maryland

After towering over Westminster's Main Street for 106 years, T. W. Mather & Sons, one of the last family-owned department stores in Maryland and the city's last vestige of the downtown-shopping era, is closing.A victim of major discount stores and shopping malls, the venerable store opened for its final clearance at 9 a.m. yesterday. All day, blocklong lines, reminiscent of the ones that formed during nylon shortages in World War II, snaked outside the two-story, marble-facade building."It is the end of an era, a sad time," said Sherry Cooke, who came to Mather's 20 years ago while a student at Westminster High and is now store manager.

Shoppers in Baltimore County have another choice for organic food. MOM’s Organic Market, a chain of stores specializing in locally-raised meat and 100 percent organic produce, opened a 14,000-square-foot store last weekend in the Yorkridge Shopping Center on W. Ridgley Road in Timonium. It will be the the grocer's largest store in Maryland and the first in the Baltimore area. MOM's carries organically grown fruit and vegetables, antibiotic and hormone-free meat, sustainable seafood and fresh bread.

Reliable Stores said yesterday that it will sell its 10 jewelry stores in Maryland, including the 150-year-old Castleberg's store in Salisbury, to focus on its furniture business.Columbia-based Reliable said it will close six S&N Katz Jewelers stores in the Baltimore area after the merchandise is sold. Another four stores -- Castelberg's and three other S&N Katz stores -- will remain open while the company tries to sell them."This has been a very difficult decision for us," said Richard Barnett, Reliable's president and chief executive officer.

Maryland crafters should check their banking statements carefully if they have recently used debit cards at Michaels Stores in Howard, Anne Arundel or Montgomery counties. These stores in Columbia, Ellicott City, Hanover, Rockville and Wheaton were among those in 20 states where PIN pads were quarantined by the company due to suspicions of tampering. A full list of Michaels stores that were impacted was posted on the company website. The chain has almost 1,000 stores across the United States.

Target Stores, the nation's third-largest discount chain, yesterday announced details of its plans to steamroll into the Mid-Atlantic region in 1996 with 24 stores, creating an estimated 3,600 jobs and nearly $5 million annually in direct economic impact.The Minneapolis-based retailer will open 13 stores in Maryland and 11 stores in Virginia next year. The first nine Maryland stores will open in July in Germantown, Bowie, Bel Air, Glen Burnie, Largo, Laurel, Waldorf, Westminster and White Marsh.

Crown, a name long synonymous with gasoline in Baltimore, is fading away in Maryland. Two years after Crown Central Petroleum Corp. sold more than 150 gas stations and convenience stores in Maryland and Virginia, the buyer has decided to convert most of them to Chevron, Texaco or Shell stations. The move comes as dealers see national brands as a way to attract consumers with oil company credit card points and other loyalty programs in a highly competitive market. The Crown name will remain on a few stations in the Baltimore region where there are brand conflicts, said David Noland, vice president of Petroleum Marketing Group of Millersville, which owns the outlets in Maryland and Virginia.

Acquisition waiting period endsRite Aid Corp. said yesterday the waiting period under antitrust laws for its acquisition of Perry Drug Stores Inc. for about $132 million expired Friday.Perry, based in Pontiac, Mich., is the largest drugstore chain in Michigan and has 224 stores with annual revenue of about $735 million.The acquisition gives Camp Hill, Pa.-based Rite Aid access to the Midwest drug market. Rite Aid currently operates 2,600 stores in 23 Eastern states, including more than 150 drug stores in Maryland, and the District of Columbia.

Stepping into the electronic superstore fight between Circuit City and Luskin's, Minneapolis-based Best Buy Co. will open four warehouse-style stores in Maryland this fall, two of them in Howard County.Best Buy, the nation's No. 3 consumer electronics chain, will open two stores about eight miles apart in Columbia and Laurel, hoping to capitalize on what analysts say is one of the wealthiest counties in the United States."We'd like to open six more in that area right now, but the real estate just hasn't come through yet," George Fouts, senior vice president of the company, said.

Comptroller Peter Franchot announced yesterday Maryland's first successful attempt at closing a real estate-related "tax-avoidance scheme," which yielded $10.8 million in back taxes. The amount represents three years' worth of taxes from a "major corporation" that was not identified because of tax confidentiality laws. Tax collectors have several other related audits under way and have determined that another company owes $5.7 million for using the same practice, officials said. Under the scheme, a company with stores in Maryland establishes a real estate investment trust to which its stores pay rent.

Thirteen Maryland F&M Super Drug Stores will close within three months as part of the liquidation of the entire F&M chain, the company's chief financial officer, Laura Kendall, said yesterday.The closures will mean about 390 layoffs and major liquidation sales, Ms. Kendall said.Five other F&M stores in Maryland -- which have been sold to the Drug Emporium chain -- will operate without interruption and are expected to continue using the F&M name for an indefinite period, said Timothy C. McCord, chief financial officer of Powell, Ohio-based Drug Emporium Inc.Customers at all five of the Maryland F&M stores can expect to see lower prices under the new ownership, Mr. McCord said, noting that prices should fall 5 percent to 10 percent.

Nearly 1,500 workers are in danger of losing their jobs under a reorganization plan by the Superfresh supermarket chain that would sell almost all its stores in Maryland, most of which are in the Baltimore area. The workers will lose their jobs unless other supermarket chains buy the Superfresh locations and retain their employees. State regulators said Monday that the company filed notice about the layoffs and said that store closings could begin as soon as July 6. Superfresh has 24 stores in the state, and all but two locations — both in Ocean City — are for sale.

Comptroller Peter Franchot announced yesterday Maryland's first successful attempt at closing a real estate-related "tax-avoidance scheme," which yielded $10.8 million in back taxes. The amount represents three years' worth of taxes from a "major corporation" that was not identified because of tax confidentiality laws. Tax collectors have several other related audits under way and have determined that another company owes $5.7 million for using the same practice, officials said. Under the scheme, a company with stores in Maryland establishes a real estate investment trust to which its stores pay rent.

Department store chain Boscov's Inc. will begin liquidation sales today at 10 stores it is closing, including three in the Baltimore area. The Reading, Pa.-based department store chain, which has said its sales were hurt by a slowdown in consumer spending, received court approval yesterday to begin the clearance sales. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross signed an order authorizing a joint venture of Gordon Brothers Retail Partners LLC and Hilco Merchant Resources LLC to conduct the sales for the retailer.

Boscov's Inc. will turn over operations of its three Baltimore-area department stores by midmonth to a liquidator that will begin selling off inventory in a two-month store closing sale. Hurt by slumping sales, the department store chain filed Monday for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and said it would close 10 stores, including anchors in three of Baltimore's largest shopping centers: White Marsh Mall, Owings Mills Mall and Marley Station. Three other stores in Maryland - in Westminster, Frederick and Salisbury - will remain open.

ACCENTS 55 E. Padonia Road, Timonium / / 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays; 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturdays; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sundays / / 410-666-4800 ........................ MIKE TYLER AND MEMBERS of the Paszkiewicz family wanted to bring a little bit of Delaware down to Maryland. Six months after opening Accents, a successful accessories store in Rehoboth Beach, the team started a new branch -- with the same merchandise and layout--last November in Timonium.

Sleepy's Inc., a privately held mattress retailer, is moving into Maryland and taking over 14 stores it acquired through the bankruptcy of New Jersey-based Rockaway Bedding Inc. Bethpage, N.Y.-based Sleepy's opened stores in Westminster, Bel Air, Towson and Timonium last week. The remaining 10 stores will open throughout the state by Columbus Day, said Mike Bookbinder, executive vice president of Sleepy's. The mattress retailer, which has 471 stores in eight states, is in the midst of expanding along the East Coast.

ACCENTS 55 E. Padonia Road, Timonium / / 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays; 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturdays; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sundays / / 410-666-4800 ........................ MIKE TYLER AND MEMBERS of the Paszkiewicz family wanted to bring a little bit of Delaware down to Maryland. Six months after opening Accents, a successful accessories store in Rehoboth Beach, the team started a new branch -- with the same merchandise and layout--last November in Timonium.

Rite Aid Inc. took over 25 Eckerd stores in Maryland yesterday, including nine in the Baltimore region, shoring up its position as the second-largest drugstore chain in the state. The Maryland stores are part of Rite Aid's $4 billion deal for the Brooks and Eckerd chains, which was announced in August and completed yesterday. In all, Rite Aid bought 1,854 Brooks and Eckerd stores, and six distribution centers in 18 states, making it the largest drugstore chain on the East Coast, the company said.

Rite Aid Inc. took over 25 Eckerd stores in Maryland yesterday, including nine in the Baltimore region, shoring up its position as the second-largest drugstore chain in the state. The Maryland stores are part of Rite Aid's $4 billion deal for the Brooks and Eckerd chains, which was announced in August and completed yesterday. In all, Rite Aid bought 1,854 Brooks and Eckerd stores, and six distribution centers in 18 states, making it the largest drugstore chain on the East Coast, the company said.

Discovery Communications of Silver Spring is closing its 103 retail stores - including three in Maryland - and laying off 1,000 employees to focus on selling its products online and through mass-market retailers, the company announced yesterday. After studying its retail business this year, Discovery, which operates its namesake cable channel and other channels, said it could expand its merchandising and sell its branded products more efficiently through a combination of online sales and partnerships.