Discount grocer Lidl to add 10 stores in Maryland
German discount grocer Lidl plans to double its size in Maryland with a 10-store expansion that will include five new Baltimore-area locations.
Lidl US said Tuesday that it will open new stores in Annapolis, Brooklyn Park, Glen Burnie, Columbia, Timonium and five other locations around the state by the end of next year, creating 400 jobs.
Lidl will supply the stores through its recently opened Cecil County distribution center. Besides expanding in the Baltimore area, Lidl will open in Frederick, Montgomery Village, Oxon Hill, Takoma Park and Wheaton.
The chain is growing in Maryland as part of a $500 million, 50-store expansion along the East Coast.
LIdl is investing in the state and bringing in good-paying jobs “at a time when they are needed the most,” Gov. Larry Hogan said in Tuesday’s announcement.
The chain, going head-to-head with discount grocers such as Aldi, markets itself with low prices, easy-to-shop stores with just six aisles and a curated selection of mostly private label products.
Lidl says most of its products come from the United States, but it also sells European specialty items such as hard-to-find cheeses, specialty sauces and cured meats.
The grocer opened its first Baltimore County supermarkets in January, including one in a former hhgregg store in Catonsville and another in a former Mars Super Markets space in Perry Hall. Lidl also plans its first store in Baltimore City at the redeveloped Northwood Plaza Shopping Center in Northeast Baltimore.
Lidl, with its U.S. division based in Arlington, Virginia, began opening U.S. stores in the summer of 2017 and now operates more than 100 stores in nine East Coast states.