Waugh Chapel Towne Centre Coming to Life

Waugh Chapel Towne Centre is beginning to reveal itself as a must stop-and-shop venue with several stores already open and many shoppers as well as retailers eagerly awaiting the fall debut of Wegmans, a mega-grocery store that includes cooking demonstrations, gourmet food shopping, hot and cold food bars and restaurant-style seating.

"Everyone is holding their breath waiting for Wegmans,” said Diane Kelley, owner of , a chain of 780 spas in the United States and Canada. “And I am pretty excited about it too.”

for the 125,000-square-foot store that is slated to open Oct. 28, according to developers Greenberg and Gibbons. The Baltimore-Washington area firm also developed Annapolis Towne Centre at Parole and Hunt Valley Towne Centre in Baltimore County.

The Wegmans at Waugh Chapel will be the chain’s sixth store in Maryland and the second to open this year in the Baltimore area. The New York-based chain has about 80 stores in the northeast and mid-Atlantic region.

Karin Jorgensen, a spokeswoman for Crosby Marketing, said Waugh Chapel Towne Centre will bring about 5,000 jobs to the area. Wegmans expects to hire 520 workers including 160 full-time positions. About 470 of the 520 jobs will be filled by local residents.

Like Annapolis Towne Centre, Waugh Chapel will have an urban-style feel to it with the completion next year of The Arcadian at Waugh Chapel, a 298-unit apartment complex. The complex is a $57-million project by the Bozzuto Group, a Greenbelt developer.

Since the March , several new stores in 1.2 million-square-foot mixed-use development have opened their doors: , Panera Bread, , the discount chain store Five Below, Massage Envy, Sleepy’s and Visionworks are also open and attracting customers.

Coal Fire, a small upscale Maryland chain of restaurants specializing in artisan pizza, fresh sandwiches, salads and a full-service bar, is expected to open by the end of the month. Also expected to open in June is Snip-Its, a haircut salon for children that can also host birthday parties. The Regal Cinema IMAX theater is also expected to open by the end of the summer.

Tiffany Colon, Sports Clips' manager, said business has been brisk with more and more customers coming into her shop and foot traffic in the center has stepped up.

"Sports Clips is a great store in a great neighborhood,” she said while coaxing Crofton toddler Camden Cimino to sit still while she trimmed his locks. “And we are all waiting for Wegmans to open.”

Camden's mom, Crofton resident Stephanie Cimino, 28, agreed.

"I used to have to go to Severna Park to get his hair cut,” she said. “This is so much more convenient.”

Other stores slated to call Waugh Chapel Towne Centre home include: Old Navy, Bubbles hair salon, Bed Bath and Beyond, , the Green Turtle restaurant, Subway, Bank of Annapolis, Yogurt Vi, Silver Spring Thai, Qdoba, Venetian Nails, PNC Bank, Verizon, Columbia Bank, Vitamin Shop, Fuji Japanese Steakhouse and AT&T.

Which store are you most looking forward to opening? Tell us in the comments.

CORRECTION: This article was updated to correct the spelling of the Stephanie Cimino's name.