Perry Hall Royal Farms Opens Without Fanfare

Chicken, coffee and gasoline at $3.19 a gallon—a new Royal Farms quietly opened in Perry Hall on Friday. The 5,000-square-foot store at 9620 Belair Rd. joins a long list of convenience stores, gas stations and mini-grocers in the U.S. Route 1 corridor. 

Mike Yates, a Kingsville resident, said he was pleasantly surprised to see its doors open in the afternoon. "I get a cup of coffee from Royal Farms everyday driving to work in Timonium. Now I can stop in Perry Hall," he said. 

Yates said the store looks much better than the old BP station, and he hopes the competition will further drive down gas prices at the Safeway gas station across Belair Road. 

"I'm wondering what will happen to the 7-Eleven across the street. Royal Farms has everything they do, but without the gas," Yates added. 

For Kent Farmer, store manager at the Walgreens adjacent to Safeway, the new competition wasn't necessarily welcome. 

"I can't say I'm happy about it, but what are you going to do? I just walked over to check out their prices," Farmer said. 

"I don't think the community really needed another gas station," he added. 

The Royal Farms store manager declined to comment on the opening. 

When another Royal Farms opened along the Maryland Route 43 extension in March, the opening attracted public officials and Royal Farms executives presented donations to volunteer organizations. 

A worker said a similar grand opening celebration will likely be scheduled after the holidays, sometime in January. 

Do you plan on shopping at the new Perry Hall Royal Farms? Tell us in the comments.