Some Pikesville Patch Facebook fans have said in the past that Shell at Greenspring Shopping Center had higher prices than some other stations in Pikesville. But, since Shell reopened after renovations this fall, the prices seem comparable. Have you noticed? And how can anyone help but notice the TV set up at each gas pump? Here are the lowest gasoline prices elsewhere in Pikesville, according to Pikesville Patch's Commute tool. This tool, located under "More Stuff" on the home page, lists prices, addresses and maps of where to get gasoline in Pikesville. $3.34 for regular, Pikesville Mobil, …

The hamburgers are in at Pizza Blitz. For weeks, I've known their expanded menu was coming, but I wanted to get a taste as well as a photograph. The hamburgers and cheeseburgers are part of the restaurant's expanded menu that also includes new pasta sauces—rose cream and Alfredo; appetizers such as fried zucchini and mozzarella caprese, and main dishes such as grilled chicken, chicken Alfredo and eggplant or penne Bolognese. The thick patty came on a fresh bun with ample condiments: sliced tomato, onion, lettuce and mayonnaise. I swapped out the standard slice of cheddar for provolone. This …

Today, I'm sick of garlic bread. That's because it's all I had to eat for dinner Wednesday at Illiano's J&P Restaurant—other than the sparkling water. Illiano's is the new restaurant that opened Saturday at The Shops at Quarry Lake, in the former site of Ciao!. It was my first visit to the new restaurant, and stepping inside was just like stepping into Ciao!, except the colors are a little brighter after Illiano's renovations. I brought along a friend who is Italian-American, and who has never been to Pikesville. This night didn't turn out to be a good introduction to our community. We …

"Will be open now until 8 p.m. by popular demand," was the entire content of the news release I got late Tuesday evening from Suburban House. But it need not say more. That's right. The popular, vibrant Suburban House Restaurant—with it's Pikesville Patch award-winning matzah ball soup, and its kitsch paper placemat that's an amusing dictionary of Yiddish—will be open one hour later each night. That means that people like me who keep a later dinnertime than, well, many, will have a casual place to go at 7 p.m.—other than Lenny's Deli in Owings Mills. This is good news, in some ways a blessing…

They're pouring a foundation today outside the Corner Bakery Cafe site in the Festival at Woodholme Shopping Center. Maybe this means outdoor seating? However, it could also mean there's an expansion of the indoor dining area in the works. The Corner Bakery Cafe, offering breakfast, sandwiches, paninis, salads, Wifi and more, is set to open in July, according to an official in the restaurant chain's corporate headquarters. It could open as early as July 2, the official said Tuesday in an email to Pikesville Patch. The new restaurant replaces Chicken Out that closed last year. Are there any …

Pikesville's new furniture store is a place to discover the unexpected. At Furniture & More there's an acrylic-sculptured dining set with glass top, string draperies, glass sculptures and leather chairs and sofas with ultra-contemporary lines. Owner Yanik Yusupov has 20 years experience in the furniture business, including at stores in Rockville and Wheaton, where he managed 200,000-square-foot stores. But he has come back to Pikesville his hometown of 25 years to fill what he sees as a retail void in furniture. "I decided there's nothing around in Pikesville. I have good experience, and I …

There's a relatively new laundry-day destination in Pikesville: Tumblers Laundromat. I say it's a destination, because there's a Subway right next door where you can grab a bite to eat, enjoy and relax while doing some spring cleaning. As of May 1, to have laundry done for you is 99 cents per pound, according to a staff member. Here are just some of the prices: To do a load of laundry yourself costs $3 per load, but there are larger machines as well. And dryer costs 25 cents for 7 minutes. The store, which opened in September, opens at 7 a.m. daily, and is located at 108 Reisterstown Road. …

  The former Hollywood Video store, vacant for several years, has new life now that three businesses have moved into the renovated building. Among them is Sinu Pharmacy that has a larger store at its new home: 211 Reisterstown Road, next to 7-Mile Market. Sinu, which offers kosher vitamins as well as medical supplies, was formerly located at 306 Reisterstown Road. Also in the same building—in Suite A of 211 Reisterstown Road—is Mercy's Grocery Tienda Latina. Between the grocery store and the pharmacy, is Top Dominican Hair Salon, formerly at 104 Reisterstown Road. Do you know of any new …

The Pikesville Chamber of Commerce meets for its monthly Brown Bag Networking Lunch at noon Tuesday (that's today!). The meeting will be at the Center for Cosmetic Surgery & MediSpa, 1 Reservoir Circle, in Pikesville. You can bring some lunch to munch—but most people don't, I found out. During the last meeting, about 40 people attended, so it was a great time to meet other business people in the community. Don't forget these events that the chamber has planned this spring: April 22—Quarry Lake Garden Show May 3—Taste of Pikesville

  One-by-one, shoppers on Tuesday afternoon shamelessly carted their groceries from Trader Joe's to the curb, abandoning the carts right in the walkways. Sure, it's convenient and understandable that shoppers who are elderly or who have disabilities leave the carts there. But otherwise, should the walkways become a course of red, wheeled obstacles? It wasn't only Tuesday. This is a regular sight at the popular shopping center. Who do you believe is responsible for taking carts back? Each shopper? The store? When you shop there, do you take your cart back after you're finished? Is it part of …

The talk of the Pikesville Chamber of Commerce these days is the arrival of three new businesses at The Festival at Woodholme, including Ann Taylor Loft, set to make its home next to Trader Joe's. The Wine Loft will also be moving into the shopping center, said Jessica Normington, executive director for the chamber. Chicken Out left The Festival this summer, but a replacement could be in the works soon, Normington said. Corner Bakery Cafe, a Chicago-based chain, could be moving into that space. One Pikesville business recently moved from downtown to the shopping center: Couture Moda. Downtown…

Yesterday's twin groundbreakings in downtown Pikesville are proof that all groundbreakings are not created equal. Let's start off with the similarities: Both ceremonies were held within the "urban village" of Baltimore County's Pikesville Revitalization District—the walkable part of downtown Pikesville from Old Court Road south to Slade Ave., where the county has set guidelines for the appearance of buildings. And the ceremonies were led by Sherrie Becker, executive director for the Pikesville Chamber of Commerce, County Executive Kevin Kamenetz and Councilwoman Vicki Almond. Elected state …

It's construction season, and projects along Reisterstown Road are moving right along. At the site of the former Staples store, at the intersection of Old Court and Reisterstown roads, demolition has begun to convert the building into a new Walgreens. The footprint will remain the same, but there will be new landscaping and new features outside, including signage, of course. Healthway Progress And at the site of the defunct Backfin Restaurant, brick-and-mortar work is in progress on a new, two-story building with partial basement where Healthway Pharmacy will relocate. The building will house…

Two Pikeville businesses, Rite Aid and Jilly's Bar & Grill, debut their recently rejuvenated locations. And the Pikesville Chamber of Commerce's Business and Community Recognition Awards Breakfast is set for April 27. Rite now At Rite Aid in Greenspring Shopping Center, there's a brand-new pharmacy and wider aisles for customers after about a month-long renovations project throughout the store. Moms and dads, your strollers will no longer stall aisle traffic. So relax and browse. There's now plenty of room for others to pass. To get folks acquainted with the new features, the store is …

For now, there's no Staples in Pikesville as the store transitions to a new location. But come Thursday, the national office-supply chain plans to open its new store in the Pikesville Shopping Center. Just last month, staff members working at the old store at the corner of Reisterstown and Old Court roads said they planned to move into the new, larger and improved store by mid-March. But that hasn't happened, and a sign on the new store's door said it will open March 31. This morning, stocking was still ongoing inside the new store, while outside numerous construction projects were in the …

I am new—new to Pikesville, that is. So I'm asking advice on finding a good accountant, one who will take on a new customer and be pleasant about it. And I prefer to call a phone number that isn't disconnected. Liberty Tax Service is listed throughout the Internet as still operating in Pikesville. But it's not. The phone number is disconnected. Same with H&R Block. Today I started on a list of accountants, and from the responses from most of them, you'd think I was asking them to give me their Social Security numbers. At Caplan & Co., the man who answered the phone said he didn't understand …

Hot news If you haven't been by The Festival at Woodholme this week, you may not have seen the new Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant sign. But it's there, and Patch has called into the Chipotle Corporate Office in Denver to get some details. Back here in Pikesville, not much is going on inside. It's just a gutted storefront with bare wood walls and floors so far. But the lights are on. Anyone who has eaten at Chipotle knows their popular made-to-order burritos are large.  The Chipotle website offers the following description: "It's not just a burrito. It's a foil-wrapped, hand-crafted, local-…