The Bazaar Years
Kenilworth Bazaar opened in 1979 on Kenilworth Drive in Towson, Maryland, just off Interstate 695. It wasn't built to compete with the big suburban malls that were spreading across Maryland.
The center was smaller and more personal, meant to feel like a local gathering place instead of a shopping machine. It was designed as something between a department store and a small-town main street.
The name "Bazaar" matched the late 1970s style of retail that mixed practicality with a touch of charm.
The first two anchors set the tone. Hochschild Kohn's, a Baltimore department store founded in 1897, brought the sense of tradition and polish it was known for downtown.
Stebbins Anderson, a longtime Towson hardware and housewares business, brought everyday reliability. Together, they filled 147,000 square feet of retail space, supported by a two-story parking garage built for convenience.
Kenilworth Bazaar didn't have the size or flash of newer shopping centers, but it didn't need them. It served the nearby neighborhoods, where brick homes lined quiet streets and residents appreciated familiar places.
Within ten minutes, more than two hundred thousand people could reach the center. For them, Kenilworth wasn't a spectacle. It was a steady, comfortable part of life.
A Mall with a Pulse
Kenilworth Bazaar was part of daily life in Towson. It stayed busy without needing to be impressive. Irvin C. Tillman, Sr., owned it until 1994 and kept things steady as the suburbs spread around it.
In 1989, the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration opened an MVA Express office inside. It brought a regular flow of people. They came for paperwork and often stayed to shop.
The new owner, Kenilworth Limited Partnership of Cincinnati, took over in 1994. The property was dated but still familiar. In 2008, the center was renovated.
Floors were replaced, lighting improved, and signs updated. The economy was weak, yet the work went forward. The mall stayed open while others struggled.
The update came as the center turned thirty in 2009. The celebration was small. Stores stayed open, the fountain still ran, and customers kept showing up. In a year when many malls were closing, Kenilworth's survival was enough.
The Old Heart of Stebbins Anderson
Stebbins Anderson was the store that defined The Shops at Kenilworth. It began in 1867 as Cochrane Lumber, a small coal and lumber yard on York Road.
The Stebbins family bought it in 1911 and turned it into a business that sold nearly everything a house might need. When it moved into the new Kenilworth Bazaar in 1978, it was already a Towson institution.
Inside, the mix made sense to anyone who lived nearby. You could find hammers, ceiling fans, cookware, and gifts, all under one roof. Richard Powers bought the store in 1979 and ran it for three decades.
To him, it was a piece of local life, not just a business. After he died in 2013, Ken and Bonnie Knight took over.
They tried to modernize it, but the shift in retail left little room for independent stores. Stebbins Anderson closed on December 31, 2019. For longtime customers, the closing felt personal.
The space was filled again in March 2022. A fitness center called The Mine opened with five studios, a sauna, and a co-working area.
It covered 22,000 square feet. The change fit the new era. Where people once bought tools and cookware, they now came to exercise and recharge.
The Gibbons Years
In 2014, Greenberg Gibbons bought into the property and took full control a year later. The company knew the spot still had value, even after decades of slow decline. Early in 2015, it laid out a $20 million plan to rebuild and rebrand the mall.
The project called for trimming about 8,000 square feet from the old layout and adding a new 20,000-square-foot marketplace with restaurants, a wine bar, and a rooftop garden. The name changed, too. It became The Shops at Kenilworth, short and straightforward.
Work began soon after. Crews opened up walls, replaced floors, and brought in more natural light. The idea was simple: make the place look like it belonged on Kenilworth Drive instead of hiding from it.
Trader Joe's opened in March 2017 in the upper level of the former Stebbins Anderson space. The store's arrival pulled steady traffic back to the property.
For the first time in years, the parking lot stayed full. The old mall was gone, replaced by something modern that actually worked.
Reinvention and Renewal
After Trader Joe's opened, new tenants followed. About Faces Day Spa & Salon became one of the mainstays, offering hair, skin, and spa services.
South Moon Under, a Maryland boutique from the 1970s, stayed in place. Ruth Shaw, a longtime Baltimore fashion store, moved from Cross Keys to The Shops at Kenilworth in 2019.
The mall no longer relied on department stores. Its draw came from smaller brands with loyal followings.
Jos. A. Bank closed in 2021 after years as an anchor. Arhaus took the space and opened in April 2023 with a 19,000-square-foot showroom. The furniture retailer replaced suits with sofas and made the corner one of the busiest areas in the center.
Other changes came quickly. Towson Bootery, a 77-year-old local store, shut down in March 2025. Su Casa returned with a temporary home-goods shop that same year.
A play space called The Bunny Hive opened between boutiques, adding a family element to the mix. High Grounds Coffee set up a seasonal espresso bar near Italian Gardens in November. The lineup keeps shifting, and the space keeps filling.
The Train Garden
The Holiday Train Garden started in 1989 as a small Christmas display around the fountain. It was meant to last one season. The volunteers who built it decided to keep going, and the tradition never stopped.
Each October, Bill Gough and a group of local helpers spend about six weeks setting it up. The layout changes a little every year. It includes snow villages, sports fields, a Pixar Cars track, and moving scenes that light up when visitors press buttons.
The display opens the Friday before Thanksgiving and runs through early January. Families crowd around the glass barriers.
Kids point and laugh, parents take photos, and older visitors talk about the days when Hochschild Kohn's was still open. The sound of the trains mixes with the mall's background noise, giving the place a calm, steady rhythm.
The Train Garden isn't tied to any store or sale. It doesn't need promotion. It's a simple display that became part of the town's holiday season. While stores have opened and closed, the trains have kept running.
