Seven Mile Market is the largest kosher supermarket in the United States. The store, which is located in

Pikesville, Maryland Pikesville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. Pikesville is just northwest of the Baltimore city limits. It is the northwestern suburb closest to Baltimore. The population was 30,764 at the 2010 cens ...

, was established in 1988, and has been in its current location since November 16, 2010. The store, which is under the kashrut

supervision Supervision is an act or instance of directing, managing, or oversight. Etymology The English noun "supervision" derives from the two Latin words "super" (above) and "videre" (see, observe). Spelling The spelling is "Supervision" in Standard ...

of the

Star-K Star-K Kosher Certification, also known as the Vaad Hakashrut of Baltimore ( he, ועד הכשרות דבאלטימאר), is a kosher certification agency based in Baltimore, Maryland, under the administration of Rabbi Moshe Heinemann, with the ...

, includes a floral department, and formerly included a pharmacy and a eyeware store.

History

Seven Mile Market first opened in 1988, marketing to the 100,000 in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

's Jewish community. Its name comes from Seven Mile Lane, where it was originally located. The owner previously had a small store called Jack's. The store has capitalized on a market for

kosher food Kosher foods are foods that conform to the Jewish dietary regulations of '' kashrut'' ( dietary law). The laws of ''kashrut'' apply to food derived from living creatures and kosher foods are restricted to certain types of mammals, birds and fish ...

that has grown during the 2000s, as many consumers, including those who do not keep kosher, consider the food to be more sanitary. In 2002, Seven Mile Market was sued by a wheelchair user for failure to comply with the

Americans with Disabilities Act The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 19 ...

Title III. The case was settled out of court. In 2010, the establishment moved into a former

Safeway Safeway is an American supermarket chain founded by Marion Barton Skaggs in April 1915 in American Falls, Idaho. The chain provides grocery items, food and general merchandise and features a variety of specialty departments, such as bakery, de ...

store on

Reisterstown Road Maryland Route 140 (MD 140) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The route runs from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) and US 40 Truck in Baltimore northwest to the Pennsylvania border, where the road continues into that state as Pennsylvania ...

adjacent to its former location. It is currently located on Reisterstown Rd. At , this nearly doubled its prior amount of space, and made it the largest kosher supermarket in America. The Safeway once housed a kosher

delicatessen Traditionally, a delicatessen or deli is a retail establishment that sells a selection of fine, exotic, or foreign prepared foods. Delicatessen originated in Germany (original: ) during the 18th century and spread to the United States in the m ...

, but that operation closed, and it was believed to be due to its inability to compete with Seven Mile Market. The previous largest kosher supermarket was Rockland Kosher in

Monsey, New York Monsey (, yi, מאנסי, translit=Monsi) is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States, located north of Airmont, east of Viola, south of New Hempstead, and west of Spring Valley. ...

, which has of retail space.

References

{{Supermarkets of the United States 1988 establishments in Maryland Jews and Judaism in Pikesville, Maryland American companies established in 1988 Retail companies established in 1988 Kosher supermarkets Orthodox Judaism in Maryland Pikesville, Maryland Supermarkets of the United States