The corner of Lake Avenue and Falls Road is one of Baltimore County?s finest microcosms for consumers. Drive through this intersection at 6 a.m. and find early-risers fueling up on coffee and news at the Royal Farms, 6067 Falls Road. One or two hours later, pass through and find 9-to-5ers waiting in line for lattes and bagels with butter at GlasZ Cafe in Lake Falls Village, 6080 Falls Road).
At 10 a.m., Blockbuster opens its doors, and by lunchtime, other Village stores have seen the first wave of daytime shoppers.
Pepe?s Pizza, at 6081 Falls Road, feeds the hungry until 10 p.m. and in the midnight hours, the parking lot next door acts as a notorious meeting point for high school partygoers.
Andy Markris works at least 16-hour days at Pepe?s alongside his sister and mother. His family has owned this pizza/sub shop for 28 years.
“We feed everybody. Millionaires, middle-class workers. We?ll have Cal Ripken in line next to an electrician,” Makris added.
Caddie corner to Pepe?s is Bonjour Bakery at 6070 Falls Road, a quaint little French bakery inside a brightly painted purple structure.
“We have been here for eight years and are famous for our fresh-baked pastries and French bread,” said store manager Mika Vonhendricks.
Gayle Brier owns Bonjour, and she also owns Brasserie Tatin, where all of the pastries are baked fresh.
Many of Bonjour?s regulars walk over from Blockbuster or Salon Giovanna, across the street at 6071 Falls Road.
Lake Falls Village, a large lot owned and managed by Mackenzie Commercial Real Estate Services, has a range of tenants including GlasZ Cafe, operated by the Classic Catering People, Ivy Bookstore and a third floor for office space.
“We built this property 25 years ago. The retail space doesn?t turn over, but the third floor will be vacant probably in April of 2007,” said John Harrington, lease agent with Mackenzie.
Next week, The Examiner tours the 400 block of York Road in Towson.
