Despite the early hour and wet September morning, it’s standing room only at Creative Mornings, a monthly breakfast lecture series for local creatives. Shawn Chopra, the creative director and owner of coffee and home goods store Good Neighbor, is the featured speaker and even thought he looks like the coolest person at the party, he seems nervous.

But once Chopra starts talking about “shedding a lifetime of going through the motions,” his voice gets steadier and easily fills the room at Sandtown Furniture in Pigtown. Chopra ends the talk by handing out pieces of papyrus, a thick paper that was used in ancient times. For Chopra, papyrus has come to represent the connection between roots and growth.

Chopra’s parents grew up in Chandigarh, India, the dream city of India’s first prime minister, Sh. Jawaharlal Nehru, and planned by the famous French architect Le Corbusier. It’s known as one of the best experiments in urban planning and modern architecture in the 20th century. But Chopra himself was born in Winnipeg—“the cold middle part of Canada,” he sighs—after his parents immigrated there in 1985.

The family then moved to Vancouver, where Chopra spent his childhood in a city called Richmond. Due to an influx of Indian and Chinese immigrants and a shortage of housing, Chopra’s father, who worked as an engineer and provided the sole income for the family, saw an opportunity to renovate and flip their small childhood home.

Every few years when the market was right, they would rinse and repeat. “I think my dad enjoyed it,” says Chopra. “And I think we as a family enjoyed the renovation process.” Chopra’s parents were also homebodies and much preferred hosting friends at their house to going out. That meant Chopra spent a lot of time in his room, which he filled with sports team pennants his father would pick up on his business trips to the United States.

“I would also constantly rearrange the furniture in my room,” remembers Chopra. “We used to go thrifting—a lot of my clothes were thrifted and also my furniture, like side tables and lamps.”

The cornerstones of his childhood—hospitality, innovation, renovation—ended up being the building blocks that ultimately led to opening Good Neighbor.

By the time his senior year of high school rolled around, Chopra had his eyes set on New York, so he did the most sensible thing he could think of and headed to the “East Coast of Canada”—Ottawa. His parents had hinted he had three career options in their eyes—health care, lawyer, or accountant—so he found himself studying physical therapy at the University of Ottawa.

It was on his first day of college that he met Anne Morgan, herself the child of Egyptian immigrants. They started dating in 2007. Morgan immediately recognized that he was a creative spirit.

“She was able to uncover a lot of these things in my past,” says Chopra, and she would press him: “What are you doing studying medicine?” But at the same time, she understood the immigrant mentality of being expected to do something great. “Meeting Anne was one of the best things that happened to me, because she saw me,” says Chopra.

The two graduated in 2009 and two years later they moved to Baltimore, where Morgan was enrolled in dental school at the University of Maryland.

“We’ll live in Baltimore for four years,” Chopra remembers thinking as they purchased an apartment in Locust Point. (Living in Baltimore also meant he was now only a train ride away from New York City.) Chopra transferred his physical therapy license, but wanted to make a bigger impact in the field, so he began working in public health and visiting seniors around the city who were in recovery from strokes and other ailments.

“I loved it,” says Chopra. “I got to go to every part of Baltimore.” And suddenly a Canadian was visiting neighborhoods that even some homegrowns had never been to—talking to residents and their children, who would occasionally stop by and share stories.

“That’s where I started to fall in love with the city,” says Chopra. “It just needs more people to stay and do something and be a part of it.”

Baltimore is addicting because it’s the kind of place where people believe in your dream, he says. “I think Charm City is the right word for it because it is very charming, and I think people see the potential in it,” he says. “It’s authentic.”

Chopra had also gotten to know a lot of the artists and makers and became immersed in how they created the fabric of the city—but at that point simply as a supportive bystander. Then one day it hit him.

“I was tired of consuming other people’s work,” he says. It wasn’t that he didn’t appreciate their art; it’s just that he wanted to create, too. He was finally owning up to what Morgan had been telling him all along—there was a piece of him missing and he realized he would actually be honoring his parents by becoming the best version of himself.

So, he decided it was time for a leap of faith. But he still didn’t know exactly what that meant. Should he go back to school? How could he be more involved in the community?

“And then I just came up with the idea of Good Neighbor,” he says. “A place that I thought Baltimore needed, a place that I needed.”

Chopra made a list of all the things that he and Morgan enjoyed—coffee, community, togetherness, sharing meals, beautiful dishware, plants. He decided he would make it a one-stop cool coffee shop where lingering is encouraged.

“You know, you go to these other cities and it’s like, ‘Why can’t Baltimore have this?’” he says. Yeah, it would be that.

He rented the space in 2019. It had been sitting empty for a few years and needed a complete rehaul. Chopra had never worked as a contractor but had helped his father on all those home renovations, so he was able to self-manage the build-out.

“It was the only way we could afford this,” says Chopra. But in the end, it was also “the only way I wanted to do it. This was going be my education this was my grad school,” he says. “That’s actually how my parents framed it.”

Chopra and his builders got to work, with an initial opening date of March 2020. Obviously, the pandemic had other plans and they spent the extra two months adjusting—building an outdoor deck and changing business procedures.

In May of 2020, still in the throes of COVID and with Morgan nine months pregnant, Good Neighbor opened on Falls Road between Hampden and Hoes Heights. It’s a rare space, with a main building, a big outdoor area, and a garage that was turned into a picture-perfect greenhouse and has probably starred in hundreds of Instagram stories.

Even with all that, Chopra wasn’t sure if it would work. Having customers wear masks and socially distance to keep the employees safe made no sense when the whole purpose of Good Neighbor was stranger interaction and closeness. But people came. They utilized the tiered outdoor garden and still felt like they were hanging out with other friends even if they couldn’t sit together.

“It was a dizzying couple of years,” says Chopra. And when customers finally could come inside, they found a light-filled space stocked with Chopra’s curated finds, from furniture to housewares, bottles of wine, magazines, and candles.

In 2023, Chopra launched Guesthouse by Good Neighbor, a seven-room boutique hotel on the two floors above the coffee and retail space, which had previously been used as storage. Meant to recreate the feeling of staying at a friend’s house versus a stuffy hotel, it doubles, like the shop, as an opportunity to showcase the work of Baltimore makers and artists as well as Chopra’s and Morgan’s roots.

In November of 2022, Chopra, Morgan, and their toddler son, Avi, visited Aswan, Egypt, with Chopra’s “baba” (Egyptian for father-in-law), who helped them source more than 2,000 pieces of papyrus that have since been integrated into every room at the hotel. Often, the light hits and dances off the ancient paper as it takes on new life within the most modern spaces.

And while Charm City now gets to claim Chopra as its own, he has also been noticed by the bigger design community, from furniture brands that had never had accounts in Baltimore before to national design magazines. “Baltimore’s Tight-Knit Design Scene Is Thriving,” announces a new piece in Dwell magazine, with an illustration of Chopra and a story proclaiming him as “the city’s beloved design retail resource.”

Locally, the design community has taken note as well. “Shawn has done such a brilliant job of bringing incredible design and a high-end aesthetic to Baltimore in a way that is approachable and for the people,” says Robin Heller, lead designer and founder of Surrounded By Color. “He’s so open to ideas and input from designers and brands and friends and patrons. It’s refreshing.”

Part of Chopra’s genius is also the relationship between his businesses. The success and aesthetic of Good Neighbor led to Guesthouse, which in turn has led to Design Garage, a space for designers, architects, builders, and decorators to work together and innovate, and even a weeklong Good Neighbor Design Camp.

Chopra’s parents still live in Vancouver but come down several times a year—mostly to see their grandson Avi—and “they do love the shop and seeing me in my element and using my talents,” says Chopra. He knows they worried, as parents do, when he took that huge gamble on his future.

“But, as I always tell them, the immigrant sacrifice they made was so that their kids could dream completely free and without constraints, something they could not afford to do.”

That there is now tangible evidence of his success feels good.

“Shawn and his team have imagined Baltimore in a super aesthetically pleasing way,” says Surrounded By Color’s Heller. “It’s so lovely as a designer, and a Baltimorean, to be able to bask in the light of it all and watch everyone else shine in it too.”

Are you thinking about your next move? Maybe you’re empty nesters and you hardly use half the rooms in your house. Maybe you want to move, but not too far from your kids and grandchildren. Or maybe you’re thinking ahead and want a place that offers independent living with more care in the future. Luckily our area offers plenty of choices.

Purchasing A CCRC
Former astronaut 75-year-old Mary Cleave had a very exciting career. She went into space twice on Atlantis, and worked at NASA-Goddard and NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. “When I went to work at Goddard, my cousin suggested I move to Annapolis,” she says. Cleave lived in her house for 30 years. “I would have kept living there, but one night my hearing aids were out when the low battery on the fire alarm kept beeping, and I never heard it. My sister happened to be visiting and said, ‘You can’t live alone anymore, it isn’t safe.’”

“Since I love the water, I knew I wanted to stay in Annapolis,” she continues. After visiting several communities and talking to people at each, Cleave decided on Bay-Woods of Annapolis, a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC).

“In the morning I sit and watch the sunrise over the Bay Bridge. . .”

Cleave moved in 2017. What attracted her to BayWoods is that it is a resident-owned-and-run co-operative community where residents provide vital input on operations. (In Maryland there are only two co-op CCRCs.) Also a must for Cleave was that it was pet-friendly. “I think for people who live alone, a pet is very important,” says Cleave, who lives with her dog Brinx.

“In the morning I sit and watch the sunrise over the Bay Bridge,” says Cleave, who has a one-bedroom with a patio. “It’s a great way to start the day.” Although downsizing can be difficult, Cleave found getting rid of a lot of her stuff to be liberating. And when she has company, she reserves a guestroom at BayWoods.

Elizabeth O’Conner, director of marketing and sales at Blakehurst, says, “Today’s residents are very active.” A gym is a must-have, and many CCRCs have more than equipment and classes. They may offer trainers, indoor pools, hot tubs, steam rooms, walking trails, a putting green—even gardens where residents can grow flowers and vegetables.

BayWoods has plenty of activities and amenities, some unique to that community, such as swimming in the bay off their dock. Cleave says, “With the gym right here, I take classes three times a week and do tai chi once a week. And Brinx, my ‘trainer,’ makes sure we get out and walk,” laughs Cleave.

Is a CCRC Right For You?
A CCRC is a type of retirement community that is part independent living, part assisted living, and part skilled nursing home. Today, many communities offer memory care too, and on-site rehabilitation therapy. According to AARP, a CCRC offers a tiered approach to the aging process, accommodating residents’ changing needs. Upon entering, healthy adults can reside independently in single-family homes, apartments, or condominiums. When assistance with everyday activities becomes necessary, they can move into assisted living, memory care, or nursing care facilities. These communities give older adults the option to live in one location for the duration of their lives, with much of their future care already figured out.

“I came in needing a walker, graduated to a cane and, thanks to the in-house physical therapy, I now need nothing.”

When you choose a facility, it’s also important to know what type of contract it offers. These contracts can be very complex; treat this decision like you would any major investment, including seeking assistance from a lawyer or someone very knowledgeable. In addition, you should determine that the finances of the CCRC are healthy so that your present and future services are safeguarded.

Ray, 83, and Phoebe Sachs, 80, are no strangers to moving. “We’ve lived in New York, Chicago, Delaware, D.C., and moved about 10 or 12, times,” says Ray. While living in a Baltimore condo, with their three children living all over the country, the couple decided a CCRC would give them the future security they wanted. Their children agreed.

“We are very active and decided we’d make the move while we could participate in the activities and be part of the community,” says Ray. After checking out several CCRCs, they chose Blakehurst. “It had what we wanted—care if we need it, attractive surroundings, lots of activities including woodworking (where my wife is the only woman), walking trails, and we were able to make changes to the apartment.”

Making changes was very important to Phoebe, who was a builder and does interior design. “We made our second bedroom into a library and totally redid the kitchen,” she says. “We can cook, but they do such a remarkable job with the food and it’s so convenient, we don’t.”

“Our new appliances aren’t getting much of a workout,” admits Ray.

Typically, residents in independent living get at least one meal a day. In assisted living, memory care, and nursing, there are three meals provided. “At BayWoods the food is fabulous and healthy,” says Cleave. “I’m eating better than I ever did. And I don’t have to think about what I’m going to make for dinner, shop for it, and cook it.” Many CCRCs offer a variety of dining options beyond a dining room, including informal choices such as a café, bistro, deli, or pub. Some even have outdoor dining.

A Rental CCRC
Kathryn Lewis, age 72 and retired from working for the State of Maryland, was living with her son and his family. But after she had a knee replacement and ended up in rehab, she knew she could not return to her son’s house and its stairs. “The staff at the rehab facility suggested I consider moving to the Atrium Village in Owings Mills,” she says. Lewis moved there in 2021.

“I came in needing a walker, graduated to a cane and, thanks to the in-house physical therapy, I now need nothing. What was so great was that I didn’t need to leave Atrium Village and didn’t need family to take me to therapy,” says Lewis. As an ordained minister, Lewis loves volunteering at Atrium Village and doing activities: Bible study, choir, trivia, happy hour, movies, games, discussions, and exercise classes including Zumba and yoga.

At Atrium Village there are no entry or buy-in fees, or a commitment of retirement assets, as with most senior living communities. The cost of an apartment, dining options, all activities, fitness, housekeeping, and other services is included in a monthly lease.

Atrium Village has independent, assisted, and memory care. And it just underwent a $13 million renovation. Angela Spence, senior divisional director of sales and marketing for Senior Lifestyle, the company that manages Atrium Village, was involved in the renovation. According to Spence, the multimillion-dollar renovation is part of a 20-year anniversary transformation to create a next generation senior living experience.

“There are still some people who think of senior living communities as nursing homes. We need to overcome that stigma. Since COVID and with the renovation, our goal is to have programs that help residents get back into life and find a purpose. Living well is all about having a purpose,” says Spence.

Anyone visiting many of today’s CCRCs would never think of them as nursing homes. Many who live there say it’s like living on a cruise ship; it just doesn’t move.

Part of the renovation at Atrium Village included an array of new services and upscale amenities. In addition to two restaurant-style dining venues, there are two new bistros, a library, wellness center, salon, art studio, hospitality lounge, movie theater, and family center.

Happy hour is also big at many CCRCs. Spence says, “We added more happy hours after the residents requested them.”

Many of the CCRCs have continuing education. At BayWoods there are lectures given by neighboring St. John’s College scholars. Atrium Village partners with the Community College of Baltimore County to offer instructor-led classes.

CCRCs arrange trips, art classes and, yes, the list of activities and amenities goes on and on. But don’t worry, you can be as active as you want, or if you prefer a quieter experience, you can have that too. It’s all up to you.

An Over-55 Community
The Weidmans, Hope, 70, and Tim, 69, were no strangers to life at a 55-and-over community. They had lived in one in New Jersey for seven years and loved it. “When I retired after 38 years of teaching, we decided to move to a place that would be fun. A 55-and-over community fits the bill,” says Hope.

But trips to visit their son and his family in Virgina became too much. “So we started looking. We checked out Delaware, Virginia, and Maryland. When we visited Four Seasons on Kent Island it was everything we wanted.” There were single-family units and condos, walking trails, a pool, pickleball, and, best of all, there were other people their age for socializing. The Weidmans moved into a two-bedroom, two-and-half-bath home with a den and screened-in porch in 2021.

According to Veronica Lawson, an associate broker at Real Broker, LLC, these communities are ready-made for like-minded individuals for whom physical and emotional well-being are key.
Things like social activities and planned trips to local events create a strong sense of community that in turn create a fun and safe environment. Fifty-five-plus communities are becoming more and more popular as many healthy retirees look for active communities once retired.

And for some, buying before they retire is part of their long-range retirement plan. That was true for Gamini Dharmasena, 62, and his wife Desilva, 59, both scientists living in New Jersey. “We aren’t planning to retire for five years but thought prices would only keep going up. For my wife, who grew up in Sri Lanka, being by the water was a must. We checked out several places on the East Coast but were afraid of hurricanes in North Carolina,” says Gamini.

After filling out information online for Four Season on Kent Island, they got a call from a realtor. They visited and fell in love with the area and were attracted to a 55-plus active community with lots of activities and opportunities to be social.

The Dharmasenas purchased a single family, 3,500-square-foot home with the master bedroom on the first floor and a screened-in porch. It backs on trees and is a five-minute walk to the water. “Our 5,000-square-foot home on five acres is a lot to look after. When we retire, we’ll be ready to downsize,” says Gamini. Plus, they love to travel and won’t have to worry about the house. For now, the Dharmasenas plan to use it as a vacation home twice a month until it becomes their permanent home.

 

To learn more about retirement options check out these helpful websites:
• aging.maryland.gov
• continuingcarecommunities.org
• aarp.org/caregiving/basics
• seniorliving.org/continuing-careretirement-communities

ue and Thom Rinker, age 74 and 75 respectively, were feeling very isolated in their condo in Baltimore County. “We were ready for a change,” says Sue.
“My mother had lived at a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) for 20 years and some of our friends had moved to that type of community. We really liked what a CCRC offered.”

According to seniorliving.org, a CCRC (also known as a Life Plan Community) delivers independent living and an amenity-rich lifestyle with access to onsite, higher-level care should a resident’s medical needs progress. The levels of care usually include independent, assisted, memory care, and skilled nursing as well as rehabilitation therapy on the campus. This continuum of care ensures residents that they have the comfort of remaining in the place they call home and the peace of mind that comes from knowing their future care is figured out.

“We wanted a CCRC so our two children who live in the area wouldn’t be burdened with our future healthcare,” Sue continues. “But for now, we are healthy and wanted lots of great amenities.” The Rinkers, who live at Blakehurst in Towson, say that it’s like living at a five-star resort.

Robin Somers, CEO of Broadmead, a Life Plan Community in Cockeysville, says, “Today we are seeing many of our residents coming in younger. Rather than in their 80s, they come in their 70s.”

Elizabeth O’Conner, director of marketing and sales at Blakehurst, adds that not only are residents younger, “they are very active.”

Without the drudgery of home maintenance, doing daily chores like cleaning and meal planning, and even trying to get the COVID-19 vaccine booster, there’s time for residents to be physically active and explore myriad intellectual and cultural opportunities. But for those who prefer to spend time alone or with a few friends, there’s that too.

A fitness center ranks high on must-have lists for incoming residents. In many CCRCs, residents will find state-of-the-art equipment, classes including yoga, tai chi, and aerobics, and a heated pool. Sometimes there’s even a juice bar and a spa for manicures, pedicures, and massages. Parker Williamson, 81, is an avid sailor who lives at BayWoods of Annapolis, a waterfront community. He says, “I exercise every other day, but don’t like group classes, so the personal trainer worked up a routine just for me.”

“Today’s residents want individualization,” remarks Somers.

Sharon Krulak, 79, is a new resident at Blakehurst. She’s also an artist who works in mixed-media. When the Krulaks were looking at Blakehurst, she told O’Connor, “I need a room to do my art. And they made it happen.”

At Broadmead, two residents who were trained and experienced beekeepers had a conversation with the Broadmead executive director, and the Broadmead Apiary was established in 2013. Today, there is a group of six residents who are involved. Throughout the year they inspect the beehives, feed the bees sugar syrup, and harvest the honey into jars for sale.

Usually, CCRCs have councils, committees, and their own governing body where residents can make things happen. “At Blakehurst we have 43 residential-run committees,” says Sue Rinker. “Thom is on the residents’ board and I’m on the refurbishing and jigsaw committees.”

CCRCs have concerts, guest speakers, and some arrange continuing education through Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes (university-based education specifically for people 50 and older) or nearby universities. At Broadmead, they recognize artists within their community and in the greater Baltimore vicinity by having exhibits, programs, and educational outreach. This April, the Broadmead Art Council will host an exhibit of the works of Herman Maril, a Baltimore native known for painting seascapes, interiors, and landscapes. These exhibits and lectures will be open to the greater community.

Other amenities usually include endless clubs, beautiful walking trails, gardens where residents can plant vegetables and flowers, a movie theater, a library, woodworking, a beauty salon and barber shop, card and poker rooms, billiards, bocce, and a resident computer and business center. Some communities have a croquet court, a putting green, and pickleball. As most CCRCs welcome your four-legged family members, there are even dog parks. And in keeping with making life effortless, some places will deliver your incoming packages right to your door. The list of concierge services goes on, including scheduled transportation to grocery stores, shops and more. At Edenwald, a CCRC in Towson, a bus transports residents to cultural events and attractions like the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra at the Meyerhoff, a string quartet at Shriver Hall, and plays.

Cuisine plays an important part in daily life. The number of dining venues depends on the CCRC and so do the plans they offer. Many have a grill, café, bar, and outdoor dining. CCRCs pride themselves on having an excellent chef, offering plenty of choices on the menu, high quality ingredients, and dining experiences resembling a great restaurant.

In this area, all CCRCs are close to vibrant cities—Annapolis, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. As Parker Williamson, resident at BayWoods, says with a laugh, “What’s great is we can visit Baltimore and D.C. and take advantage of all they have to offer, but we don’t have to live there.”

The Guide to Regional Continuing Care Facilities & Senior Resources

ASBURY METHODIST VILLAGE
201 Russell Ave.
Gaithersburg, MD 20877
(301) 216-4001
asbury.org/asbury-methodist-village

ASBURY-SOLOMONS ISLAND
11100 Asbury Circle
Solomons, MD 20688
(410) 394-3000
asbury.org/asbury-solomons

BAYLEIGH CHASE
501 Dutchmans Lane
Easton, MD 21601
(410) 657-4900
actsretirement.org/communities/maryland/bayleigh-chase-easton

BAYWOODS OF ANNAPOLIS
7101 Bay Front Drive
Annapolis, MD 21403
(410) 268-9222
baywoodsofannapolis.com

BEDFORD COURT
3701 International Drive
Silver Spring, MD 20906
(301) 598-2900
sunriseseniorliving.com/communities/bedford

BLAKEHURST
1055 W. Joppa Road
Towson, MD 21204
(410) 296-2900
blakehurstlcs.com

BRIGHTVIEW SENIOR LIVING
Multiple locations
(888) 566-8854
brightviewseniorliving.com

BROADMEAD
13801 York Road
Cockeysville, MD 21030
(410) 527-1900
www.broadmead.org

BROOKE GROVE
18100 Slade School Road
Sandy Spring, MD 20860
(301) 924-2811
www.bgf.org

BUCKINGHAM’S CHOICE
3200 Baker Circle
Adamstown, MD 21710
(301) 804-2159
actsretirement.org/communities/maryland/buckinghams-choice-adamstown

CARROLL LUTHERAN VILLAGE
300 St. Luke Circle
Westminster, MD 21158
(410) 848-0090
clvillage.org

CHARLESTOWN RETIREMENT COMMUNITY
715 Maiden Choice Lane
Catonsville, MD 21228
(410) 405-7683
ericksonseniorliving.com/charlestown

COLLINGTON EPISCOPAL LIFE CARE COMMUNITY
10450 Lottsford Road
Mitchellville, MD 20721
(301) 925-9610
collington.kendal.org

EDENWALD
800 Southerly Road
Towson, MD 21286
(410) 339-6000
edenwald.org

ELIZABETH COONEY CARE NETWORK
1107 Kenilworth Drive, Ste. 200
Towson, MD 21204
(410) 323-1700
Elizabethcooneyagency.com

FAHRNEY-KEEDY
8507 Mapleville Road
Boonsboro, MD 21713-1818
(301) 733-6284
fkhv.org

FAIRHAVEN
7200 Third Ave.
Sykesville, MD 21784
(410) 892-1946
actsretirement.org/communities/maryland/fairhaven-sykesville

FRIENDS HOUSE RETIREMENT COMMUNITY
17340 Quaker Lane
Sandy Spring, MD 20860
(301) 924-5100
friendshouse.com

GINGER COVE ANNAPOLIS LIFE CARE
4000 River Crescent Drive
Annapolis, MD 21401
(410) 266-7300
gingercove.com

GLEN MEADOWS RETIREMENT COMMUNITY
11630 Glen Arm Road
Glen Arm, MD 21057
(410) 592-5310
presbyterianseniorliving.org/glen-meadows-retirement-community

GOODWILL RETIREMENT VILLAGE
891 Dorsey Hotel Road
Grantsville, MD 21536
(301) 895-5194
goodwillhome.org

HARMONY AT WALDORF
11239 Berry Road
Waldorf, MD 20603
(240) 270-2759
harmonyseniorservices.com/senior-living/md/waldorf/berry-road

HERON POINT OF CHESTERTOWN
501 Campus Ave.
Chestertown, MD 21620
(443) 214-3605
actsretirement.org/communities/maryland/heron-point-of-chestertown

HOMEWOOD AT FREDERICK
7407 Willow Road
Frederick, MD 21702
(301) 644-5600
homewoodfrederick.com

HOMEWOOD AT WILLIAMSPORT
16505 Virginia Ave.
Williamsport, MD 21795
(301) 582-1472
homewoodwilliamsport.com

INGLESIDE AT KING FARM
701 King Farm Blvd.
Rockville, Maryland 20850
(240) 557-8791
inglesideonline.org/ingleside-king-farm

LEISURE CARE: THE LANDING OF SILVER SPRINGS
13908 New Hampshire Ave.
Silver Spring, MD 20904
(301) 388-7700
leisurecare.com/our-communities/landing-of-silver-spring

LUTHERAN VILLAGE AT MILLER’S GRANT
9000 Fathers Legacy
Ellicott City, MD 21042
(410) 465-2005
millersgrant.org

MAPLEWOOD PARK PLACE
9707 Old Georgetown Road
Bethesda, MD 20814
(301) 571-7444
maplewoodparkplace.com

MARYLAND MASONIC HOMES
300 International Circle
Cockeysville, MD 21030
(410) 527-1111
mdmasonichomes.com

MERCY RIDGE
2525 Pot Spring Road
Timonium, MD 21093
(410) 561-0200
mercyridge.com

NORTH OAKS
725 Mount Wilson Lane
Pikesville, MD 21208
(410) 484-7300
northoaksseniorliving.com

RIDERWOOD VILLAGE
3140 Gracefield Road
Silver Spring, MD 20904
(301) 701-4076
ericksonseniorliving.com/riderwood

ROLAND PARK PLACE
830 W. 40th St.
Baltimore, MD 21211
(410) 243-5700
rolandparkplace.org

THE RESIDENCES AT VANTAGE POINT
5400 Vantage Point Road
Columbia, MD 21044
(410) 964-5454
vantagepointresidences.org

OAK CREST VILLAGE
8800 Walther Blvd.
Parkville, MD 21234
(410) 405-7419
ericksonseniorliving.com/oak-crest

ORTHOPAEDIC ASSOCIATES OF CENTRAL MARYLAND
Six locations in the area
(410) 644-1880
mdbonedocs.com

RECORD STREET HOME–HOME OF THE AGED
115 Record St.
Frederick, MD 21701
(301) 663-6822
recordstreethome.org

THE VILLAGE AT AUGSBURG
6811 Campfield Road
Baltimore, MD 21207
(410) 834-4143
thevillageataugsburg.org

THE VILLAGE AT ROCKVILLE
9701 Veirs Drive
Rockville, MD 20850
(301) 424-9560
thevillageatrockville.org

WECARE
1852 Reisterstown Road
Pikesville, MD 21208
(410) 602-3993
wecarepds.com

WILLOW VALLEY
600 Willow Valley Sq.
Lancaster, PA 17602
(717) 464-6800
willowvalleycommunities.org

Halfway through the workday—after the caffeine has worn off and you’ve responded to your 50th email—you might find yourself in need of a pick-me-up, and nothing provides a boost quite like a four-legged fur ball. In fact, studies show that animals can improve mental health, lower stress levels, and lead to an all-around happier life. And now, instead of browsing adorable internet cat photos on your lunch break, you can play with them in real life at Baltimore’s first-ever cat café, located at the historic Whitehall Mill.

Two years ago, when Cam Tucker, the owner of Charm Kitty Café, visited the first cat café in D.C., he immediately wondered why Baltimore had yet to join the growing trend of cafes that doubled as adoption shelters. As a lifelong cat-lover and Baltimore transplant, he saw a similarity in his favorite pet and newfound city: both were deserving of second chances. Even the newly renovated mixed-use space his café shares with other vendors is a sort of revival. “We’re taking something old,” says Tucker, “and turning it into something special and unique.”

The café is certainly one of a kind for Baltimore, acting as both a foster home for cats from the Baltimore Humane Society and a co-working hangout for local residents and area business people, with java by Zeke’s Coffee and treats by Dark Side Cookies. Customers can walk in or make online reservations for 60-minute blocks of kitty time or register for full-day passes, which they can use to co-work alongside the whiskered critters any time.

With a continuous cycle of 10 cats that were mostly surrendered by previous owners, the café will provide additional space for the no-kill humane society to save more animal lives. “This is heaven for these cats,” says BHS executive director Christine DeCorse. “It gives them a comfortable environment where they can socialize with other cats and even people. Having them here is as close to a home as you can get.”

Soon, local cat lovers will also welcome a second cat café in Hampden early next year. Similar to Tucker, owner Amanda Bennett was inspired to start Neko No Kafe after a cat café visit in Canada. While no mention of a co-working space has been announced, the rest of the concept remains the same with adoptable cats from Passport Animal Rescue, a full coffee bar with beans from Chesapeake Bay Roasting Co., and bites from SweetSide Café.

Back in Whitehall Mill, Charm Kitty Café’s felines come in all colors, shapes, and personalities, and can even be adopted by customers via an on-site application. “When Baltimore is ready for a dog café, we’re there,” laughs Tucker. “I’ve got my hands full with the cats already, but stay tuned, you never know.”