Convenience store chain Royal Farms, which enjoys a cultlike following for its fresh fried chicken, will open a third location in Frederick, Maryland, as part of a new development that will also include a Hilton Hotel.
Developers Kline Associates and Stephanie Jordan Development will break ground next month at the Gateway East Plaza, on Monocacy Boulevard near Interstate 70.
Royal Farms and Tru by Hilton are the first to commit to the development, which will open in the second half of 2020. The developers are marketing additional space for tenants, including restaurants and banks.
D.C.-based KLNB is marketing the retail development.
Hilton rolled out its budget-friendly Tru by Hilton brand in 2017.
Baltimore-based Royal Farms opened its first convenience store in Baltimore in 1959. It has more than 200 locations in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Virginia.
Locally, there are Royal Farms locations at National Harbor, District Heights and Upper Marlboro in Maryland, and Chantilly and Ashburn in Virginia.
Royal Farms stores typically sell gas; many have car washes. Convenience food includes sandwiches too, but the fried chicken is consistently praised. It even made Food & Wine Magazine’s list this year of “10 Gas Station Foods Across the Country That are Worth the Detour.”
