hekemian co

How does one begin a design journey with a historic landmark in a prime, idiosyncratic location and arrive at a $100 million non-place somewhere between an East

Mom's Organic Market opened early this month as the anchor of the refurbished Rotunda in Hampden. The opening weekend was extremely busy in the store, as the developer readies the gradual opening of other businesses in the complex this year, including a multi-screen movie theater.

Sisters Anne Liner and Idy Harris first opened The Bead when they had only $1,500 to their names. Now, 48 years later, they are retiring, and on Jan. 31 will close the store, which does more than $1 million a year in sales. The Bead is in The Shops at Kenilworth, and was in the Rotunda for about 30 years.

Nearby construction and declining revenue convince owner Ira Miller "it was time."

New tenants coming to the redeveloped Rotunda shopping mall and apartment complex in Roland Park range from a pet store and a kebob restaurant to the Space Telescope Science Institute, which tells the famed Hubble telescope what to explore in outer space. Last year, Hekemian & Co., owner of the Rotunda, announced that the mall would be anchored by a 17,000-square-foot MOM's Organic Market, which is scheduled to open this September, and Cobb Theaters' 35,000-square-foot CineBistro, a multiplex