Severna Park's October Countdown: The Market's Last Saturdays, New Counters on Ritchie Highway, and a Crowded Halloween Week

Where does a Severna Park Saturday morning go after October 31?

Every Saturday since late April, the answer has been the park and ride at Ritchie Highway and Jones Station Road. The Severna Park Farmers Market opened its 2026 season on April 25 and has run every Saturday, rain or shine, from 8 a.m. to noon. The Anne Arundel Beekeepers Association's vendor page lists the season as April 25 to October 31. That leaves four market Saturdays from today: October 10, 17, 24 and 31. The last one falls on Halloween.

The market isn't the only thing changing. In the same weeks that its season runs out, a handful of new businesses opened a short drive north on Ritchie Highway, and one of them was built with the market in mind. October in Severna Park is the month the weekend routine shifts from a parking lot to a row of storefronts, and the calendar puts a crowded Halloween week in the middle of that change.

The bakery that plans to buy from the market

Y'ollk Bakery held its grand-opening ribbon cutting on September 19 at 489 Ritchie Highway, Suite 101. Co-owners Marie Cris Garay and Basaran "Bas" Mulgan met while working at a catering company. Garay is originally from the Philippines and took cooking classes at Anne Arundel Community College before a baking and pastry class turned her toward cake decorating. Mulgan, who is Turkish, cooked at The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman and has worked alongside French and Michelin-starred chefs.

According to an October 1 feature in the Severna Park Voice, the menu pairs French technique with Filipino and Turkish flavors. Sweets include macarons, cake pops, cinnamon rolls and brioche donuts. Ube, the purple yam Garay grew up eating almost daily, goes with coconut in rolls and donuts. Tombul, a Maryland-made spread the owners created from Turkish hazelnuts and cocoa, appears in several confections. The savory side covers biscuits and handcrafted sandwiches, plus a full espresso menu.

The detail that ties Y'ollk to this month is in the same feature. Pastries are made fresh every day, nothing is frozen, and Garay said she plans to source produce from the Severna Park farmers market. She also explained why she chose this location:

"I wanted to (open) in Severna Park because we don't have a local bakery – like, artisan, where you make everything from scratch, intentional."

For now, Y'ollk keeps a temporary schedule of Wednesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and is still hiring bakers. Because the hours are temporary, check the bakery's Facebook or Instagram before planning a weekday visit.

Park Plaza picks up an early counter

A day before Y'ollk's ribbon cutting, Toastique held its own grand opening at 580 Ritchie Highway, Suite K, with the Greater Severna Park and Arnold Chamber of Commerce. This is the second area location for franchise owners Allyson and Mo Jishi, who opened the Annapolis Toastique in 2024. The Severna Park location page lists gourmet toasts, smoothie and açaí bowls, cold-pressed juice and espresso, served daily from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Those hours matter after October 31. The market opened at 8 a.m., and Toastique opens an hour earlier, seven days a week.

The same stretch of road added two businesses that aren't about food. Foundation Fitness marked its opening on September 24 at 360 Ritchie Highway, Suite 348a, offering one-on-one and small-group training. Tide Cleaners now has an official location page at 550D Ritchie Highway that lists 24-hour daily hours.

Here's how the Saturday morning options compare

Here's what a Saturday morning looks like before and after the market's final day, using each source's posted hours:

If you want to keep buying produce from farmers into the winter, the Anne Arundel County Farmers Market in Annapolis runs Saturdays through the end of the year and Sundays all year. If you'd rather stay close to home, the Ritchie Highway counters cover coffee and baked goods without the drive south.

A Halloween week packed into a few days

The new storefronts arrive just as the Halloween calendar fills up. The Severna Park Voice's fall roundup, posted October 2, shows how many events land on the same few days.

Sunday, October 11. The Friends of Kinder Farm Park host Pumpkins and Crafts from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Pre-registration is encouraged, and any remaining tickets are sold at the event.

Saturday, October 17. Scarecrow Making at Kinder Farm Park runs from noon to 3 p.m. Our Shepherd Lutheran Church's Fall Fest runs from 2 to 6 p.m. at 400 Benfield Road, with food, music, a bounce house, trunk-or-treat, a pumpkin patch and face painting. The two overlap by an hour, so you can do both in one afternoon by starting at the farm.

Friday, October 23. Spooktacular Storytime at the Severna Park Library runs from 11 a.m. to noon and ends with a Halloween parade around the library. That evening, the Severna Park Community Center hosts its Halloween Spooktacular from 5 to 8 p.m. at 623 Baltimore Annapolis Boulevard, with games, crafts, a trunk-or-treat and a dance performance by Star Elite.

Saturday, October 24. This is the busiest day of the month. The chamber's free Shoptoberfest takes over Park Plaza from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., with local vendors, entertainment, trick-or-treating and a costume contest. Over the same hours, Kinder Farm Park holds a trunk-or-treat and costume contest from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with pop-up hayrides. The Broadneck Library adds its own Spooktacular Storytime at 11 a.m. That morning is also the next-to-last farmers market, from 8 a.m. to noon.

Wednesday, October 28. Hallow-STEAM at the Severna Park Library runs from 6 to 6:45 p.m. Kids watch "mad alchemists" brew potions and then make their own, so dress them in a costume or clothes that can get messy.

Saturday, October 31. The farmers market's final morning lands on Halloween itself.

Since Shoptoberfest is at Park Plaza, the October 24 crowd will be right outside Toastique, one of the newest tenants in the center.

What's still on the way

Several businesses have announced Severna Park locations but haven't confirmed an opening. New York Butcher Shoppe's page for 543 Benfield Road still says "coming soon" and gives no date. An April report from WMAR had projected a fall opening for the former pet-grooming space.

Back Nine Golf signed for 2,900 square feet at Robinson Crossing, 550 Ritchie Highway, in an announcement dated September 29. Franchisees Evan and Patrick Lipinski expect to open by the end of the year with golf simulators and lessons, available around the clock.

A Paris Baguette lease at Park Plaza was announced in March with a summer target. We haven't found any later confirmation that it has opened, so consider it announced rather than open.

Jones Station after the last market

The park and ride doesn't go quiet when the vendors pack up. The Anne Arundel Trail Network reported in June that the new nine-mile paved Broadneck Peninsula Trail is open from the B&A Trail at Jones Station Road to Sandy Point State Park on the Chesapeake Bay. The Jones Station Park and Ride is listed as parking near the start. Short road segments at each end are marked on the network's route map.

People on foot or bike enter Sandy Point free, while vehicles pay a fee, and the trail network notes the park fills up on summer weekends. In November, the same lot that held produce stalls through October becomes a starting point for a ride to the Bay. Along the way, the network points to restaurants and coffee shops on Bay Dale Drive and Cape St. Claire Road. The Anne Arundel Trail Network's post links to the full route.

New businesses on Ritchie Highway and a new trail out of Jones Station both shape what daily life costs and offers along this corridor. If you're curious how this fall's changes show up in the value of your own home, Erica Baker can walk you through it with a renovation-informed eye. Start with What's Your Property Worth?