Phyllis and Norton Baum founded the original Greetings & Readings in 1969 as a book and card shop occupying. For 35 years, the store was located in Towson, Maryland, in the Loch Raven Plaza. After its closure, a new store was opened by Phyllis and Norton's son, Steven Baum; his wife Fran; his brother-in-law Stephen Spund and Spund's wife Amy. Greetings & Readings of Hunt Valley opened in August 2005 in the newly rebuilt Hunt Valley Towne Centre with a, second floor location along the plaza's Main Street. The founder's son, Steven Baum, is president of the establishment. His brother-in-law Stephen Spund is vice-president. More than 90 workers are employed by Greetings & Readings in various departments which include gifts and jewelry, a Wi-Fi-enabled lounge, a Hallmark Gold Crown card section, a Vera Bradley boutique to make up what the store claims is the premier independent gift store in Baltimore, Maryland. Greetings & Readings offers gifts and fashion from popular brands including Brighton, Swarovski, Spartina, Alex and Ani, Simply Southern, Life is Good, and more. Baltimore and Maryland souvenirs as well as Baltimore Orioles and Baltimore Ravens fan gear make up another large in-store selection. Greetings & Readings was named one of the coolest businesses in Baltimore by Expert Market US. In January, 2010, wedding technology companyWeddingWire, selected Greetings & Readings of Hunt Valley to receive the 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards™ for excellence in custom printing and personalized wedding invitation design. The invitation department was closed in 2018 to make room for expanding card and baby gift departments. The store hosts frequent book signings and other events including kids' story time readings.
Community involvement
Greetings & Readings of Hunt Valley supports the efforts of the non-profit organization Literacy Works, Inc. which promotes increased literacy for adults in the Baltimore area. Greetings & Readings of Hunt Valley has also partnered with the HELPS Coalition and sponsored the Hunt Valley Kids Club which began in May 2007. Beginning in 2013, Greetings & Readings of Hunt Valley began partnering with Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Free Library as the on-site bookseller for some of the library's public and private author events.
