Baltimore County beer lovers can raise their glasses when World of Beer opens this fall at the $85M Towson Square retail and entertainment project. The craft beer bar chain will join a handful of eateries at the downtown Towson development by The Cordish Co and Heritage Properties Inc.

Restaurant owner Dr. Matthew Earl hopes the $1M upscale beer bar/restaurant will attract the area’s college students, county government workers and local execs, with its 50 beers on tap and 500 bottles. Construction started this month on the 150-seat restaurant, Greater Baltimore’s second World of Beer. Matthew, a radiation oncologist by training, opened the area's first World of Beer in Baltimore City’s McHenry Row development in 2013 with business partner John Stein. (He says he’ll be gifting the Locust Point restaurant soon to his wife, Diane.)

With a larger kitchen than the Baltimore business, the Towson restaurant will offer an expanded food menu and serve brunch on Saturdays and Sundays. Based in Tampa, World of Beer is a fast growing franchise with locations in 20 states. Matthew says he’s eyeing Anne Arundel and Montgomery counties for additional locations and prefers lifestyle centers with a mix of office, residential and retail.

World of Beer won’t be the only beer-themed restaurant at Towson Square. BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse will open mid-June, according to Cordish. The California-based chain operates 160 restaurants in 19 states. Bobby’s Burger Palace, Hanabi Japanese Steakhouse and Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt will also open this summer. They’ll join existing restaurants Nando’s Peri-Peri, On the Border Mexican Grill & Cantina and Bonefish Grill. The 15-screen Cinemark Towson and XD theater anchors the project.