CARLISLE, Pa. — GIANT Food Stores today announced plans to expand its strategic growth in the city of Philadelphia with the opening of three more GIANT Heirloom Market™ stores during 2019. Building on the success of the first location of this innovative urban store concept in the Graduate Hospital area, the new GIANT Heirloom Market stores will bring a format and assortment specially curated for each of the unique Philadelphianeighborhoods of University City, Northern Liberties and Queen Village, with local vendor partnerships lending authentic and familiar flavors.
“GIANT Heirloom Market is the next chapter in our innovative growth story. The response to our first location in Graduate Hospital has exceeded our expectations and we couldn’t be more excited about the future of our GIANT Heirloom Market brand,” said Nicholas Bertram, president, GIANT Food Stores. “Equally as important, today’s news also supports GIANT’s commitment to the city of Philadelphia and the people who call it home. We can’t wait to introduce our GIANT Heirloom Market concept to more of the city’s unique and treasured neighborhoods.”
First to open over the summer will be the University City store at 3401 Chestnut Street, situated between Drexel University and the University of Pennsylvania to offer easy access to fresh, convenient food for these two large populations of students, faculty, and administration. The Northern Liberties site will open its doors at 1002 North Second Street, across from the popular Schmidt’s Commons in the fall, followed by the Queen Village location at 201 South Street by the end of 2019. The three new stores are anticipated to further bolster Philadelphia’s economy by hiring approximately 150 full- and part-time associates in total from surrounding communities.
“We are always grateful when companies decide to open or expand in Philadelphia, and that is especially true when the business helps provide access to fresh foods for our residents,” said Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney. “GIANT has become an integral part of the Philadelphia region, and we’re looking forward to the opening of these three new stores across numerous neighborhoods over the next year.”
While GIANT has held a long-established position in Philadelphia’s suburbs, the company’s presence within Philadelphia itself has been limited in the past. The opening of the three new GIANT Heirloom Market stores not only reaffirms GIANT’s continued commitment to the Philadelphia region, but to its strategic investment in the city’s urban core. GIANT unveiled this expanded commitment at the company’s 95th anniversary celebration in October of 2018, when Bertram joined Mayor Kenney to announce the opening of the first GIANT Heirloom Market in Graduate Hospital, as well as GIANT’s $1 million donation to Philabundance, the region’s largest hunger relief organization.
With the addition of the three new GIANT Heirloom Market locations, the company will operate five locations within the city limits, including one GIANT on Grant Avenue in Northeast Philadelphia that opened in 2011.
While the GIANT Heirloom Market stores occupy a smaller footprint than a traditional GIANT store, they maximize space and the customer experience with selections and features uniquely curated for the neighborhood it serves.
The new 9,950 square-foot GIANT Heirloom Market in University City, for example, will cater to the convenience and needs of its busy academic neighbors by offering a wide selection of grab-and-go meals to take to work for breakfast or lunch, to enjoy in the gathering area with friends, or to take home for an easy, nutritious dinner. The University City store also intends to accept payment by DragonCard and Penn Card.
“We’re excited to be able to collaborate with our new urban communities to create a store tailored to their specific needs, preferences, and neighborhood flavor,” explained Bertram. “Finding ways to better serve our neighbors drives everything we do at GIANT.”
Like the Graduate Hospital store, all three new locations will offer an inspiring selection of high‐quality, fresh, local, and seasonal foods, everyday essentials, and GIANT’s organic brand Nature’s Promise®. An onsite Produce Chef will be available to cut fresh vegetables and fruit on demand, while a sampling station will encourage customers to explore new flavors. The GIANT Heirloom Market stores will also feature a curated selection of craft, imported, and domestic beers and wines, as well as a vast array of plant‐based foods, local artisanal breads, fresh-made sushi, kombucha on tap, and a do‐it‐yourself olive oil and vinegar blending station.
Local customers will be pleased to see favorites from Philadelphia‐area food purveyors such as High Street on Market, Claudio’s, Isgro Pastries, and One Village Coffee. For added convenience, all three new GIANT Heirloom Market stores will offer both self and mobile checkout. In addition, the “Endless Aisles” service will enable customers who need something unavailable in‐store to order via iPad for next-day pick up or delivery.
About GIANT Food Stores, LLC
GIANT Food Stores, LLC has more than 170 neighborhood stores and offers home delivery, online/mobile ordering, fuel centers, pharmacies, plus in-store nutritionists. Serving families in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia, GIANT Food Stores is proud to employ nearly 30,000 associates who believe in giving back to their community. The GIANT Family of Brands includes GIANT, MARTIN’S Food Markets, and GIANT Heirloom Market. Founded in 1923 in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, GIANT Food Stores is a company of Ahold Delhaize USA. For more information visit the GIANT or MARTIN’S websites.
