Giant Eagle

[rjstheiv]

Giant Eagle in West Mifflin PA.



http://www2.county.allegheny.pa.us/RealEstate/Search.aspx

[rjstheiv]

Former Giant Eagle Location In Carrick PA right next to the former Little Caesers.


http://www2.county.allegheny.pa.us/RealEstate/Search.aspx

[rjstheiv]

This is the Giant Eagle in Caste Village. A very old pic.


http://www2.county.allegheny.pa.us/RealEstate/Search.aspx

[retailisking]

Giant Eagle is expanding its Pine Township, PA location to a Market District

http://pine-richland.patch.com/articles/pine-township-giant-eagle-to-expand-to-market-district-status

[retailisking]

Giant Eagle's Valu King hard discount format is taking the former Value City Furniture space in the down-on-its-luck West Erie Plaza
http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011309259931

[jason83080]

How many of the Giant Eagle stores in your area have done the conversion/remodel to the "The Drugstore" format? The location in North Olmsted, OH, the last time I was there, was under a heavy reconstruction, and "The Drugstore" was one of the things that was a top priority. Forget that the Eagle's Nest was chopped in half to accommodate the second entrance for the new department.

There's another Giant Eagle that did something similar to this. The former Rini-Rego Stop-n-Shop Marketplace in Amherst, OH, became a Giant Eagle in the buyout, then something happened with the CVS next door to it (it moved/closed down/relocated... I'm not sure), so Giant Eagle leased the entire space, knocked down a wall, gave it a matching paint job to the rest of the store, and uses it as a separate Drugstore section. It's surreal to walk in there, because you can just see that it used to be a CVS. Maybe it was an early form of their new "The Drugstore" concept? Giant Eagle walled over the windows in the front, and just has a space for the Drive-Thru Pharmacy right there.

[retailisking]

The battle for the Steel City hard discount grocery dollar is on with Giant Eagle's Valu King taking on Delhaize's Bottom Dollar Food, which already has 14 units in the area. One factor in Giant Eagle's slowness to join the battle may have been the mainstream banner's dominance of the Pittsburgh grocery market. As an indication of the stakes involved, Valu King is taking over a vacant storefront literally next door to a Bottom Dollar under construction.

http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2012/06/29/giant-eagle-announces-new-discount-super-market/

[jason83080]

I went to the new "Good Cents Grocery & More" this afternoon out in Parma, OH, and it's a decent take on the "Save-A-Lot" format. Giant Eagle actually used their old existing building right next to the new one, so walking around a freshly-painted-white Giant Eagle with no frills was mind-boggling. They didn't use all of the building space, since a fresh wall goes from about where the in-store bank (turned "management office") is straight back to that doorway that leads to the stockroom, with the public restrooms right there. The dairy section is where the bakery used to be (although, they DO have a seemingly brand new bakery oven in there, which is odd, since they don't offer fresh baked goods  ??? ), and they have frozen cases lining the newly-built wall. There's a bagging area (like at Aldi) that lines the front of the store from the exit doors all the way down. It's a nice take on the format, but they need to expand it. Lord knows that there are enough vacant grocery/big-box spots around town, so expansion should be a breeze. Just off the top of my head, here's what's open:

- North Olmsted, OH: former Circuit City [this would be a smaller location and might require some expansion], Water Tower Square
- Brook Park, OH: former Tops, Brookgate Plaza
- Elyria, OH: former Tops-turned-Giant-Eagle, Cleveland Street and SR57; former Walmart, Midway Mall
- Avon Lake, OH: former Tops, Avon Lake Towne Centre
- Sheffield Village, OH: former Super Kmart (kick Bargain Warehouse out under OSHA violations for no running water/heat), Cobblestone Square

That's six ideas right there, and half of those are former Tops locations. The Super Kmart at Cobblestone (Bargain Warehouse) still has the produce coolers intact, so they'd just need to be hooked back up for refrigeration, but the rest of the building needs a thorough cleaning. Elyria's Giant Eagle hasn't been closed for that long, so it's likely still in decent shape. I can't say the same for most of the other buildings I mentioned, except Brook Park's Tops, which was a brand new construction before the company pulled out of the Ohio market.

[TheFugitive]

Former Giant Eagle Location In Carrick PA right next to the former Little Caesers.


http://www2.county.allegheny.pa.us/RealEstate/Search.aspx

This Giant Eagle location has since closed.   The store moved a few miles up the road
into the new Brentwood Towne Center development.  This store will soon be demolished
to make way for senior citizen housing.

[TheFugitive]

Was in Toledo, Ohio the other day and was surprised to see signs on every Kroger store saying
"Welcome Giant Eagle Customers!"

Giant Eagle is a fixture here in Pittsburgh, and they've made inroads in Columbus and Cleveland.
But I had no idea they were even in Toledo.   Were not there when I lived in the area 20+ years ago.

Apparently they are no more, having pulled out last month.

http://www.toledoblade.com/Retail/2014/03/22/Giant-Eagle-to-close-local-grocery-stores-on-May-3.html

[Hudsons81]

Was in Toledo, Ohio the other day and was surprised to see signs on every Kroger store saying
"Welcome Giant Eagle Customers!"

Giant Eagle is a fixture here in Pittsburgh, and they've made inroads in Columbus and Cleveland.
But I had no idea they were even in Toledo.   Were not there when I lived in the area 20+ years ago.

Apparently they are no more, having pulled out last month.

http://www.toledoblade.com/Retail/2014/03/22/Giant-Eagle-to-close-local-grocery-stores-on-May-3.html

Giant Eagle still exists in Cleveland as of today, as I've been seeing their commercials on WEWS-TV on tropospheric DX.

I believe there was one in Rossford, Ohio, which is a suburb of Toledo.

[BillyGr]

Was in Toledo, Ohio the other day and was surprised to see signs on every Kroger store saying
"Welcome Giant Eagle Customers!"

Giant Eagle is a fixture here in Pittsburgh, and they've made inroads in Columbus and Cleveland.
But I had no idea they were even in Toledo.   Were not there when I lived in the area 20+ years ago.

Apparently they are no more, having pulled out last month.

http://www.toledoblade.com/Retail/2014/03/22/Giant-Eagle-to-close-local-grocery-stores-on-May-3.html

Giant Eagle still exists in Cleveland as of today, as I've been seeing their commercials on WEWS-TV on tropospheric DX.

I believe there was one in Rossford, Ohio, which is a suburb of Toledo.

Makes sense, as there were a variety of stores in that area, but Giant Eagle seemed to be the only "big" chain - most of the others have 10-15 stores and only in one area (say Cleveland but not Akron or Canton, or in the suburbs but not Cleveland or such) while GE covers a wider area.

[TheFugitive]

Giant Eagle has stores in the Cleveland and Columbus markets at this point.

However, they are under a squeeze back home here in Pittsburgh.  Some mutual acquaintances
who work at their HQ said that when Bottom Dollar came to town it put a major hit on their bottom
line.  Now they have to contend with Aldi's in that space.

And at the same time the entry of Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and The Fresh Market into the area
is squeezing them at the high end with their Market District stores.  A number of projects have been
put on hold and budgets have been cut.  So they are feeling it (another reason they likely bailed from Toledo)

They are not used to competition in Pittsburgh.  For years they had this market pretty much to themselves, having made peace with the unions that drove many competitors away in the 60's and 70's.

[jason83080]

That new GetGo logo, though... Who thought this change was good?

The old one:


The new one:

[TheFugitive]

Far uglier as a logo.  But it does emphasize the fact that they have a café.

Tells me a lot of people driving by GetGo did not realize this.
And that they are making better profits on café food than on the grocery items
in the store.

[busman_49]

Giant Eagle is closing five stores in Ohio, 3 in the Columbus area and two in the Cleveland area.
http://nbc4i.com/2017/01/03/giant-eagle-to-close-three-columbus-area-stores/
http://fox8.com/2017/01/03/giant-eagle-closing-two-cleveland-stores-one-getgo-location/

[TheFugitive]

A little birdie told me they laid-off around half the people at their data center.

[busman_49]

Giant Eagle is closing five stores in Ohio, 3 in the Columbus area and two in the Cleveland area.
http://nbc4i.com/2017/01/03/giant-eagle-to-close-three-columbus-area-stores/
http://fox8.com/2017/01/03/giant-eagle-closing-two-cleveland-stores-one-getgo-location/

I just realized that one of the Columbus-area ones to be closed, 1000 E Dublin-Granville Rd, sits on property that was once occupied by a Harley Hotel.  We stayed in that area a bunch of times about 20 years ago when the area was less seedy.  Kinda sad to see that one go.

[Scrabbleship]

Giant Eagle is closing five stores in Ohio, 3 in the Columbus area and two in the Cleveland area.
http://nbc4i.com/2017/01/03/giant-eagle-to-close-three-columbus-area-stores/
http://fox8.com/2017/01/03/giant-eagle-closing-two-cleveland-stores-one-getgo-location/

Between this and the data center layoffs I wonder if the Frederick, MD pair might be on thin ice. They're a tad isolated from the rest of the company (though less than Publix in Richmond or Wegmans in Massachusetts) and Frederick is a very competitive if not glutted market.

[BillyGr]

Giant Eagle is closing five stores in Ohio, 3 in the Columbus area and two in the Cleveland area.
http://nbc4i.com/2017/01/03/giant-eagle-to-close-three-columbus-area-stores/
http://fox8.com/2017/01/03/giant-eagle-closing-two-cleveland-stores-one-getgo-location/

Between this and the data center layoffs I wonder if the Frederick, MD pair might be on thin ice. They're a tad isolated from the rest of the company (though less than Publix in Richmond or Wegmans in Massachusetts) and Frederick is a very competitive if not glutted market.

They are closing a GetGo location in Frederick (as well as one in Altoona, PA) in addition to the 5 Ohio locations mentioned above, per http://www.progressivegrocer.com/industry-news-trends/regional-supermarket-chains/giant-eagle-closing-5-stores-4-getgos?cc=10

[TheFugitive]

Altoona, PA is the hometown of Sheetz.
I imagine GetGo would have a pretty rough time in that market.

[Scrabbleship]

Giant Eagle is closing five stores in Ohio, 3 in the Columbus area and two in the Cleveland area.
http://nbc4i.com/2017/01/03/giant-eagle-to-close-three-columbus-area-stores/
http://fox8.com/2017/01/03/giant-eagle-closing-two-cleveland-stores-one-getgo-location/

Between this and the data center layoffs I wonder if the Frederick, MD pair might be on thin ice. They're a tad isolated from the rest of the company (though less than Publix in Richmond or Wegmans in Massachusetts) and Frederick is a very competitive if not glutted market.

That GetGo in Frederick has the misfortune of being not only right across the street from a Sheetz, but abutting Fort Dietrick. It never seemed like it was on a path to succeed.

They are closing a GetGo location in Frederick (as well as one in Altoona, PA) in addition to the 5 Ohio locations mentioned above, per http://www.progressivegrocer.com/industry-news-trends/regional-supermarket-chains/giant-eagle-closing-5-stores-4-getgos?cc=10

[TheFugitive]

Former Giant Eagle Location In Carrick PA right next to the former Little Caesers.


http://www2.county.allegheny.pa.us/RealEstate/Search.aspx

I drove by there yesterday.  The former Giant Eagle has finally been demolished,
and construction was well underway on the new Senior Apartment Complex.   Looks
like the Burger King next door was just remodeled too.

I also drove by the Shop n' Save on Brownsville Road, only I had to detour because
the road had been closed by the police because there had just been a SHOOTING across the street.

Carrick is not the same neighborhood it used to be.

[TheFugitive]

I ran into Giant Eagle last night to grab a few items, as I was passing one on my way home.
I was reminded why I rarely shop there.

I needed some mushrooms for an Italian dinner I was making (my tomato crop
has come in and I need to do something with all of those tomatoes).  I could not find
mushrooms there of ANY variety....be they sliced or unsliced....for less than $3.49
per package.

I routinely find mushrooms on sale at Aldi or Shop & Save for as little as a dollar per package.
Unless you are buying some screaming sale item from their circular Giant Eagle is price
competitive on almost NOTHING.

[jason83080]

Giant Eagle is turning their Westlake, OH, location in the Promenade plaza (adjacent to Crocker Park) into a new Market District store. They closed it last week - though, the Huntington Bank branch and the Pharmacy inside are still open as of now - and tore the "Giant Eagle" logo off of the facade, with plans to reopen in Spring 2019. I imagine revamping the facade is coming, since the Market District stores are all brick, but it'll be good to see the store with a uniform floorplan, instead of the hyper-segmented weird arrangement it had, swallowing up a couple of neighboring storefronts and the removal of Iggle Video leaving a weird void in the front.

BTW, I visited the Strongsville-area Market District a couple of weeks ago. I wasn't really that impressed by it. It seemed to be more feature-based (the two-story cafe in the front, beer on tap, and some other feature towards the other side of the store) than it was on being a grocery store. It felt like a more cramped Kroger Marketplace store.

[TheFugitive]

I suspect you are going to wish you had your old Giant Eagle back.

My experience with Market District here in Pittsburgh has been:

1) WAY overpriced
2) Stores nearly impossible to navigate

[TheFugitive]

As of last Saturday Giant Eagle has officially stopped doubling manufacturer's coupons.

https://triblive.com/local/regional/giant-eagle-to-stop-double-coupons/

None of the reasons given in that article pass the smell test for. me.  I think it's another
indicator of financial trouble.

Will be interesting to see how their competitors respond.

[BillyGr]

As of last Saturday Giant Eagle has officially stopped doubling manufacturer's coupons.

https://triblive.com/local/regional/giant-eagle-to-stop-double-coupons/

None of the reasons given in that article pass the smell test for. me.  I think it's another
indicator of financial trouble.

Will be interesting to see how their competitors respond.

Actually, the last one (about the amount of coupons falling into the doubling category, which here was $0.99 or less) is true.  There are still some of the small values around, but there seem to be many more that are $1 (often on 2 or 3 items) or higher, which aren't doubled anyhow.

[TheFugitive]

Last week I went to check on some property I own in Somerset County, PA and was stunned to see that the local Giant Eagle store nearby had closed.

According to this article the location was franchised and the franchise holder decided to retire.

https://www.dailyamerican.com/story/news/local/2024/02/15/glades-pike-giant-eagle-to-close-somerset-county-grocery-stores/72611995007/

This is disappointing as now the nearest full-service grocery store is another Giant Eagle on the other side of Somerset.  In order to reach that one you have to go through the center of town and deal with all of that restaurant and hotel traffic getting on and off of the turnpike.

I had no idea the store was franchised.  The only other franchised Giant Eagle I'd ever heard of was in the Pittsburgh suburb of Castle Shannon, and a family member who worked there told me the company bought out the franchise holder and closed the store because he was not adhering to company standards.  That building was drastically remodeled and is now a service center for a large auto dealership.

When my dad first bought this property in the 80's there was a Jamesway store in the plaza next to Giant Eagle.  Now the entire plaza is empty.

[TheFugitive]

The Shop-n-Save store in Green Tree, PA where I worked as a kid has been sold to Giant Eagle.  It is currently closed for remodeling and Giant Eagle is currently hiring to staff it (not keeping the former Shop-n-Save employees around apparently).  It will reopen as a Giant Eagle in mid-November.

This is less than a mile from the Giant Eagle in what is left of the old Parkway Center Mall.  It will be interesting to see whether the company keeps both of them open.

The Shop-n-Save was franchised by the same family that owned it when I worked there.  A few years ago they sold their stores in South Fayette Township and Kennedy Township to Giant Eagle.  They also owned a local chain of brewpubs which suddenly closed their doors in February and were then sold.  It seems that family may have run into some financial setbacks.