Ahold, the Dutch company that runs Giant Foods, announced it would remodel 100 of its markets in the area, The Washington Times reports.
The three-year remodeling plan — tagged “Project Refresh” — will pimp out the produce, deli and other departments. The remodeled stores will also have new decor, lighting and flooring, The Times writes.
Recently, Giant’s market share in the region has dropped as smaller grocery chains push their way into town, The Times cites trade magazine Food World. Traditional grocery stores are also feeling heat from retailers like Target and Wal-Mart, which offer competitive prices, the Times says.
In Silver Spring’s central business district, a Giant Foods at The Blairs competes with downtown’s Whole Foods Market and a soon-to-be-remodeled Safeway in Fenton Village. Add to that a Harris Teeter, which could move into the proposed Falkland North project.
The independent Sniders Super Market works Montgomery Hills, and Trader Joe’s rocks the Burnt Mills area.
The renovations at Giant are expected to drop in early 2008. Ahold wouldn’t tell the Times how much cash it’s dishing out or which stores will get the makeover, citing competitive reasons.
“Giant stores to get face-lift” (The Washington Times)
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I was hoping their business would slow down more, so I wouldn’t have to line up in the aisle for a cashier when I need light bulbs and a DiGiorno.
I need to check out Sniders market some time. I just hate the traffic on Georgia Ave. though. Trader Joe’s a cool store but the selection is tight. Whole Foods will cost you an arm and a leg. Safeway is worse than Giant.
I love both Sniders & Trader Joes… the problem is, right after I finish at either I have to go to Giant to get the remainder of my shopping list… generally I don’t have time for multiple grocery stores. Sniders has everything, and while they have great prices on a LOT of things the lack of generic brands on certain items makes it difficult when there’s not a sale on an item you want. (i.e.- cranberry juice, yogurt… things like that, that giant’s generic brand is always the not-on-sale fallback for).
I hope Giant’s silver spring makeover includes 3 times as many checkout lines… I saw something a couple years ago about an experimental thing in Germany where a grocery store tested out a system where they put RFID tags (sorta like thin sticky-backed versions of metro’s smartTrip card) on everything and to check out you just rolled your cart under an EzPass style sensor… I want THAT :-) Unfortunately those tags are still like 10 cents a pop… A little much to put on a 99 cent bad of pretzels… not quite disposable yet, but getting there.
I’m unclear from you post if the Giant at the Blairs is on the renovation list. The Giant at the Blairs was renovated about 4 years ago or so…
Thanks for your question, MP. From the post above:
About time. I really dislike that store (nothing will ever compare to Wegman’s, which is my favorite grocery store ever, and not just because they’re from my hometown of Rochester)…but in the mean time, if they would open more lanes during the evening rush, AND LIMIT the number of items one can take through the self checkout line (no more than 10 or 12, say), things might ease up a bit there.
The Silver Spring Giant is notorious for under-staffing check out lines. In the express lines on a Sunday or Monday night (peak shopping hours for the week), you will only have ONE line open. It is crazy! As an alternative, more people head to the self-checkout lines. The problem is that the self-checkout computer tends to screw up product scans or a customer has no clue how to use the system.
Also, many residents from northern neighborhoods of DC shop at Giant because there are very few grocery shopping locations in northern DC.
I refuse to go to the Giant or Safeway in SS because the prices are unreasonable for what you get, the selection is poor (despite massive variations of the same products …18 different types of Triscuits?) and the service is pathetic.
Although I can afford it, I stopped shopping at Whole Foods for the most part since their prices are also ridiculous. Sniders & Trader Joes are enough for me.
TV, you are right…Wegman’s is incredible…astonoshing… add more superlatives here. For those of you who haven’t been, imagine if Disney World/Epcot was a grocery store…it would look like Wegman’s. Over here you have Seafood Land, over there Meat World, down there World Wine & Cheese Village…and up the street is Desertaholic’s Castle….and on and on and on. It’s actually pretty overwhelming the first visit, especially if you are hungry.
I shop almost exclusively at Whole Foods for two reasons: I pass it on my way home from work (and it’s three blocks from my house), and because my wife and I are vegans, and Whole Foods is wonderful for us that way. Vegan food items at Whole Foods, like vegan deli slices, cost less than at other stores because they buy more of it for their customers.
I am glad I do not have to shop at Giant or even worse, Safeway. Gruesome produce, terrible lines. Snyders is out of the way and crowded. Trader Joes is a car trip away too, and their produce selection is neither as extensive or nice as Whole Foods.
I’d love to have the Silver Spring Co-op be on my walk home, because they have almost everything I want.
There’s a great post about the craptastic downtown Safeway in the archives @ Silver Spring Scene. I personally think the selection at that location is pathetic, for some reason they have a horrible of heathy frozen meals (about 800 macaroni and cheeses and one linguine) and yes, their produce is deplorable. The store itself is also cramped, dirty, and the items are stocked with little to no sense (why are juices stocked by pots, for example)? However, because of its awesome location (close to downtown and within walking distances to East Silver Spring houses and Silver Spring Towers) it will continue to be patronized by shoppers like me.
I used to go to Giant all the time when I lived in Summit Hills. I don’t know why everyone hates on that Giant so much, yes the lines are long in peak hours but they are long at any grocery store in peak hours. I find that the self-checkouts work great even though people often are idiots and don’t know to work them, they still move faster than regular checkouts. Giant in Blairs is clean and the produce is not that horrible. Their prices aren’t the best but really I buy mostly sales items anyway and find that those are usually a good buy.
Perhaps I don’t find the Giant to be horrible because when I was in College at UMD the only places to grocery shop were an inconvenient Shoppers and a Giant in the middle of Beltway Plaza…a dirty store to say the least. My other options have also included the Giant in White Oak (which does sell beer!) and the Safeway off 193 (deplorable). Put against those the Blairs Giant is alright.
Giant has several problems. The staff is mean. There isn’t enough staff. The store is filthy. The produce is rotten. Items are out of stock. Renovation will solve none of these things. Ahold is clueless and it is sad to see a once proud local company getting run into the ground.
Those looking for stellar produce should check out the asian food market off Georgia Ave in Wheaton right past the Viers Mill split. I think its called Tian Jin. The produce there is absolutely phenomenal. The seafood market there is also completely stellar and one of a kind. Finally I was able to purchase fresh squid, deep fry, and have my own calamari!
Also, to add onto my previous post above, there is a Giant in Wheaton literally across the street from this in the Westfield complex that, while not perfect, is better than the Blairs and world’s less crowded. I generally hit both of these on Monday nights on my evening commute home from Rockville for my weekly food shopping.