New small-store format debuts in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA — Bread was broken (a giant loaf of ciabatta from local artisan bread purveyor High Street on Market) as community dignitaries, store managers, employees and early-bird customers marked the grand opening of the first GIANT Heirloom Market here on Friday.

City Representative Sheila Hess and City Councilman Kenyatta Johnson offered welcoming remarks, a donation was pledged to food bank Philabundance, and customers enjoyed free samplings and demonstrations. The first 250 customers received a free GIANT Heirloom Market cotton tote bag and free organic items from the store’s Nature’s Promise private brand.

Ahold Delhaize’s GIANT Food Stores unit has developed the new outlet — located in Philadelphia’s Graduate Hospital neighborhood — as a small-format concept that the retailer plans to use in urban neighborhoods. The 9,500-square-foot store promises to deliver a selection of high-quality, fresh, local, seasonal and flavor-focused foods to local consumers, as well as other essentials. The store will also showcase Nature’s Promise and products from such local food purveyors as High Street on Market, Isgro Pastries, One Village Coffee and Sarcone’s Bakery.

The store will also feature an onsite produce chef to cut fresh vegetables and fruit on demand, and encourage shoppers to try new products. According to GIANT, customers at the new store will encounter a vast array of plant-based food and local artisanal bread and kombucha on tap, and they will have the opportunity to create their very own olive oil and vinegar blends, infused with the flavors of their choice, at a do-it-yourself station. A sampling station will let consumers try out new dinner options. The GIANT Heirloom Market will also feature a curated selection of craft, imported and domestic beers and wines.

“We’re proud to serve our Graduate Hospital neighbors during their culinary quests by offering fresh produce, meat and seafood alongside the Philly products they know and love, all in a store designed for them,” Angel Cordero, a 20-year grocery veteran and the new store’s manager, said in advance of the grand opening. “We’re confident that by providing an authentic shopping experience, our passion for locally sourced products and our customers will shine bright at GIANT Heirloom Market.”