Giant grocery stores opening Graduate Hospital location

Between the opening of a Sprouts in South Philly and the announcement of an Aldi’s in Center City, this has been the year of the grocery store for Philly.

And now the popular chain, Giant, is jumping on board.

The Carlisle, Pa.-based store made the announcement last week on their 95th anniversary, saying they will build a store close to the heart of the city in Graduate Hospital. Currently there are Giant stores surrounding Philly and one on Grant Avenue, but a noticeable hole when it comes to downtown Philly.

The location wont just be any old grocery store, though; Giant says they want to build a “Giant Heirloom Market,” meaning they’ll feature local products, and employ neighborhood residents. The project is anticipated to bring about 60 new jobs to the area.

Giant explains that the location will be a small-format store that “meets the unique needs of the neighborhoods it serves,” according to a statement.

“GIANT Heirloom Market is the result of over a year of intense neighborhood group listening sessions, market research, and format exploration.”

The 9,500-square-foot store will have a produce chef, samples, and demonstrations.

The announcement follows a sudden trend of national grocers opening up locations in the middle of the city.

In September, a Sprouts opened up in what was once an historic train station at Broad and Washington, right next to the Lincoln Square residential and commercial development, which opened around the same time. Later last month, a 14-story development broke ground on Fairmount Avenue, behind Divine Lorraine, with 25,000 square feet of space already leased out to Aldi. Two years ago, in 2016, a massive Whole Foods opened on the Parkway, in a space that was once home to a Best Western Hotel.

The Giant construction is already underway at the space on 23rd and Bainbridge, and they expect to complete the project by the end of this year.

• Developers to break ground this week on 14-story project behind Divine Lorraine [Curbed Philly]
• Lincoln Square officially opens at Broad and Washington [Curbed Philly]
• Rodin Square by Benjamin Franklin Parkway is officially open for business [Curbed Philly]