Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Farewell Giant Supermarket

Yes, tomorrow is D-Day for our beloved Giant. Even though the lines were always long and the store was not a mecca of cleanliness...you will be missed. Especially at times when I've forgotten an important ingredient for dinner or just needed to pop out at 9:59 PM to get milk for the morning.

Will you miss the Giant or are you happy to see it go and get reincarnated???

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

I will not miss it at all. I haven't been inside it in months. Good riddance.

Anonymous said...

I will definitely miss our little Giant. I always appreciated the fact that you could drive up and park near the door, run in, get what you need and get out quickly. There was rarely a time I couldn't find what I wanted there. Once it is reincarnated with all underground parking, I'll never go. I won't park underground (or walk to the store) unless there is some sort of emergency or special event with no other choice.

Sorry, Chris Zimmerman, busy Arlingtonians don't have time to walk. Or take a trolley - are you kidding? The trolley will just make your taxes go up, decrease the drivability of the Pike, and go nowhere!

Anonymous said...

No More Taxes!!! Let's TEA Party!!!

Anonymous said...

Good riddance is right.

Anonymous said...

It's not really leaving, it's just closing to be redone. That being said, I hope to say good riddance to the 'old' Giant and hope for a new Giant with new people and new attitudes. I've never seen more clueless and careless employees in my life. I just hope Giant puts a better management staff in place...without a good Captain, the ship is never on course.

Anonymous said...

I remember the day it opened, more years ago than I care to revisit.

It was a welcomed addition to the old A&P that had rats running around in the parking lot.

Years ago Giant had a seafood counter and their bakery was the best in the area. Unfortunately, over the past 5-7 years the store started to fall apart.

I walk in there today and it smells like a roadside restroom. And the employees didn't look much different.

Oh well, you couldn't beat the convienence...

Farewell Giant, don't let the electronic door hit you in the arce..

Femf8le said...

Wegmans.... worth the drive. Great store, great service. Puts Giant, Safeway, Harris T to shame. Kinda like a Fresh Fields without the price and attitude.

Anonymous said...

Back to Comcast and FIOS. Comcast just took MPT channel 22 off basic preferred. Making people upgrade. What a rip. We need competition.

CUPCAKE said...

Cupcake feels a comment coming on, but have mixed emotions. Give me a click.

Anonymous said...

I agree about Wegmans. If Wegmans showed up on Columbia Pike, I would never move!!!

Anonymous said...

Though it wasn't the best supermarket out there, you have to admit that in a pinch you all went there and got something you needed. The people working there were nice and it will be sad not to see a familiar face when shopping. I love living in AV but some of you people are really mean and rude.

Anonymous said...

although rundown, it was good in a pinch for milk, bread, and oj. i usually shop over at bradley shopping center as there's both a nice safeway and a halfway decent giant. two years will be worth the wait for a top-of-the-line giant store.

bobArlington said...

Gee, sorry you are losing your grocery store - but after years and years of the Safeway / Giant Duopoly, I can hardly say I am sorry. On the north side or Rlington, Safeway and Giant were decaying into indifference of consumer demands. Then I guess the freer credit of the 90s caused the market to break, and Harris Teeter came in, Whole Foods came in, Costco grew, and a few other stores entered the market. They decimated Safeway and Giant. You go into Harris Teeter, its clean, there are organic options, the service is good, you can get through the line quickly, there is decent parking (a miracle for arlington). You go to Safeway in N Arlington, they are still run down, the service is still horrible, and the lines are still long. Giant at least seems to be attempting a market response, but as slow as a former market incumbent.

I am glad to see the old Safeway / Giant Duopoly broken and I am not sorry to see if some of their stores might close. If you stubbornly ignore your customers and just squeeze every penny out, well pptttthhhhh on you.

BillArlintonVillage said...

Why, thanks there, ah, Bob. It's funny, but just the other day some residents of Arlington Village were sitting around discussing the closing of the Giant up the street; and someone said, "I wonder what some random gubmint bureaucrat living in north Arlington thinks?"

And now we know!

Anonymous said...

Goodbye Ghetto Giant
Though I never knew you at all
You had the grace to hold yourself
While those around you bawled

Anonymous said...

You couldn't even count on the Giant when you were in a pinch. I went in there on more than one occasion to get onions (can't get more basic than that) and they had none! And yes, the employees were surly and rude. Good riddance!

Anonymous said...

The employees in the side of Giant with the fruits and vegetable were unhelpful, incredibly slow at ringing people up, and not friendly. BUT, the employees (not including the pharamcists) in the side of Giant with the pharmacy were very friendly, rang people up fast, and always helped me when I needed something. The two ladies that were there on the weekends were great. Hopefully the store will returned with improved merchandise and employees.