Willow Grove, PA - Giant Food Stores will open the doors of its brand-new 97,300 square foot Willow Grove location tomorrow, Wednesday, March 5 at 8:00 a.m. Giant's newest store is the largest in the grocery chain and the first to open in Willow Grove. The store is located at 315 York Road in Willow Grove at the site of the former Home Depot.

"Our Willow Grove store is like no other Giant in the Greater Philadelphia area with its full complement of ways to save our customers both time and money - and, at the same time, help families lead an active, healthy lifestyle," said Carl Schlicker, president and CEO of Giant Food Stores. "We hope this store will become a destination as we combine great new amenities at the same low Giant prices."

Focus on Health and Wellness

Giant Super Food Store features an in-store nutritionist available to assist customers with questions on healthy and natural lifestyles and for one-on-one consultations by appointment. The store also offers an expanded variety of products in the natural and organic categories, Nature's Promise Marketplace, "a health food store within a store," which includes more than 3,500 frozen, dairy, grocery and special diet selections. Giant features a designated gluten-free product area located within Nature's Promise Marketplace, with a selection of foods available for customers on gluten-free diets due to celiac disease or other health concerns.

In addition, health and wellness information is available throughout the store on the interactive Shopping Solutions kiosks. Customers can also pick up one of Giant's Healthy Ideas brochures, which focus on a variety of common health topics such as diabetes, food allergies, ear infections and osteoporosis. These brochures feature health tips and action steps as well as nutritional information and recipes. The Nature's Promise Marketplace also will include "HealthNotes," an easy-to-use touch screen computer kiosk available for customers to obtain quick, reliable information on health conditions, vitamins and herbal supplements, as well as healthy recipes to print off and take home.

Not only does the number of natural and organic items more than quadruple in the Giant Super Food Store as compared to the health food departments in other stores, the Willow Grove store features more items in every department than in a typical Giant.

"This new store not only offers our customers an expanded selection of items in every department, but does so in an inviting atmosphere that provides convenience for busy families, great value and friendly service," continued Schlicker.

Full Service Pharmacy and Drug Store

Your Neighborhood Drugstore at Giant will include a full-service pharmacy for filling prescriptions along with providing informational materials about healthy living, drugs, disease and diet. With a soothing d'cor, the department offers the effect of shopping in a drugstore for all of a customer's health and beauty needs but at more competitive prices than found at a conventional drugstore. Giant also will feature Hallmark cards at a 10 percent discount and Staples Brand office supplies enabling customers to stock up on homework supplies, computer accessories, mailing boxes, and desktop furnishings, all at affordable Staples prices.

Focus on Technology and Convenience

Giant features new state-of-the-art technology that provides added convenience for a total value shopping experience. For customers on the go, EasyScan allows them to utilize 11 self-scanning units to expedite the checkout process. With EasyWeigh, customers weigh their produce, bulk food and other items within that department, making checkout quick and easy. With a number of new features and products at Giant Super Food Store, customers can find just what they are looking for at one of Giant's 11 self-service Shopping Solutions kiosks, conveniently located throughout the store. By using the interactive touch-screen, customers can perform numerous tasks - from printing out a tasty recipe to placing a deli order to locating a product in the store.

To help meet the needs of customers' busy lifestyles, Giant Super Food Store includes the addition of new features that provide a more convenient, consumer-friendly shopping experience. These new features include:

§ Grocery Valet - covered area where associates are available to help load groceries into customers' cars.

§ Wi-Fi Cafe - enjoy a cup of your favorite blend from our Bucks County Coffee Shop and bring your laptop to enjoy our Wi-Fi Cafe complete with comfy chairs and a fireplace.

§ Tree House at Giant - a new child play area where skilled and qualified staff will supervise children ages 3-9 years old in a setting featuring games, toys and computers. All Tree House associates have knowledge in early childhood education and are trained in CPR and First Aid.

§ Marketplace Cafe - food court area for customers on-the-go or for in-store dining. Includes such eateries as Panda Express, Bucks County Coffee, The Grille at the Marketplace, The Cheese Shoppe, fresh pizza, made-to-order salads, subs and panini sandwiches.

§ Club Pack - an entire aisle dedicated to volume savings in dairy, frozen, and grocery items. Why pay for a membership card when a BonusCard will get you the same or greater savings?

§ Great Entertaining Order and Pick-Up Center - visit our party planning expert at this first-of-its-kind feature. Staffed Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday through Sunday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., the center will allow customers to place and pick-up their Great Entertaining party orders and birthday cakes all in one convenient location.

Emphasis on Community Commitment In addition to new product and amenity offerings throughout the store, a Community Center, featuring four meeting rooms of varying sizes has been constructed on the mezzanine level of the store. The rooms, the Willow Grove, Alps, Thunderbolt, and Scenic, were named after the world-famous Willow Grove Amusement Park and rides that were popular when the park was in its heyday of operations.

Giant has partnered with such organizations as Abington Memorial Hospital to provide customers with a complete schedule of programs that include health-related topics. The Community Center is available to other organizations and community groups to hold meetings, receptions or other special events. A complete schedule of upcoming events can be found right inside the store entrance at a specially designated kiosk featuring a 50-inch LCD monitor and touch screen calendar. The Willow Grove Super Giant also features a fully-equipped cooking school, offering classes for all ages and levels of expertise. Giant chefs as well as chefs from around the area will conduct classes at the school.

Open twenty-four hours daily, the new store employs approximately 475 associates. "With the greater number of associates, we are able to deliver a new level of customer service," said Schlicker. "Our new store will not only have a positive economic impact on the region from the addition of new jobs, but also from those outside of the region who view the Willow Grove store as a premier shopping destination."

Giant celebrated the opening of its newest Super store by providing $1,500 each in donations to the following regional organizations in a special presentation on March 4:

§ Willow Grove Volunteer Fire Company #1

§ Upper Moreland Township Police Department

§ Upper Moreland School District

§ Abington School District

§ Community Services Food Cupboard

§ Jewish Community Centers of Greater Philadelphia

§ Liberty USO

§ Abington Memorial Hospital

§ Willow Grove Historical Society

§ Philabundance

"Giant has a long tradition of supporting the communities in which we operate,' said Schlicker. "We look forward to carrying on that tradition here in Willow Grove with our 15th store in Montgomery County and are pleased to announce $15,000 in donations to worthy local organizations."

Giant Food Stores, LLC, one of the leading supermarket operations in the U.S., currently operates stores in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia under the names of Giant Food Stores, Martin's Food Markets and FoodSource. As a company, Giant is proud to work with hundreds of local organizations in the communities it serves and has a long-standing commitment to eradicate hunger and improve the quality of life for children. For more information, visit the company's websites at www.GiantFoodStores.com.

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