Location: 10 Newport Road, Leola, PA
A big day here at Acme Style! A classic 90's Giant Food has been on my wishlist pretty much since day one of the blog and the day has finally come. Interestingly, we won't be jumping back in time but seeing this store mostly in the present day. Built in the early to mid 90's, the store has had next to no changes to its interior or exterior during its entire lifespan. In recent years, some changes have been made but have proven to be extremely minor, with seemingly no remodeling or updating plans in the works. Stranger than it sounds because Giant Food has a history of being relentless with remodels, expansions, and replacement stores. For whatever reason, the store in Leola, PA, continues to exist under the radar, and I am more than OK with that!
The photos for this post were provided years ago by catnapped, who is no longer active online. He had an extensive collection over on flickr but removed it. Prior to his exiting the retail preservation world, he gave me access to tons of his photos, many of which will be rolled out here in the coming months. The photos you will be seeing here were taken back in November 2014.
The black glass facade was standard issue for Giant in the 90's. Many of their stores built in the 80's and earlier were updated to this exact facade. Giants still exist with the black glass but are few and far between.
The glass was translucent even though it didn't quite look like it from the front of the store.
Not a lot of wow as we first walk in. Back in the day. Giant shuffled shoppers completely through the produce department. It was tough to go off track here with your rumbling cart over the tile floor. While you could hang a left there, once you started in produce, you stayed til the very end.
Here's the WOW! This décor package went through a couple of versions in the early 90's with minor differences between each. The package you'll see here was the final round.
How's that for a 90's department sign! Lots going on with the planters on the walls and the lighting structures hanging from the ceiling. At the time, this was a massive switch from Giant's previous interiors, which were as minimally decorated as they could be.
Salad bar was built in to this model. Older versions of Giant stores would have the bakery in this spot with a salad bar free-standing just inside the entrance. Relocating the bakery to the far corner was standard procedure during the 90s remodels.
Above photo is from the google reviews of the store showing the produce sign having been removed. Turns out all the wacky 90's signage was removed in recent years with no replacements in their spots.
Even more changes here. Planters gone. Wall stripes painted over. Nothing new added as of this photo.
Heading back toward the deli. We can see below that the awning over floral has recently been removed.
You can also spot at the back that the deli sign is gone here.
This is around the corner from the first aisle with the pharmacy up front.
A lot to see here! I remember when these remodels were happening. Seemed so fun back in the day but now it's a bit too much of an assault on the eyes. Again, this was a massive departure for Giants of the 80's, which had the bare minimum of decor on the beige-est of walls. Going all white was huge in the 90's. Photos below show ACME's and Weis 90's interiors. There is certainly some similarities between all three.
ACME in the 90's.
Weis in the 90's.
And that checks off a classic 90's Giant from my wishlist! So fun to step back in time and experience this store. Will Giant ever update the place? For whatever reason, the answer appears to be no. If anyone knows of other Giants out there with this décor still in place, let me know. I'm pretty sure there is at least one other.
Seafood next stop down the way.
These tube lights were so futuristic when they were first installed.
Updated photo below with signage gone.
These photos may have been taken prior to some new department signage being put up. I wouldn't be surprised if Giant added some of those wood panel signs they were using a few rounds ago but then again, perhaps not. For whatever reason, Giant has little interest in updating this store.
Gotta love a random park bench!
This flooring was also new to the final round of this décor package.
These were the very first triangular aisle markers I had ever seen. Back in the day, I thought Giant was the coolest grocery store. A lot like Grand Union. Both chains did a lot to stand out from the pack.
"Make it wacky!"
Always a great looking front-end in these 90's Giants!
A final look at the exterior, which has had some upgrades! Updated Giant sign, now with just a hint of a leaf in the A, and an attractive pharmacy sign in place of the Deli/Bakery sign.
