Giant at 8th and Market Streets will close in December

The Giant Heirloom Market at 801 Market St. will shut its doors on Dec. 28, according to a layoff notice required by federal law.

“Unfortunately, this store has not performed to our expectations, and when coupled with the challenges we and others have faced in the neighborhood, it no longer makes sense to continue operating at this location,” John Ruane, the company’s president, said in the statement.

Ruane called the closure a “difficult decision” and noted it was a “business decision” that had been made after efforts to improve performance.

When the company announced plans to open the store on Market Street in 2021, it was seen as a vote of confidence in the city’s pandemic recovery.

At the time of the announcement, then-company president Nicholas Bertram noted, “Our strategy of growing inside of the city has not really been shaken by the pandemic.”

When the 32,000-square-foot store opened in December 2021, it was the largest Heirloom Market-branded store for the company.

“This location will meet a real need for the growing residential population in our exciting new Fashion District and will serve as a convenient dining destination to those visiting our great city,” former Mayor Jim Kenney said in a statement at the time.

Giant previously focused its efforts outside the city, and for years, the company’s sole store in Philadelphia was on Grant Avenue in Northeast Philadelphia. It opened in 2011. The company currently has nine locations in Philadelphia, according to its website.

The closure comes as the grocery chain is set to open a location in South Philly by the end of the year. The company had not shared an opening date for the store when The Inquirer reported the opening in October, but said this week that it expects to open it on Dec. 13.

The Center City closure will affect 61 employees who collectively make on average $28,000 a week, according to the notice. Employees will be offered positions at other Giant locations in Philadelphia, and those who do not accept them will be paid through Jan. 4, after which time their benefits will also expire. As of October, the company had more than 35,000 employees, with over 1,000 in Philadelphia.