Look inside: Giant Heirloom Market with underground taproom opens today

Giant’s third Heirloom Market opens Friday in Northern Liberties and will have the company’s first underground taproom, where customers can open a tab to drink beer, wine, and hard seltzer on tap; eat food like chicken wings, dim sum, and pizza; and play games such as Nintendo 64.

The taproom will also have Giant Heirloom’s exclusive beer, brewed by Roy Pitz Brewing Co., called Heirloom IPA. The beer is described as a New England-style IPA with “a classic cloudy orange appearance and a huge hop aroma of tropical fruit, strawberries, and grapefruit.” The store will also have a signature sparkling wine, also called Heirloom.

The two-level, 13,000-square-foot store at 1002 N. Second St. will open at 8 a.m. Normal store hours will be 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week.

The actual grocery store is similar to Giant’s other locations, with kombucha on tap; a create-your-own olive oil and vinegar station; and selections from local businesses like Claudio Specialty Foods, Isgro Pastries, and One Village Coffee. There’s an Acme Market less than a half-mile away from this location.

There will also be a large gluten-free section, plant-based options, and the ability to order online for delivery or next-day store pickup.

Giant imagines its customers at the Northern Liberties store will mostly be busy young professionals, said Giant president Nicholas Bertram, while the University City location, which opened in August, is tailored more for a student population. There is also a Giant Heirloom Market in the Graduate Hospital area at 2303 Bainbridge St., which opened in January.

Giant Food Stores is a Carlisle, Pa.-based chain that is part of Ahold Delhaize, a Netherlands-based food retail group. Giant — which said last month that its reward program would be expanded to all stores — has more than 180 locations across Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia, and in August announced plans to open an urban flagship store at 60 N. 23rd St. Other grocers have also recently opened or announced stores in the city, including Lidl and Trader Joe’s.

The Heirloom Market stores were mentioned by Supermarket News, a trade publication, when it named Giant its 2019 Retailer of the Year. It also mentioned Giant’s online grocery delivery and its robot, Marty.

The grocer expects to have more than 50 employees, a mix of full-time, part-time, and flex-time.

A fourth Heirloom Market is planned to open at 201 South St. in 2020.

Giant is calling the taproom “the Underground.” It will have seating, wine and beer to purchase, a food menu, free arcade games, WiFi, and a Scrabble wall. People who want to try the drinks on tap can open a tab at the bar and will be given a wristband, which they can hold up to the desired tap for a pour as small as one ounce or up to a full glass.

“We want you to stay,” said Paul Madarieta, Giant’s director of growth initiatives.

Below is a list of the current tap selection and menu:

Food:

Beer:

Wine:

Cider and hard seltzer:

Kombucha: