Giant unveils remodel in grand reopening

By Kelly Alm

Times-Democrat Staff Writer

Over the last few months, shoppers at the Warrenton Giant, located on West Lee Highway, could be seen wandering through the store searching for grocery items delegated to different aisles during the store's remodeling, which began in mid-February. After only 13 weeks in transition, however, the end may have justified the means.

Giant will celebrate it's new look — $5 to $6 million in renovations — with a three-day grand re-opening celebration that begins today.

“Many of the changes are geared toward making the store more open and easier for the customers,” customer service manager Kevin Owens said.

This includes lower produce shelves; wider aisles; replacement of the old customer service desk, which general manager Steve Grassi described as “caged in,” with a solution center that customers can access from all four sides; and relocation of the flower shop from the cramped space between aisle three and four to a spacious area in the corner of the store.

According to Grassi, new floors, refrigerator cases, and hardware accounted for the largest chunk of the cost. The store also replaced the previous heat laser lights, which Grassi said emitted so much heat that the store turned off rows during the summer to avoid having to turn the air conditioning up higher. The new lights do not heat up and use approximately a quarter of the electricity.

In an effort to compete with restaurants, the store's changes also accommodate customers on the go. Customers will first notice the Starbucks when they walk into the store, which sits back-to-back with the Chevy Chase Bank. Owens said that the Starbucks should open at the beginning of June. Adjacent to the Starbucks, a “grab and go” stand with prepared food caters to people on lunch breaks. The meat and seafood sections also now includes a “heat and eat” section, that serves precooked food.

Customers can cut down on shopping time with the “deli vision,” in which they can place an order at the deli, and continue shopping until they are notified via the intercom that their order is ready. According to Grassi, 30 percent of customers prefer self scans, and the store now has six, in addition to the full-service still offered.

The store carries a wider array of products now, too, including twice the produce variety and at least 30 percent more health and beauty care products. It has also doubled the size of the organic food aisle, as well as the organic section in the frozen-food aisle, in order to compete with Whole Foods.

Giant is also leaning toward fresher products. The seafood department has reduced the amount of packaged fish and now receives fish six days a week. The bakery department has increased lines of goods baked in the store. Fresh flowers are now delivered five days a week, and are cut and processed in the store.

In what seems counterintuitive to the price tag of the renovation, Giant has also lowered its prices in the last nine months with an eye to competing with Wal-Mart and Target.

“It's hard to swallow when food prices everywhere else are going up,” Grassi said. “But we've brought our prices down.”

The Warrenton Giant was built in 1986, and, according to Grassi, has undergone a few remodels. “Giant likes to remodel its stores every eight years,” he said, “and we were well overdue. The company plans to remodel over 100 stores in the next three years.”