PrintNearly two years after opening its Giant Eagle Express concept store, the supermarket chain has retooled the prototype in Harmar with fancy fresh food and a 40-seat private cafe.
And it's getting ready to take the concept on the road, said officials Friday. Giant Eagle expects to open three to five more of the fuel-and-small-grocery stores in a year or two in the Pittsburgh region.
"But we're still in the testing and development phase," said Giant Eagle senior vice president of new formats Kevin Srigley. The next one could open in about nine months, but no site has been confirmed, he said.
Giant Eagle debuted what it called a "neighborhood grocery store" concept in early May 2007 at the location on Freeport Road in Harmar, to blunt budding competition from pharmacy and convenience store competitors.
The store combined Giant Eagle's GetGo gasoline outlet with a drive-through pharmacy and a specialized grocery store of less than 14,000 square feet. The Giant Eagle Express store is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Now revamped, the concept store scaled down the number of staple items, such as canned vegetables and certain frozen items. It expanded the breadth of fresh foods, such as produce and soups, and added chilled prepared items, such as sushi, and a coffee bar that includes lattes and mochas.
"It's a meaningful selection of items in a store that's about one-fifth the size of our average, Giant Eagle supermarket," said Srigley.
The 40-seat cafe even features free Wi-Fi access so customers can dine while they surf the Internet.
"It's consistent with Giant Eagle's strategy of offering consumers the highest quality with the best values," said Burt Flickinger III, managing director of Strategic Resource Group in New York.
Flickinger said the Giant Eagle Express should give Starbucks a run for its mocha because some consumers have tired of Starbucks' price hikes in recent years.
The retail analyst said the local concept should compete well against convenience stores at the quick-service end and against the food-and-drug combinations at the superstore end, such as Super Kmart.
Flickinger believes Giant Eagle is wise to bide its time with expansion because commercial real estate lease rates are apt to come down as the recession continues.
"There will be a record number of shopping center bankruptcies and retail closings, so they are very smart to wait to take this concept to scale," he said. "The prices landlords are offering this year will be even lower next year."