GIANT | Broomall, PA

2180 West Chester Pike

Welcome to the Broomall GIANT!

Happy Friday the 13th! You might be having some scary flashbacks to the Westtown GIANT, a store with the same exterior as the Broomall location and a fascinatingly ugly interior. But this store isn't that bad! It opened on December 6, 2019 in a new-construction shopping center, replacing the chain's original Broomall store which opened in 2001 in a former Bradlees. That store is now an Amazon Fresh. Without further adieu, let's head inside.

Thanks for having me.

The fresh bar and the garden are on the left side of the grand aisle. This store has the same decor that it opened with back in 2019; we last saw it in the Springfield store in May 2023.

The kitchen takes up a whole island on the right side of the grand aisle. Beer and wine is behind this area, and we'll see that in a moment.

The deli and the bakery are in the back of the grand aisle as we transition to the main part of the store.

Beer and wine in the first two aisles. There's a small seating area just to the right of where I took this picture.

A look at aisle 9, with various baking supplies.

The land and sea counter, packaged meats, and the small plant based selection are all on the back wall.

Milk/dairy and frozen are in the last few aisles of the store. This GIANT tops out at 20 aisles, which seems pretty large to me for a store built in the last five years, especially considering the sizable grand aisle. The store doesn't feel as big as it really is.

The store's Citizens Bank branch (with a lot of GIANT Direct orders ready to go in front of it) and the pharmacy are on the front end of this side. In the two-towers model that GIANT used for years (Aston being one of many, many, many examples), the secondary entrance would be in this area, but newer stores only have one entrance.

We find greeting cards and checkouts running down the front end. Thank you for shopping at your Broomall GIANT.

Other Images of Interest

Street View Images

2022

Google hasn't been through most of this relatively new shopping center yet, so the best perspective we get of this store is from the Royal Farms parking lot across the street.

Nearby competition

1.8 miles away: Acme of Broomall

We saw this store last week. This store first opened as a Food Fair in 1957, later become a ShopRite in 1979 and then the Acme that it is today in 1994. This store is probably this GIANT's biggest competitor, though they're far enough apart and GIANT seems more popular (as is usually the case).

2.2 miles away: Amazon Fresh of Broomall

GIANT knows this store quite well - they operated in it for almost 20 years! It had originally been a Two Guys department store, and eventually became a Bradlees before closing in 2001 with the chain. GIANT opened a brand new store in most of the building later that year, and then moved to the store we just toured in 2019. Amazon Fresh opened their second Philly-area store here in September of 2022. Click here to see this store as it was in March of 2023.

Thank you for joining me on this tour! This store was quite nice, and I would definitely do shopping here if I was in the area (although I'm not in Broomall very often). I quite like the decor, too; GIANT's current decor is better, but I like the backlit signage in this one. It was definitely a step up from their previous decor, which we saw in Westtown (linked in the introduction). I'll see you next time! The Retail Connection: For today's table.

 

Acme | Broomall, PA

1991 Sproul Road

Welcome to the Broomall Acme!

Happy September! We're kicking off one of my favorite months of the year with, you guessed it, an Acme! This location has a somewhat interesting history, though, at least as Acmes go. It's the anchor of the Lawrence Park Shopping Center, a large and regionally well-known shopping center that recently completed an expansive renovation. It was definitely justified, as the shopping center has been operating since 1957. At that time, Acme's spot was filled by Food Fair, one of the top supermarkets in the Philadelphia area back in the '50s and '60s. Food Fair closed in 1979, and the store reopened as ShopRite that year. ShopRite closed in 1994, and the store soon became an Acme, relocating from their older Broomall store that is now a CVS (which has another location in the Lawrence Park parking lot). I feel like it's been a while since we've had a store with that much history! Let's go inside now!

This store has the early version of Quality Built, which we also saw last year in Cape May Court House. It's held up pretty well, but a remodel to a newer package also wouldn't be unnecessary.

Broomall Freshest Produce Market is just to the left in an alcove after we enter. As you'll see, this version of QB has much more vibrant colors than the more common version.

Usually, Acme hides wine in a random aisle near the center of the store, but in Broomall their selection is front and center.

The bakery is in the back of the grand aisle. I find it interesting how this store has the signs so far in front of the actual department. Usually Acme doesn't do that, but they had to here with the odd ceiling situation.

Meat and seafood is in the back of the store.

The one thing that tends to always change among early QB stores is the deli signage. This is one of the better ones I've seen. Others include Cape May Court House and the horrifyingly ugly Beach Haven.

Salty snacks are in aisle 8. The aisle markers are quite similar to the final product, though the number is thicker and the colors are slightly tweaked.

Dairy is on the right.

The curvy pharmacy is in the front corner. This store kept the Sav-On branding, though not on the outside. Also, I'm just realizing now that this store doesn't have the retro logo wall.

HABA, floral, checkouts, and customer service (where I had to check out, because the self-checkout wasn't taking my card) as we proceed out of the store.

Other Images of Interest

Street View Images

2019

Here's the store with its old look. Personally, I like this better. It's way too white now.

Nearby competition

1.8 miles away: GIANT of Broomall

Here's next week's store, the GIANT up the road that goes behind this shopping center. It opened in 2019 as a replacement for an older store in Broomall, closer to the Newtown Square area, that opened in 2001 in a former Bradlees. That store is now an Amazon Fresh. Speaking of which...

2.1 miles away: Amazon Fresh of Broomall

We're only about two miles away from the Amazon Fresh! This store opened back in 2022. Like in pretty much every market, Amazon Fresh has been pretty slow to grow in the Philadelphia area. The only two other locations nearby (and neither are really close at all) are Warrington, which opened in 2021, and Bensalem, which opened only a few weeks ago on August 22. We toured the Broomall location back in March of 2023, and you can see it here.

Thanks for joining me at this Acme! I don't really have anything to say about this store - as '90s Acmes go, it's very average. I don't like this decor as much as the later version of Quality Built, but it isn't bad. If this store is getting a remodel at any time soon, it would get the University City decor (which the Trolley Square store in Wilmington now also has - thanks PlazaACME!). I really hope we start to see Acmes getting this decor that's sprouting up in Albertsons and Safeway stores across the West. But that's all for now! I'll see you next week at GIANT. Sincerely, The Retail Connection.

Amazon Fresh | Broomall, PA

2924 Springfield Rd.

Welcome to the Broomall Amazon Fresh!

Thanks for stopping by The Retail Connection again! In today's edition, we'll be taking a tour of Amazon Fresh's second location in Pennsylvania: the Broomall store, which opened on September 8. This store was a former GIANT that closed in December 2019. The building dates back to the early 60's when it was a Two Guys department store. Inside, this store has the "Just Walk Out" system, which allows you to shop without actually having to check out. Let's step inside and take a look at this brand new supermarket!

There are separate gates to enter depending on if you're using the Just Walk Out feature or if you're shopping the traditional way. Both entrances lead into the produce section.

As you can see, there are dozens of cameras hanging from the ceiling. I'm assuming this is because of Just Walk Out.

Meat and seafood are in the back corner, past the produce section.

Dairy is along the back wall.

I do like the aisle markers used with this décor. Overall, everything is very simple (and dark), but it looks nice. As you can see, this store has split aisles.

The deli and prepared foods section, or "fresh kitchen", is along the left wall. They sell pizza, sushi, sandwiches, and other hot foods. There's a small seating area, but nothing significant.

 The salad bar and olive bar are also in this department.

Frozen foods are in aisle 6.

In our final interior shot, we see the checkout lanes (only one was open), the seating area for the fresh kitchen, and the customer service section. These stores also have Amazon lockers and take Amazon returns.

Other Images of Interest

Street View Images

2018

This store was a GIANT until they relocated down the road in December 2019. I'd say Amazon Fresh probably goes up to where the GIANT logo is on the façade.

That's all for today's post! Let me know what you think about Amazon Fresh. It's certainly a different kind of grocery store. I did notice that the product selection could've been better. Anyway, thanks for reading The Retail Connection: Just walk out!