Pittsburgh Groceries: Giant Eagle

Pittsburgh has a giant in the grocery industry right in its back yard. Running a near monopoly on groceries in the Pittsburgh area, Giant Eagle is a successful chain of grocery stores, offering a large array of services and features. If you are in Pittsburgh, or are considering moving, you should know all about this company in order to save money and eat well.

History

Originally, three families came together to start the "Eagle Grocery" chains in the area in 1918. They made it up to 125 stores before selling out to the Kroger Company and they hung up their hats in 1928. At the same time, two other families were making headways into the market with their OK Grocers, and in 1931, when the non-compete clause of the Eagle Grocery sale expired, all five families started Giant Eagle. Operating stores across the Pittsburgh city proved profitable, and they started to buy back resources from the Kroger Company.

In the 1990s, they introduced their Giant Eagle Advantage Card for all sorts of Loyalty rewards. Today, those cards provide the two most important discounts in the store: FuelPerks! and FoodPerks!

Today

Today, you can't help but do business with Giant Eagle when within the city. This is for a few reasons. The first reason is that the walking neighborhood model that Pittsburgh developed under only had room for one major grocer in each neighborhood, and in almost all of them, that grocer was Giant Eagle. While other shops do exist, the Giant Eagles outnumber them by a massive amount.

Another reason you will find yourself in Giant Eagle is that they have a huge variety of services. From banks to Wine stores, they keep the model fresh and are constantly adding services for the customers. Pharmacies, prepared foods, bakeries, and delis are among the common amenities, and each Giant Eagle is different. Some have amazing bread bakeries, while others will have more emphasis on the pharmacy or deli.

Another reason you will probably do business with Giant Eagle is their very successful FuelPerks! program. It works by purchasing your groceries as usual, but for ever $50 you spend, they will cut $0.10 off the price of fuel at a GetGo Station. GetGo is also run by Giant Eagle, and purchases in their stores come with fuel discounts as well. Used effectively, this saves people up to $40 or more per month on fuel bills, especially when they cleverly shop for fuel and food. Not only that, but for every 10 gallons of Gas you get, you get 1% off of a grocery purchase, up to $300. You can stack these rewards until you get free gasoline or 20% off of a grocery order, but they do expire after a couple months.

Locations

You can find Giant Eagle all across Pittsburgh. They are opening new stores and stores with new formats like "Market District" for upscale neighborhoods all the time. Outside of Pittsburgh, they can be found in Ohio, West Virginia, and Western Maryland as well.

Giant Eagle does an admirable job keeping prices low, value high, and gasoline flowing in these tough times. Stop in one today and see why it is Pittsburgh's best (and practically only) option for groceries.

Sources:

Giant Eagle Home: http://www.gianteagle.com/about/history