Giant Markets facts for kids
Giant Markets, also known as Giant Food Markets, was a chain of grocery stores in Binghamton, New York. It was started in 1933 by Metrie and George Akel. This company made history by opening the very first self-service supermarket in New York. Imagine, before this, you had to ask a clerk to get your groceries for you!
Giant Markets grew quite big, employing over 1,000 people. They ran twelve supermarkets across the Greater Binghamton area. In August 2009, Giant Markets sold their business to another company called Weis Markets.
The Big Change: Weis Markets Takes Over
On May 21, 2009, Weis Markets bought Giant Markets. This meant a big change for everyone working at Giant. By August 23, 2009, their jobs with Giant Markets officially ended. Most of the 1,100 employees were expected to get jobs with Weis. However, some workers did not get new jobs with Weis Markets.
A Store Closes Its Doors
Before the full takeover, on August 12, 2009, Giant Markets announced that one of its stores would close. This store was located at 56 Main Street in Binghamton. It closed just a few days later, on August 15, 2009, at 6:00 PM. All the employees from that store were moved to other Giant Markets locations. This decision to close the store was made by Weis Markets as part of the buyout. Today, that building is a Family Dollar store.
It's important to know that the Giant Markets from Binghamton, NY, is not the same as the much larger Giant Food Stores LLC. That bigger chain is based in Pennsylvania and is part of a huge European grocery company called Ahold Delhaize.
