(From October 20th, 2010) Last Thursday, in the once defunct Kingsdale shopping center in Upper Arlington, Ohio a new and unique type of grocery store opened its doors to the public.
Giant Eagle’s Market District is a store that employs over 600 people and has over 132,000 square feet of retail space. There are restaurants, and many different departments offering limitless types of food and items.
Customers looking for something different can find over 400 types of cheeses, 600 kinds of beer and 2,500 kinds of wine available in the store. Shoppers can also sample one of 12 kinds of wine before they buy if they are not sure what they want.
Feel free to sit down and eat at the restaurant in the store. Your food might even be made by one of Columbus State’s own culinary school graduates, several of whom work right inside Market District prepared food section, offering dozens of homemade items.
Collyn, a bakery clerk, said “This place was so packed with people last Thursday you couldn’t even move. People were in here shoulder to shoulder.” She attributed the crowd to the uniqueness of the store, as well as several guest celebrity appearances from Food Network Stars.
“Adam Richman from Man vs. Food was here. It was so crowded I could barely see him!” Collyn remarked.
Another bakery clerk Katelyn chimed in and said “This place is like an amusement park with all of the people and different things you can do. This place is great.”
Collyn also noted that the store opened at 1030 am last Thursday, and by 5:30 pm the store had sold over 125,000 dollars in goods.
“People are so excited because of the wow factor. The diversity of the products, the care taken in making items. The cakes are completely made from scratch, right down to the icing. The beef is aged in the store. You can even buy exotic meats, like python!” Collyn said.
A shopper, Chad Allen said “I have never seen anything like this. There are hot and cold bars where you can buy food by the pound. There are so many types of beer and items, this store is wonderful. I also love the selection of root beer.”
Market District also offers everyday types of items like light bulbs, dishwashing detergent and also has a pharmacy right in the store.
Another shopper, Keith Hiszem, said “It’s everything you could want in a store. It has normal items you may need at the grocery store, but very different items I can use to make so many types of new food at home.”
Many of the employees in the store are trained wine and cheese experts. This is not your run of the mill grocery store. Fresh fish and meat come from all over the world, as do many of the other items in the store.
The Market District in Ohio is only one of four stores like this in the country. People are hoping this store will help revitalize the shopping center.
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