Giant Eagle history

The first Giant Eagle supermarket opens on Brownsville Road in 1936.

Saul Shapira joined his father-in-law’s grocery business in 1945.

In 1968 Giant Eagle acquired the former Kroger warehouse in Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania, which more than doubled its storage capacity.

In 1981, with 52 stores in operation, Giant Eagle acquired Tamarkin Cos.

Together, in 1982, the two men created Phar-Mor Inc., a deep-discount drugstore chain, with Monus as president and Shapira as CEO.

In 1984 Giant Eagle began converting Valu King stores in Ohio operated by Tamarkin to Giant Eagle stores.

Ranked by Forbes as the 32nd largest private United States firm in 2006, Giant Eagle recorded 2006 sales of $6.06 billion and employs a workforce of approximately 36,000. It donates to area food banks and charities, and in 1988 created a program called Apples for the Students whereby portions of sales are used to help procure computers and other equipment for area schools.

The company’s largest acquisition to date, that of Cleveland, Ohio-based wholesaler and supermarket chain Riser Foods Inc. for $403 million in 1997, contributed to the growth of the business with its 36 stores operating under the Rini-Rego Stop-n-Shop name.

In July 1998, Giant Eagle announced plans to build a $23 million distribution center in Pittsburgh to consolidate the company’s existing perishable foods operations.

Not only would 160 existing jobs be retained, but 45 new jobs were to be created by the time the warehouse opened in November 1999.

Indeed, Giant Eagle had, in June 2002, completed the acquisition of the Bradley House of Catering, one of the largest independent catering companies in the Pittsburgh area.

Envisioning Giant Eagle as truly one-stop marketplaces, in 2006 the company began testing a nurse-staffed health clinic in one of its locations in addition to its relatively new eyecare facilities.

A new Giant Eagle opened in Lancaster, in November 2008, and the former Big Bear located at Blacklick Crossing is undergoing an expansion and remodeling.

2014 Outstanding Corporate Philanthropy Award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals for support of the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank

On September 27, 2018, Giant Eagle announced it would purchase the Ricker's convenience store chain in Indiana, marking the largest acquisition for GetGo since the chain's launch.