They said it would happen at the end of January and they were true to the words. The longtime Giant grocery store in the Shoppes at Ryan Park retail center in Ashburn permanently closed this week.
As The Burn first reported in early January, company execs made the decision to close the 65,000 s.f. store after nearly 20 years in that location and redirect local customers to the Giant at the Ashburn Farm Market Center.
Thursday was the Giant’s last day in business and by Friday when The Burn passed by, the big exterior Giant signs had already been removed. Inside, many of the shelves and display cases were already empty.
The reason given for the closure — changing market dynamics. “In the normal course of evaluating our business and local trade areas, we determined that we can adequately serve this community through several other nearby Giant Food locations as well as our online services Giant Pickup and delivery,” Giant told The Burn in a statement.
No word what will go into the huge space left vacant by Giant. Another supermarket of some sort would be the logical new tenant, but 65,000 s.f. is an exceptionally large footprint even for a grocery store.
Alternatively, a different kind of user — such as an indoor pickleball center — might consider a spot like that if the ceilings were high enough. Or the landlord could theoretically demise (ie. chop up) the space into smaller retail units.
We will keep you posted if and when we hear any news.