Ohio's First Market District® Store Opens at Kingsdale Shopping Center

COLUMBUS, Oct. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Get ready, because central Ohio is about to discover the Ooooo in Food!

Inspired by the open-air markets of Europe and a true passion for food, Giant Eagle®, Inc. opens its first Ohio Market District food store – a 132,000 square-foot culinary, dining and shopping destination – Thursday, October 14, in the redeveloped Kingsdale Shopping Center in Upper Arlington.

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As Adam Richman, host of the Travel Channel's popular show, Man vs. Food, exclaimed, Market District is "heaven's gift to foodies". Market District appeals to food enthusiasts who enjoy the sights, smells and tastes of fresh, new and exciting foods.  The Kingsdale Market District, the fourth for the multi format food retailer, delivers a food utopia to central Ohio residents with a mix of the best in everyday offerings and unique foods from around the world. It also offers the region's first Ohio State University Medical Center FastCare retail health clinic, which will offer seasonal flu shots and screening events during the site's first few weeks.

Adam Richman kicks off the store's official grand opening with an in-store appearance.  Others on hand to celebrate the grand opening on Thursday include "The Cheese Lady" Sarah Kaufman, Veggy Art founder James Parker and football great Eddie George. The festivities continue throughout the weekend with appearances from season four Hell's Kitchen winner Christina Machamer on Friday, October 15, and America's youngest four-star chef and judge on MasterChef, Graham Elliot Bowles, on Saturday, October 16.

Proclaimed the "Disneyland of grocery stores" by Food Network celebrity and Columbus native Guy Fieri, Market District was first introduced to western Pennsylvania consumers in June 2006 and opened its third location in Robinson Township, just west of Pittsburgh, last November.  Now, celebrating its tenth anniversary in the Columbus area and 25th food market throughout central Ohio, area residents are going to be able enjoy this unique food experience.

The store opened with a 10 a.m. Thursday press conference that featured comments from Ohio Governor Ted Strickland.  "What I see in this new building is not just a set of walls," Strickland said. "I see new jobs for our people and a new day for Ohio.  Market District is creating 400 jobs and transforming the Kingsdale shopping plaza in Upper Arlington," Strickland added.  "That's an investment in central Ohio's future and a great example of the new opportunities that are rising up in Ohio today."

Building on Governor Strickland's comments, Giant Eagle Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer Laura Karet said, "The opening of the new Kingsdale Market District offers all of our best food ideas and discoveries in one place.  As a company, we are so excited to bring our customers the very best food experience imaginable – fresh, unique, delicious, colorful – all of the things someone thinks about when they taste something new and incredible."

"When customers visit this new store, they will enjoy a world-class shopping and dining experience bursting with amazing food and food expertise with everything from cooking demonstrations to celebrity chef appearances and interactive events."  

Karet added that Market District's staff of 600 team members is passionate about food and ready to deliver exceptional service by sharing new products, recipes and culinary ideas.  Market District team members are graduates from schools such as the Culinary Institute of America, Columbus State Community College, and the Columbus Culinary Institute at Bradford School, complementing Giant Eagle-certified Cheesemongers and other trained food professionals.  

"Our food training is extensive," concluded Karet.  "Our people – who truly bring the Market District concept to life for our customers - experience food from producers located all over the world, from small farmhouses to large suppliers.  They then utilize this knowledge to help satisfy the culinary curiosity of our customers, sharing techniques, recipes and ingredients so customers are inspired to try new things at home."

The best of the unique and the everyday

The Kingsdale Market District welcomes customers from all across the area to a new world of food, where they can sample restaurant-quality dishes and find unique meat, produce, cheese and grocery selections from around the globe.  "But that's not all," said Senior Vice President of Market District Brett Merrell.  "Market District also satisfies customers' weekly shopping needs.  While Market District does offer unique items not available elsewhere, it also sells everyday items like brand-name detergents, cola products and a number of the other items you would expect to find in a traditional Giant Eagle supermarket at the same low prices."

Merrell added that Market District is the place for food enthusiasts, but the banner's tie to Giant Eagle's family of 228 supermarkets is not forgotten.  Market District features attractive promotions, weekly specials and pricing, free antibiotics, free diabetes and $4 and $10 generic prescriptions, and ability to earn fuelperks!® and redeem foodperks!® loyalty rewards with the Giant Eagle Advantage Card®.

A Veritable Retail Wonderland

Martha Stewart called Market District "a veritable retail wonderland", offering many opportunities to discover the "Ooooo" in food:

• A bounty of garden fresh produce that features domestic, specialty, locally grown, seasonal and more than 120 organic fruits and vegetables.
• An authentic Asian street food station, with fresh meats from a Tandoori Oven, spicy peanut dishes from a Satay Grill, sizzling wok dishes, curry favorites and fresh-baked naan.
• A rosti bar features the national dish of Switzerland, a shredded and shallow fried Yukon Gold potato with delectable toppings ranging from sour cream to bacon, capers and more.
• A crepe bar offers true French pancakes stuffed with a variety of sweet and savory fillings, from meats and cheeses to whipped cream and fruits, all freshly made to order.
• A sweet shop features the finest hand-dipped chocolate novelties, gourmet confections and nostalgic candy classics like Necco Wafers and Pixie Stix, as well as fresh-roasted nuts, hand-dipped caramel apples, just-spun cotton candy and fresh, homemade kettle corn.
• Authentic and handmade Italian gelato is made in small batches daily with flavors like toasted almond pear, caramel coffee, tiramisu, coconut basil and strawberry balsamic.
• A smoke and fire slow-roasting rotisserie includes fire-grilled, tender, juicy roasted meats, ribs, chicken and more.
• A variety of hot and cold food bars feature a smorgasbord of home-style favorites, authentic international dishes, spicy wings, garden-fresh vegetables and gourmet toppings.
• Market District sushi chefs prepare fresh seafood into classic Japanese maki rolls, nigiri, sashimi, and bento with organic rice.
• An artisan cheese shop offers 400+ artisan and imported cheeses, hand-selected and aged onsite, including Goudas, Blue, Bucherondin, handmade Mozzarella and French Comte.
• The finest in charcuterie domestic and imported cured meats from countries such as Italy and Spain, and unique products such as Saucisson pork.
• Expertly selected and cut fresh meat and seafood including dry-aged beef, steaks and roasts; fresh game meats including duck, venison, buffalo and rabbit; lamb; homemade chicken sausage; fresh Alaskan King Crab, shrimp, scallops, seasonal Copper River Salmon and Mahi Mahi.
• A cornucopia of international foods with more than 10,000 natural and organic items, 7,000 international items and 4,000 unique specialty groceries.
• A bulk foods section that includes 12 varieties of olive oil and vinegars, 28 varieties of teas, 48 spices and over 60 bulk foods items including rice/beans/grains, nut meats, granola/cereals, dried fruit, trail/party mixes and confectionary.
• Straight-from-the-hearth artisan breads, crafted at dawn and baked fresh daily alongside made-from-scratch cookies and donuts, as well as boiled and hearth-baked bagels.
• A beverage bar with coffee roasted onsite to brew frothy cappuccino, creamy latte, seasonal specialty drinks, mulled cider, eggnog and fruit smoothies made with fresh-squeezed juices.
• An in-store chef demonstration kitchen complete with seating for 40, a bar-style seating area, three flat screen monitors and an enhanced sound system for viewing demonstrations where local culinary experts showcase recipes using products available at Market District.
• Customers can then hone their refined cooking and presentation skills with unique, high quality housewares including chic table settings, clever gadgets, gourmet cookware, kitchen appliances and serving utensils.
• An ongoing schedule of in-store events to entertain and educate shoppers, including live music and daily cooking demonstrations from resident and celebrity chefs.
• A spacious and inviting in-store restaurant featuring free Wi-Fi and real tableware.
• A beer and wine store featuring more than 2,500 wines from around the world and a selection of more than 600 beers to enjoy with a delicious Market District meal.

Overall Health and Wellness at Market District

The Kingsdale Market District has the region's first Ohio State University Medical Center FastCare Retail Health Clinic. Set to begin providing all services on November 9, the clinic will offer a convenient extension to primary care physicians and urgent care centers with integrated health records, and allow for diagnosis and treatment of many basic acute, episodic health conditions and minor injuries.  Among the types of conditions treated by the onsite Ohio State University  Medical Center nurse practitioners are sore and strep throats, fevers, flu and colds, ear and sinus infections, bronchitis, pink eye, bladder infections, and allergies.

The store also offers an expanded health, beauty and wellness department that is filled with natural and organic cosmetics, vitamins, supplements, and personal care products, and staffed with a licensed esthetician and a licensed dietician/nutritionist conducting ongoing wellness events.

All of these offerings are in addition to the service, value and expertise found at the in-store pharmacy, complete with drive-thru access.

Grand Opening Festivities

The store will be open 24 hours a day, and is located at 3061 Kingsdale Center in Columbus.  

The grand opening announcement is being celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the store featuring Market District executives and a celebrity chef-judged, $10,000 Columbus State University student culinary scholarship contest with former football star and Grill 27 owner Eddie George and Christina Machamer. Other culinary stars and celebrity chef appearances to celebrate the grand opening include:

• Adam Richman, host of Travel Channel's Man vs. Food.  Thursday, October 14, 4 p.m.
• The Cheese Lady, artist Sarah Kaufmann, who carves the Columbus skyline from a 1,000 pound block of Wisconsin Cheddar.  Thursday, October 14, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
• Veggy Art founder James Parker, who has mastered the ancient and beautiful art of fruit and vegetable carving, will create playful and whimsical food carvings. Thursday, October 14, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.

About Market District from Giant Eagle

The Giant Eagle Market District destination store concept offers an enhanced food shopping experience geared toward food enthusiasts.  Market District offers specialty and unique items not found elsewhere in an environment where customers' passion for food can be cultivated by a staff of food experts.  In four locations, one in Ohio and three in the southwestern Pennsylvania region, the Market District stores feature teams of chefs and other culinary professionals preparing fresh foods from scratch every day.  Market District also offers customers the rare opportunity to find natural, organic, specialty and other unique items paired with the convenience of favorite national brands and everyday needs all under the same roof. Further information can be found at MarketDistrict.com.

Giant Eagle Inc., ranked 40 on Forbes magazine's largest private corporations list and recipient of Grocery Headquarters' 2007 Retailer of the Year Award and the EPA's ENERGY STAR Retail Partner of the Year Award, is one of the nation's largest food retailers and food distributors with approximately $8.6 billion in annual sales.  Founded in 1931, Giant Eagle, Inc. has grown to be the number one supermarket retailer in the region with 170 corporate and 58 independently owned and operated supermarkets in addition to 159 fuel and convenience stores throughout western Pennsylvania, Ohio, north central West Virginia and Maryland.

SOURCE Giant Eagle