Grocery Grand Opening Adventure: Part 2

This is the second part to my Ted Allen post.

When the shiny automatic doors dramatically parted in the wake of my presence, I was immediately mesmerized by the shear massiveness of the space. The new Market District grand opening was all a flutter as soccer moms pushed their strollers with curious toddlers, old men with canes wondering where talcum powder was located, and teenager’s texting their friends about how embarrassed they were to be with their parents.

As I sashayed past the large displays of cheese and olive oil bar, I realized each section was designed with their own distinct branding to create “markets”. This layout seemed to help create a much more intimate shopping experience as natural light flowed from skylights above. Even the hydroponic butter lettuce garden was bathed in happiness as people admired its uniqueness. There was even a restaurant space at one end of the store that could rival any premium quick service dining experience.

After Ted Allen’s demo, I walked around a bit more to soak up as much of the energy of the store as I could. Then, after meeting friends for lunch at P.F. Chang’s next door, I returned for one last quick breath of delight before heading home to make dinner rolls from scratch. As said by the Terminator, “I’ll be back!”

Here are a few pictures I snapped when the strollers cleared.

Special thanks go out to Pop City for mentioning me in their Pittsburgh food bloggers dish on new Giant Eagle Market District article.

 Print This Recipe  Subscribe to Culinary Cory