Giant Food is the name of two separate supermarket chains.
Giant Food of Carlisle, Pennsylvania was founded in 1923 by David Javitch. In 1970 it purchased Martins Food Markets in Hagerstown, Maryland and expanded until 1981, when it was purchased by the Dutch supermarket chain Ahold.
It was not related to Giant Food of Landover, Maryland, which was founded in 1936 by N.M. Cohen and Samuel Lehrman in Washington, D.C. It expanded to Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware, and New Jersey. Giant food was the first to use computer-assisted checkout system-wide. It also operates stores in Pennsylvania under the Super G name. It presently operates over 150 supermarkets. In the 1970s Giant experimented with Department stores under the Giant name and apparel stores, including the Pants Corral. Giant was a long-time sponsor of the high school quizbowl game It's Academic. In 1998 it was purchased by Ahold.
And thus the two Giants were brought under one roof.
