Montco Giant grocery, pharmacy to close this month

UPPER GWYNEDD After a couple of lackluster years, Giant Food Stores is closing its grocery store in Upper Gwynedd Township and its pharmacy in North Wales, the company announced Monday.

Those were two of the 16 Philadelphia-area stores Giant purchased from Genuardi's in 2012. The doors are scheduled to close Jan. 24.

"This was a difficult decision, and it is the result of our ongoing assessment of the operating performance of our stores," Giant president Tom Lenkevich said in a statement.

The Upper Gwynedd store, on Sumneytown Pike and Church Road, is relatively small for a supermarket, only 33,000 square feet. The pharmacy is located less than a mile south, after Sumneytown Pike turns into Main Street.

The larger, combined Giant grocery and pharmacy near Montgomery Mall - about two miles west of the closing stores - will remain open, the company said. All of the employees at the two closing branches will be offered positions in nearby stores. - Jessica Parks