GIANT FOOD TO CLOSE MARYLAND BAKERY DEPOT

CHRIS YTUARTE

LANDOVER, Md. -- Giant Food Inc., based here, has announced it will close its Silver Spring, Md., bakery and the Bakery Depot storage facility in Columbia, Md. by May, and outsource business.

According to the retailer, which operates stores in the Maryland, Virginia, Delaware and Washington D.C. area, the Silver Springs plant had no potential for expansion due to its increasingly inconvenient location. Building a new plant was estimated to be a $100 million project, and was not feasible for the retail grocer, said officials.

"We have been studying this issue for over a year," said Dick Baird, president and chief executive officer of Giant. "We have been operating in the same facility for 51 years, and, due to its surroundings, the building can not be expanded or modernized sufficiently to meet anticipated future demands."

With the bakery shut down, there will be no need for the depot storage facility, where Giant kept baked goods awaiting delivery, and it too will be phased out, he said.

In closing its central bakery, Giant plans to outsource for all its baked goods, and will hand over production of its private-label breads and rolls to H&S Bakery, Inc., the Baltimore area's largest baked goods manufacturer. Other baked products under the Super G label will be provided by a variety of sources, though Giant's in-store bakeries will continue to produce freshly baked products daily.

Giant provided each of its selected vendors with specific formulations and quality requirements for the continual production of its baked goods, and assures that, as with its private-label products, standards will remain high for all Giant goods, said Baird.

"We are very proud of the bakery's long tradition of excellence, and we know our customers have enjoyed our products for over 50 years," said Baird. "That is why we have made every effort to ensure the continuing quality of our baked goods."

The 320 people currently working at the Silver Springs bakery, including sanitation workers, drivers, bakers and engineers, as well as an additional 27 people in management positions, have been offered the chance to be considered for comparable positions within the company wherever possible. Severance packages will be negotiated for any employees not offered comparable employment opportunities, he said.