Crews continued work this week to demolish the former Family Video store in Greensburg and move earth at the site to prepare for construction of a new GetGo convenience store and gas station.
The store is expected to occupy about 5,500 square feet along South Main Street, near the intersection of Euclid Avenue, and will be accompanied by 12 fuel pumps, according to documents submitted to the city by Giant Eagle, which operates the GetGo convenience chain.
Giant Eagle said it is planning to have the GetGo Café + Market location open this coming summer. It said the store will offer a “made-to-order food menu, our new bean-to-cup coffee machines and our new Nitro and Cold Brew coffee.”
Artist’s renderings released by Giant Eagle show the store occupying the northern part of the lot and facing south, with fuel pumps directly to the south and parking spaces to the south and east.
The store is to be accessed by an entrance from South Main, with a rear barrier separating it from a separate entrance for the neighboring Main Bowling Center.
The plan calls for the addition of a left-turn lane on Main to help southbound motorists entering GetGo, city planning director Jeff Raykes said. He said an adjacent right bend in the street for southbound vehicles should allow creation of the extra lane without altering the dimensions of the existing roadway.
A spokesman said it’s too early for Giant Eagle to release additional details about the store, such as the number of jobs that may be created there.
No mention has been made of any plans to sell alcoholic beverages at the store, Raykes said.
Giant Eagle in December 2019 leased the property that recently was occupied by the Family Video store and, before that, a supermarket. According to online court documents, the property is owned by Family Video Movie Club and a Pennsylvania successor company, E&S Enterprises.
The video store closed early in 2021 as part of a nationwide shuttering of Family Video locations attributed to a decrease in foot traffic and a lack of new movie releases following the arrival of the covid-19 pandemic.
Raykes said he hopes in March to present city council with plans for a gateway sign that would be located near the GetGo store, spelling out “Greensburg” in large letters to welcome motorists entering the downtown business district from the south.
He said city planners would like to have the sign illuminated at night but are wrestling with the cost. Giant Eagle has agreed to contribute $25,000 toward the sign.
“We hope to make it a great sign,” Raykes said. “We’ll have to do some value engineering to make it work.”
