West Newton Giant Eagle to remain open through 2024

Diane Mesiarik came out of the Giant Eagle supermarket in West Newton with a bag of groceries Tuesday morning and with the knowledge that she won’t have to drive several miles to a grocery store because the supermarket is remaining open, averting a planned closing on June 23.

“It’s real convenient. Otherwise, it’s a long drive” to another supermarket, said Mesiarik, a West Newton resident.

Patrons of the Giant Eagle supermarket will be able to shop at the borough’s only grocery store for at least 18 more months under an arrangement that will have Giant Eagle Inc. operate the store until its lease expires in December 2024, or until another operator agrees to buys the store, whichever occurs first.

The O’Hara-based company is taking over the store from the current owners, Mike and Maryann Bingey, who had announced last month that they would be retiring.

Mike Bingey, 67, said he was grateful for Giant Eagle agreeing to keep the store open.

“I would not have been here 35 years without their support. What they did was awesome,” said Bingey, who had worked at the store while in high school in 1974 when it was an A&P supermarket, before that chain left the Western Pennsylvania market. He also worked for nine years for former store owner, John Bache, who operated a Shop ‘n Save at the site. Bache still owns the property through the Bache Family Limited Partnership.

The company said it had worked with the Bingeys, West Newton Mayor Mary Popovich and other stakeholders to reach a resolution to keep the store open.

“We are especially appreciative of the passion and collaboration from Mayor Popovich, who has provided valuable insights into the West Newton community,” said Bill Artman, Giant Eagle interim CEO, in a statement. Giant Eagle operates 470 supermarkets throughout Western Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland and Indiana,

Popovich praised Giant Eagle management for its willingness to keep the store open. The nearest supermarket is at least four miles away along Route 51 in Rostraver and a longer drive for residents living in the nearby towns of Sutersville, Lowber, Gratztown and Turkeytown, where they are no supermarkets.

“It is so rare to find a corporation that is willing to listen and care about small communities,” Popovich said outside the store.

“It’s a win-win for West Newton and especially for the senior citizens,” who live nearby in Filbern Manor, named for the late mayor Thomas “Teke” Filbern.

The proximity of the store to Filbern Manor is important for those senior citizens living in Filbern Manor, said Rachelle Jones of Charleroi, a home health aide who assists a client in Rostraver with shopping.

“It’s a lot easier for those people (Filbern Manor residents) to come and get their prescriptions,” Jones said.

The borough’s only other pharmacy is across the Youghiogheny River on west side of the town.

While the neartime future of the store has been resolved, Popovich said there are other people interested in operating the store, whether or not it remains a Giant Eagle.

“We’re hopeful it will continue as a grocery,” Popovich said.