Social Giant

I first heard of grocery shopping as a way to meet people back in the 1990's with upper Georgetown's "Social Safeway". Attracting young singles, the Social Safeway was a hot spot for romantic grocery runs. 

Cut to Giant Food in Olney, 2015: another time, another place, but also a hot spot or hub of mingling. The main differences now are 1) tired moms, dads and other family members instead of young singles cruise the aisles and 2) the encounters are platonic reminiscences, not romantic pick-ups. 

My weekly grocery runs are on early Sunday mornings, when I spy the regulars: a neighbor, an administrator from my kids' preschool ... and other people whose faces I recognize but whose names I can't readily recall. If I go later on Sunday, I often see more familiar faces: parents from my kids' preschool and elementary schools (my kids are now teenagers), parents from kids' long-abandoned activities, former fellow MOMS Club members, and others -- most of whom I would never see unless we happened to shop in the same place at the same time. Our paths rarely cross anymore, except at the Social Giant. 

Before our town's Safeway underwent renovations, I even saw a Safeway cashier shopping at Giant! "What are you doing here?" I asked to which he merely smiled silently and put his finger to his lips,  gesturing "shhhh". I spotted the always upbeat Olney post office worker at Giant on another visit.  

My grocery runs often turn into hour-long mixers -- here's to Olney's own Social Giant (and Social Safeway, Social Harris Teeter, Social Shopper's, and Social Roots. I always bump into someone familiar there too)!