Giant Food will soon bar anyone under 18 from shopping without an adult after 6pm

Giant Food is continuing to explore new ways to combat retail theft. On August 22, the grocery chain plans to implement a new store policy barring anyone under the age of 18 from shopping after 6pm unless accompanied by an adult. For now, the rules will only impact select locations, two of which are in Baltimore. Store #145- 5150 Sinclair Ln, Baltimore, MD 21206. Store #303- 601 East 33rd St. Baltimore, MD 21218.

Giant says the stores selected have experienced 'unprecedented levels of product theft that have become unsustainable for our business.' In another effort to mitigate theft at those two stores, Giant in May began a pilot program banning customers from carrying larger bags with them while shopping. That program remains ongoing.

'Retail theft in our market area affects everyone. It limits product availability, creates a less convenient shopping experience, and, most critically, puts our associates and customers in harm's way,' Giant said in a statement.

Over the last few years, WMAR-2 News has reported on a number of violent incidents that have taken place within Maryland Giant Food stores, some of which were directly attributed to theft. This past June, an employee at the Arlington Road Giant in Bethesda was punched in the face for refusing to refund a man for stolen items. Back in November 2022, a Giant Food security guard in Oxon Hill was killed in a shootout with a theft suspect. In July 2021, another security guard killed a man who attacked him inside the Giant Store at the Reisterstown Road Plaza.