I’ve been meaning to contemplate the new DC phenomenon of beer and wine bars popping up in DC grocery stores since the opening of the new Cleveland Park Giant Food on Nov. 7.

Actually, to my knowledge, Giant is the only chain offering beer and wine bars in the city so far, although Whole Foods in the Clarendon neighborhood of Arlington, Va., has offered beer at its Arlington Pub for a couple of years now.

The Cleveland Park supermarket has been welcome by locals like myself because we’ve been without a major supermarket in the immediate 1-mile vicinity for about 2.5 years while this one was under construction. To our surprise, Giant announced that the store would offer a beer and wine bar shortly before its opening, following in the footsteps of the Giant Food located at the City Market at O.

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