Giant Food, a popular grocery chain in the mid-Atlantic region, said it will be barring anyone under 18 from shopping after 6 p.m. unless they are accompanied by an adult as a way to combat a rise in retail theft.
The new policy is similar to that of Baltimore-area malls and shopping areas that deny entry to unaccompanied minors after certain times on Fridays and Saturdays.
For now, Giant said it will enforce the new rules at select locations that were chosen because the stores have experienced "unprecedented levels of product theft that have become unsustainable for [their] business."
RELATED STORY | Target to close 9 stores amid increased theft and violence
Some of the same stores that will have the new age restrictions have tried other methods, like banning customers from carrying large bags.
"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, Scripps News Baltimore has reported on a number of violent incidents that have taken place within Giant Food stores in Maryland, some directly attributed to theft.
RELATED STORY | T.J. Maxx and Marshalls are having employees wear body cameras to deter theft
This past June, an employee at the Arlington Road Giant in Bethesda was punched in the face by a man trying to return stolen merchandise.
Back in November 2022a 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 Reisterstown Road Plaza.
Meanwhile, another inner-city Giant that anchored Edmondson Village since 1998 recently closed its doors, much to the community's dismay. Although the grocery retailer didn't blame the closure on increased thefts, it instead opted to remodel their store across the Baltimore County line at the Wilkens Beltway Plaza.
This story was originally published by Ryan Dickstein and Jack Watson at Scripps News Baltimore.
