In mid-July, about a month after Angel Cabrera put Tiger Woods, his cigarette pack and the U.S. Open championship in his hip pocket, the Giant Eagle closed in Oakmont.

That left the town of about 6,700 (2003 estimate) without a grocery store. Paul Friday, and other residents, are starving for one -- and prefer not to commute to other communities to shop.

"I understand this was a business decision. I have no problem with that," said Dr. Friday, 61, chief of clinical psychology at UPMC Shadyside. He has lived in Oakmont for 30-plus years.

"What I have a problem with," he continued, "is they pulled out of a district with 6,500 people."

Rebecca Sciullo, owner of Oakmont Floral and Design for the past eight years, said: "Oakmont desperately needs a food store. This is a thriving community and you don't want to see something like this happen here."

The Oakmont Giant Eagle building, along Allegheny River Boulevard, is shuttered with black plywood. There is a chain at the entrance to the parking lot.

"It's a ghetto, an eyesore," Dr. Friday said. "I'm not an active community leader, but I'm mad as hell because it's an eyesore."

Oakmont residents do have alternatives for food shopping. They can cross the Allegheny River and go to Fox Chapel, O'Hara or Harmarville. They can go to Penn Hills.

And a little west down the boulevard, in neighboring Verona, there is a Giant Eagle.

Overall, Mr. Friday does not consider them viable options.

"A lot of people [living in Oakmont] don't have cars," he said. "They can use a shuttle, but the inconvenience of waiting for one and taking bags back home is not what a neighborhood is made of."

Ms. Sciullo, a 22-year Oakmont resident, said: "Oakmont is a walking town. A lot of elderly live here."

Kaaren Amodeo is a massage therapist in her hometown. She also served on borough council for 12 years, and is on the board of the Riverview Community Action Center, which runs the shuttle bus service.

"It really bothers me that people who used to walk to the grocery store can't now," she said. "The bus was intended to shuttle people to the doctor and the local Giant Eagle."

The Oakmont store had been a Giant Eagle since August 1983, and a grocery for an undetermined period before that. The future of that site is uncertain.

Brothers Paul and Jerry Rosenberg ran that Giant Eagle during its 24 years of existence. Paul Rosenberg said the two were not owners of that store, but "franchisees" -- as independent owners or operators are called -- for the company.

He said they decided to close the Oakmont grocery and "gave the [lease to the] building back to Giant Eagle."

The Rosenbergs own the Verona Giant Eagle in the Rivertown Shops. It is more modern than the one that was shut nearby. Oakmont residents complain that the brothers did not put money into upgrading their store.

Dick Roberts, spokesman for Giant Eagle, said that Echo Real Estate Co. owns the Oakmont Giant Eagle property.

Mr. Roberts, a former Oakmont resident, said there are no plans for that site or a timetable in which to make a decision.

"The Giant Eagle folks and Echo continue to evaluate the potential opportunities there."

Dr. Friday said he doubts the supermarket chain would "offer their space to another grocery [company]." He speculates that a Giant Eagle Get-Go convenience store is a possibility, but is adamantly opposed to that.

"We have four gas stations already," he said.

He wants a food store.

"My hope is that someone will come into town, like a Whole Foods, that would have reasonable prices and great food."

Said Ms. Sciullo: "Even if something on a small scale, like McGinnis Sisters, moves in, it would be embraced."

Added Mrs. Amodeo: "Oakmont is a wonderful town and an untapped resource for anyone who wants to open a well-run grocery store."