EXHIBIT 31.1

CERTIFICATION OF PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Section 302 Certification

I, Eric Claus, the Chief Executive Officer of The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, Inc., certify that:

1.	I have reviewed this Amendment No. 1 to the Annual Report on Form 10-K/A for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2009 of The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, Inc. (“Amendment No. 1”); and
2.	Based on my knowledge, Amendment No. 1 does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report.

Date: July 23, 2009

/s/ Eric Claus  

Eric Claus 

President and Chief Executive Officer