Food Lion’s newest store in the Charlotte region opens with a ‘garden cooler’ and hot bar
Food Lion is set to open a store in the Charlotte region with ready-made meals, a “walk-in garden cooler” and a hot food bar.
The Salisbury-based grocery chain will open its latest store on Wednesday, Jan. 29, at 155 Crosstie Lane in Troutman, about 35 miles north of uptown Charlotte in Iredell County. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is at 7:45 a.m.
About 80 employees will work at the 36,000-square-foot store, Food Lion said.
Food Lion has opened 11 stores in four states since 2022, including 2201 West W. T. Harris Blvd. and 5939 Weddington Road in Charlotte and 11745 Statesville Blvd., in Cleveland, according to the company website.
Food Lion has steep competition vying for a piece of the over $10.2 billion market share in the Charlotte region, where there are over 745 stores and more planned.
What to expect at the new Food Lion
The Food Lion store in Troutman will offer an expanded selection of products such as:
▪ An assortment of ready-to-eat, ready-to-cook or ready-to-heat meals.
▪ A walk-in garden cooler with fresh produce
▪ Fresh sushi
▪ Self-service wings and hot bar
▪ Organic, gluten-free and plant-based items
▪ Regionally-sourced local products
The store includes self-checkout lanes, as well as pickup and home delivery options. Store hours will be 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.
More about Food Lion
Food Lion is the third largest grocer by market share in the Charlotte region with 103 stores, behind Walmart and Harris Teeter, according to an annual report by Chain Store Guide.
The Charlotte market includes Cabarrus, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Rowan and Union counties, as well as Chester, Lancaster and York counties in South Carolina.
Last year, Food Lion promoted executive vice president of retail operations Greg Finchum to president, following Meg Ham’s retirement after more than 10 years leading the company.
Food Lion has more than 1,100 stores in 10 Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states, and over 82,000 employees.
Founded in 1957 and now owned by Quincy, Massachusetts-based Ahold Delhaize USA, Food Lion stores regularly donates unsold, edible food to local agencies to support people in need. Ahold Delhaize is headquartered in Zaandam, the Netherlands.
More grocery stores planned
Food Lion’s expansion joins other grocers with opening stores in the Charlotte area, including:
▪ Last month, Publix Super Market said it will open a store in Wesley Chapel in Union County. A time for the opening has not yet been set.
The Lakeland, Florida-based chain has five more Publix stores planned in Charlotte: at 11525 Carmel Commons, which is expected to open this year; The Arboretum store at Providence and Pineville-Matthews roads has construction underway; 10 Tryon building on the northwest corner of Tryon and Ninth streets in uptown; Clear Creek Crossings development on the corner of Albemarle and Rocky River Church roads; and at the corner of Sharon and Colony roads in SouthPark.
▪ Sprouts Farmers Market will open a 21,000-square-foot store in the summer at the One NoDa Park development on the corner of 36th and Tryon streets in Charlotte. It will be the third location for the Phoenix-based grocer, which opened a store in Steele Creek in fall 2023 and also has a store in Ballantyne.
▪ The West Boulevard Coalition is opening Charlotte’s first cooperative grocery store, Three Sisters Market. The full-service grocery store will debut in an area that has been without a traditional supermarket for over 30 years. It’s expected to open this year.
▪ In July, Matthews Board of Commissioners approved changes to a grocery store plan with illustration signage similar to Trader Joe’s in a 13,5000-square-foot building at Matthews Gateway on East John Street.
▪ In May, Mecklenburg County commissioners OK’d $1.5 million for California-based grocer Spangler’s to build an 8,000-square-foot store at Kohler and Statesville avenues, north of uptown.
▪ In 2026, Rochester, N.Y.-based Wegmans will make its Charlotte debut with a 110,000-square-foot grocery store on the east side of Ballantyne in south Charlotte.
This story was originally published January 28, 2025 at 12:20 PM.