Food Lion spent $484M on Charlotte area store upgrades. What shoppers will see
While a misting system sprayed vegetables in the newly remodeled produce section of the Johnston Road Plaza Food Lion, operations director Bill Scales greeted Charlotte shoppers last Friday picking up vegetables and fruits.
For customers who want to avoid a mess at home, Scales pointed out the new “Fresh Cut to Go” stand, with packaged strawberries, pineapples and melons. “It’s been very popular for us,” Scales said.
This upgraded produce section is just one of many enhancements that are part of a $484 million capital investment at 153 remodeled stores in the Charlotte region. Some of the changes for customers range from new storefronts to convenient ways to buy or pick up groceries
Food Lion is making improvements to its store amid a hyper-competitive grocery market around the Charlotte region, which includes more than 700 stores. This includes Walmart, Publix, Sprouts Farmers Market and Matthews-based grocer Harris Teeter. Wegmans is also scheduled to enter the market in the fall after breaking ground in September.
The company, founded in Salisbury in 1957, celebrated the upgrades with ribbon-cuttings at participating stores, offering giveaways and gift cards to randomly selected customers.
“Charlotte is a special market for us because it’s our hometown,” said Food Lion President Greg Finchum in a news release.
Improvements took about six months to a year to complete, according to Scales. In addition to new décor, lights, signs and floors, here are some of the other upgrades customers will see throughout the stores.
‘Making meals easy’ at Food Lion
Beyond groceries, Food Lion is also selling time-saving options, including meals that are ready to eat, cook or heat.
The bakery section’s “Meals Made Easy” area features ready-to-eat items for home or for lunch at work, such as soups from Panera Bread.
Salads, fried chicken, pizza and a wings bar with sides such as potato wedges and macaroni and cheese are also nearby. The assortment will vary from store to store.
Food Lion also added a larger selection of desserts, breads and cakes in the bakery, plus more freshly sliced meats and cheeses in the deli. The chain is also highlighting its “Taste of Inspiration” brand, offering customers more high-quality meats and cheeses.
The meat department also introduced oven-ready meals, such as salmon with asparagus and beef sirloin strip with vegetables. Most of the items are under $10.
“Our customers have a huge selection to choose from,” Scales said about options such as pork, chicken or beef. “They could just take this home, pop it in the oven and in less than 30 minutes, it’s ready to go.”
Food Lion also made enhancements to its fixtures, cases, refrigerator units, décor and signage. Scales said the improvements did not impact prices for customers.
Food Lion expands produce options
Through its Local Goodness program, Food Lion offers about 30 seasonal produce items. For the fall, these include green tomatoes, squash, muscadine grapes and apples.
Food Lion also expanded produce departments with fresh herbs, dressings, dips, and packaged salads. The stores also sell products from farmers and small businesses in the Carolinas.
“You might find one of these farmers at a roadside stand selling their own product,” Scales said. “And we carry it for them as well.”
Examples include The Dutch Kettle of Hamptonville, which makes fruit jams, jellies and barbecue sauce. Scales came across The Dutch Kettle’s apple butter at a roadside stand in Banner Elk last year and was impressed with the product.
“I thought I had something special, and then I’m walking through the store, and I said, ‘Yeah, we carry this stuff,’ ” he recalled. But if it hadn’t been in the stores, Scales said he would have suggested it.
Checking out at Food Lion stores
Food Lion added self-checkout lanes to most stores, so shoppers can choose to check out with a clerk or do it themselves.
Jobs were not cut due to the addition of self-checkout, according to Scales. For customers who want to skip shopping altogether, Food Lion’s To-Go service allows customers to order online and pick up at the store.
Saving energy at grocery stores
Food Lion’s upgraded stores now use energy-saving LED lighting in new refrigerated cases with doors. These updates create a modern atmosphere, keep products fresh and use less energy, the company said.
More on Food Lion
Food Lion operates more than 1,100 stores in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. The grocery chain has more than 82,000 employees.
The company is a subsidiary of Ahold Delhaize USA, a division of a Zaandam, Netherlands-based company.
