NC grocer’s expansion wave around Charlotte area continues. New store date set
A North Carolina grocery chain is expanding again with another Charlotte-area store opening this month.
Lowes Foods will debut its seventh store in the Charlotte market at 8 a.m. June 18 at the intersection of Kannapolis Parkway and Rogers Lake Road in Kannapolis, the Winston-Salem grocer said Thursday. A pre-opening block party is from 1 to 3 p.m. June 14.
The nearly 51,000-square-foot store is part of a large development that includes 10 outparcels from 1 acre to nearly 9 acres surrounding the center, according to developer MVP Properties’ website. Georgetown Crossings, a 142-unit townhome community, is next door, and the future Northwest Cabarrus High School is across Kannapolis Parkway.
Lowes Foods typically hires about 150 full- and part-time employees at each store.
It’s the third Lowes Foods store opening in less than a year in the Charlotte region.
In January, a store opened at 3412 Providence Road in Waxhaw and in September, the Indian Land, S.C., store at U.S. 521 and Possum Hollow Road at The Exchange debuted. Lowes also recently opened a store in Columbia.
Lowes previously announced the construction of a second Mooresville store at the southwest corner of Mecklenburg Highway and the East-West Connector. The store will open in 2027.
This new store will join previously announced locations in Wendell and Fuquay-Varina, and Lyman, South Carolina.
The competition to capture grocery shoppers’ dollars is steep in the Charlotte market, where Walmart and Harris Teeter consistently rank at the top.
At least two more grocers plan to open stores this fall.
Rochester, N.Y.-based Wegmans will make its Charlotte debut Oct. 14 with a 110,000-square-foot grocery in Ballantyne at 11550 North Community House Road. Sprouts Farmers Market, Phoenix-based specialty grocer, expects to open at the former Earth Fare at Christenbury Corners, 8885 Christenbury Parkway, in Concord.
What to expect at the new Lowes Foods
Features at the Kannapolis store, Lowes Foods said, include the Community Table to gather for food pairings, tea parties and floral arranging classes, plus parties and events.
Shoppers can grab a pour and sip on craft beers and drafts while they shop, or fill a growler or crowler to take home, from The Beer Den.
The store also has The Chicken Kitchen, The Smokehouse with wood-smoked meats, SausageWorks of locally made sausages, and The Cakery, a whimsical bakery where square cakes are assembled, topped with icing made in-store with real cream and butter.
The store will also offer online shopping through Lowes Foods to Go.
More about Lowes Foods
In 2014, Lowes Foods began pulling out of Charlotte, swapping stores with Harris Teeter and closing underperforming stores as part of a reinvestment strategy.
The 72-year-old company has nearly 9,000 employees at about 80 Lowes Foods supermarkets in the Carolinas. Lowes Foods is a subsidiary of Alex Lee, based in Hickory.
