Midwest tech company picks NC for East Coast debut of online grocery delivery service

An online-only grocer in Chicago is making its official East Coast debut Tuesday, and teaming up with a convenience store in Charlotte.

Online grocer Food Rocket is operating from within two Circle K stores in Charlotte at 8505 S. Tryon St. and 8008 Harris Station Blvd.

The new concept offers delivery within a half hour for a 6-mile radius, according to the companies. Food Rocket also will create 100 full- and part-time jobs in the city in the city, according to the company.

But Food Rocket customers won’t be shopping there.

Food Rocket is a “dark store,” meaning it’s “closed to the customer” and only takes orders online and through the company app for delivery.

Food Rocket chose Charlotte because of its growing number of young professionals and more companies opening headquarters here, CEO and founder Vitaly Alexandrov exclusively told The Charlotte Observer recently.

The company enters a competitive supermarket field where Walmart and Matthews-based Harris Teeter claim top market share as others expand like Food Lion and Publix.

‘The immediate consumption business’

Along with Food Rocket’s grocery products, including meats, fresh produce, dairy, its delivery also includes Circle K products, such as snacks, alcohol and tobacco.

The Circle K and Food Rocket partnership is an opportunity to improve customer convenience, said Kevin Lewis, chief marketing officer for Circle K based in Charlotte. He said he’s not aware of competitors taking this approach.

“We are in the immediate consumption business. It’s the stuff you need now,” Lewis said. “Our job is to deliver convenience, and if that convenience moves to other ways such as delivering it, we need to be a part of it.”

Food Rocket opened last year in San Francisco using artificial intelligence technology. This year, the company expanded and relocated its headquarters to Chicago.

What to expect with Food Rocket

The Food Rocket and Circle K launch offers delivery of 7,000 traditional grocery and convenience store products.

Customers go to Food Rocket’s website, foodrocket.me, to shop for items. Circle K products also are available. There is no application or delivery fees, and no order minimum.

Food Rocket guarantees delivery within the time frame specified on the order, or it will pick up the tab, according to the company.

Food Rocket also will experiment with testing products online to see what shoppers like and don’t like, and plans to expand its supplier list to include local restaurants, bakeries and ice cream producers, Alexandrov said.

Charlotte is Food Rocket’s first market that will use cars instead of e-bikes for delivery, Alexandrov said. Delivery radius in Charlotte is expanded from the typical 2 miles to 6 miles, he said.

Lewis said the pandemic accelerated what was going to happen anyway to make people’s lives easier, including delivery and pickup.

Food Rocket plans to build its supply chain over the next six months and then expand to other cities in North Carolina, Alexandrov said. He did not say where they would go.

Circle K has more than 100 stores and about 2,000 employees in the Charlotte region.

Other grocery stores in Charlotte

Food Rocket isn’t the first “dark store” concept to open in Charlotte.

Farmstead, a San Francisco-based grocery, opened its East Coast hub in fall 2020 with a warehouse in west Charlotte and expanded services earlier this year. But in August, the online-only grocer ceased operations outside of its San Francisco base, including Charlotte.

Other grocers have also recently closed or announced closings the past month, including Earth Fare Davidson, International Supermarket at Asian Corner Mall and Island Grocery and Grill.

However, several other supermarkets are expanding:

▪ International grocer Super G Mart will open its third and largest North Carolina store this year at 10500 Centrum Parkway in Pineville, with a food hall, full-service restaurant and retail. The store is facing hiring challenges, The Charlotte Observer previously reported, and an opening date has not yet been confirmed.

▪ Food Lion, based in Salisbury, opened a store last month in Cleveland and in June at 5939 Weddington Road, in a former Harris Teeter location in Charlotte. In January, Food Lion opened at 2201 West W. T. Harris Blvd., also in a former Harris Teeter location, in Charlotte.

▪ Lidl, discount German grocery, in May opened its 10th store at 11200 Carmel Commons Boulevard.

▪ Lowes Foods, based in Winston-Salem, opened its “first-of-its-kind” store in February with entertainment at 14021 Boren St. in Huntersville in a former Earth Fare. Next year, Lowes Foods will open a 52,000-square-foot store at Christenbury Village in Concord.

▪ Publix, based in Florida, is planning seven store openings in the Charlotte region: Clear Creek Crossings at Albemarle and Rocky River Church roads in Charlotte; The Colony at Sharon and Colony roads in SouthPark; Harris Farms Shopping Center at Coddle Creek Highway and Kistler Farm Road in Mooresville; North Creek Village at Sam Furr and Davidson Concord roads in Huntersville; 10 Tryon building at Tryon and Ninth streets in uptown; and Arboretum at Providence and Pineville-Matthews Roads.

This story was originally published November 29, 2022 at 5:50 AM.