Food Lion has invested nearly $1.8 million in improvements to its three stores in the Reidsville area.
The company celebrated at each of its stores Wednesday, August 2, with a ribbon cutting and gift card giveaways for the first 100 early risers who came out for the 7:45 a.m. event. Mayor Jay Donecker was on hand, along with Store Manager Billy Williams, to cut the ribbon at the store in the Belmont Square Shopping Center.
“We are glad that Food Lion decided to reinvest in our community,” said Reidsville Mayor Jay Donecker. “The grocery chain remains a strong presence here, and the three locations provide our residents with a lot of convenience.”
Reidsville Chamber of Commerce President Diane Sawyer agrees. “These renovations just further demonstrate how strong the Reidsville economic market is,” she said. “We love to see our longtime businesses continue to reinvest and prosper here.”
Reidsville’s three locations were part of a 93-store renovation project in the greater Greensboro-area market Food Lion officially unveiled on Wednesday. A company press release states that the $178 million capital investment included the remodeling of stores, lowering prices, hiring hundreds of additional associates and giving back to the local community.
“Food Lion has been a proud neighbor in the greater Greensboro community since 1968, and we’re excited to bring these improvements to our 93 stores in the area,” said Meg Ham, President of Food Lion, in a company release. “We’ve spent the past several months making significant investments in our stores, customers, associates and communities to create a new grocery shopping experience. Now, customers can easily find fresh, quality products at affordable prices to nourish our families, delivered with caring, friendly service every time they shop.” Ham also notes that Food Lion is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year.
Locally the three Reidsville stores, located at 1605 Way Street, 1130 Freeway Drive and 5200 US 29 Business, each had interior renovations done. In addition, the store at 5200 US Business in Cross Pointe Shopping Center had a small delivery dock built on the back of the store. Reidsville Mayor Jay Donecker cuts the ribbon held by two Food Lion employees as Store Manager Billy Williams looks on. All three Food Lions celebrated August 2nd the “re-opening” of the newly renovated stores.
The company press release says that among the changes customers will see throughout the greater-Greensboro market, including Reidsville:
Fully remodeled stores that provide an easier place to shop for customers by grouping like products, installing new signage to help locate items faster, as well as a more efficient checkout process;
Lower prices on thousands of items across all departments;
Improved quality and freshness for products throughout the store, including produce and meats;
Expanded variety and assortment across all departments that is relevant to our customers in each store, such as more local products like produce, craft beer, and natural and organic selections;
Enhanced customer service achieved by hiring more than 1,000 associates throughout the region and investing in additional customer-centric training for nearly 7,000 associates in the market.
As part of the grand re-opening celebrations, Food Lion has also partnered with Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina to try and help end hunger in the towns and cities they serve. The grocer has donated a mobile food pantry, valued at $100,000 or the value of more than 700,000 meals, to Second Harvest. Second Harvest provides a food to a variety of local food banks in Reidsville, many of which are at area churches.
“We are beyond grateful for the Food Lion Feeds initiative, a deep and focused partnership that continues to bring critical resources to Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC and the work we are doing to make our communities healthy and hunger free,” said Clyde W. Fitzgerald, Jr., CEO for Second Harvest in the press release. “This mobile pantry will allow us to work more deeply with neighbors and neighborhoods across the 18-counties we serve to provide increased access to healthy food, nutrition programs and other services.”
New Store Features for Customers
Food Lion's remodeled stores include new features that make shopping and saving easier, and reflect the grocer's "Easy, Fresh and Affordable" strategy, according to the company press release.
Food Lion expanded its product selection in stores by adding an abundant selection of fresh meat and produce backed by Food Lion's double-your-money-back guarantee, increasing gluten-free and organic items and growing its selection of Nature's Place beef, pork, poultry, salads, fruit and bakery items, free from unwanted ingredients. In addition, customers can buy local products from our "local goodness" section and have an expanded variety of craft beers, limited edition wines and much more.
Food Lion has also added easy and affordable meals for families, including weekend deals from Friday to Sunday and hot meals with sides available seven days a week. The grocer now has a wider variety of grab-and-go items and pre-sliced deli meats and cheeses, which are sliced fresh daily and available for customers to pick up without waiting in line.
Food Lion made savings easier with lower prices, improved signage and its three Easy Ways to Save:
Hot Sale: Food Lion's top weekly MVP specials, and the best prices throughout the store, only available with an MVP card.
WOW: Lower prices on thousands of items that matter most to our customers, offered for longer periods of time.
Low Price: Essential items priced affordably every day.
Knowing customers want to complete their shopping quickly, Food Lion made checkout faster with improved technology and larger display screens and added associates throughout the store to help meet customers' needs.
Food Lion is also testing a new, walk-in garden cooler in its produce section in 16 area stores.
The Greensboro-area stores received remodels as part of the grocer’s “Easy, Fresh and Affordable…You Can Count on Food Lion Every Day” strategy. With the completion of this market, Food Lion has remodeled 473 of its 1,000 stores, mostly in North Carolina. Later this year, the company will also complete 71 store remodels in the Richmond, Va., market. Food Lion will continue to make customer-centric enhancements across all stores and remodel additional stores in other markets.
