As it gears up to expand into the U.S., international grocer Lidl is eyeing more than just the Triad and Charlotte areas for its North Carolina stores. Europe's biggest discount grocery chain also looks to finally be making some moves in the Triangle market.
The company has been quietly plotting its expansion plans for new supermarket locations in both North Carolina and Virginia. But until recently Lidl had not committed to a specific site in the Triangle.
In the past couple of weeks, Lidl has filed new site plans with the planning departments in both Raleigh and Cary seeking permission to build a 36,170-square-foot standalone grocery store on infill properties in each municipality.
In Raleigh, Lidl is negotiating to buy a 7.2-acre site at 4308 Wake Forest Road near the McDonald's at Ronald Drive and the Wal-Mart Supercenter on New Hope Road.
It is also less than one-third of a mile from the nearest Aldi grocery store, the supermarket chain that is considered to be one of Lidl's biggest competitors. Aldi has eight locations in the Triangle.
In Cary, Lidl has filed site plans under the name HP Drive Grocery Store for a 3.5-acre location at the northwest intersection of North Harrison Avenue and Grand Heights Drive, across from the Harris Teeter-anchored Harrison Pointe shopping center. Dan Matthys, development liaison for Cary, says the plan is currently in its first round of review with the planning staff.
Lidl seems to be bullish about opening locations in the Charlotte area, with the grocer's name tied to several locations in the area, including on South Boulevard, as reported Tuesday by Business Journal publications in Charlotte and the Triad.
The grocer also is pursuing locations in the Triad area, with plans filed in both Winston-Salem and Lexington.
GRDI LLC, an entity formed July 8, purchased a combined 3.76 acres at 3335 Sides Branch Road and 1409 Lumber Lane in Winston-Salem for $2.3 million. A $2.5 million building permit that calls for a grocery store was pulled earlier this year by MGP Retail Consulting, the Virginia-based development arm for Lidl.
Triad Business Journal research shows GRDI LLC is associated with two addresses, one on Wilson Boulevard in Arlington, Va., and another on Greensboro Drive in McLean, Va., both of which also are associated with MGP Retail.
The grocer also has its eye on property in Lexington, where MGP filed a zoning permit application for a 35,000-square-foot store. And there are murmurings that Lidl has another Winston-Salem location, as well as a property in Greensboro, in its sights.
Still, Lidl is keeping mum.
Spokesman Will Harwood would not confirm plans for any specific grocery site when contacted by the Triangle Business Journal about the potential locations in Raleigh and Cary.
"We haven't announced any specific stores, but we are actively pursuing stores in the region," he says. "We have stated that we will have stores open no later than 2018 in the U.S."
In the Triad, sources say the grocer has been scouting the area for 18 months and looks to open between a handful to a dozen stores, with an eye on corner sites near Harris Teeter or Walgreen’s and on streets that see 25,000 or more cars.
The Triad Business Journal first reported in early April that the discount grocer, which operates nearly 10,000 stores globally and is a direct rival to fast-growing Aldi, was considering building an 850,000-square-foot facility on an approximately 85-acre site at the N.C. Commerce Park on Interstate 85/40.
Alamance County and the cities of Graham and Mebane approved a nearly $5.38 million incentive package to lure the grocer, and, Lidl announced this summer it will invest $125 million to build a regional headquarters and distribution hub there. The grocery giant settled on Arlington County, Va., for its U.S. headquarters, an expected $77 million investment.
Lidl, a German company, has about 10,000 stores in 26 countries.