Food City to build new 'state-of-the-art supermarket' in Kentucky to replace existing store

Food City is planning to build a new supermarket in South Williamson, Kentucky, with an opening date this fall, the Abingdon, Virginia-based grocery retailer announced Friday. The 51,300-square-foot supermarket will be constructed on the same site using some of the existing building, which is located at 28093 Thompson Plaza.

“We’re proud to have served the residents of Pike County for 60 years and we couldn’t be more excited to have the opportunity to build a new state-of-the-art Food City to serve our loyal customers,” said Steven C. Smith, Food City president and CEO, in a statement.

The company plans to temporarily close the existing store on April 8, and employees will be relocated to surrounding Food City locations during the construction of the new store.

“As you can imagine, closing the store, even temporarily, was an extremely difficult decision,” said Smith. “Unfortunately, it’s the only viable option to safely construct a new store on the same site. Rest assured that we will utilize every resource at our disposal to complete the project as quickly as possible to minimize inconvenience to our customers. During the closing, we would certainly like to invite our customers to shop our Pikeville and Shelbiana Food City locations, as well as our Super Dollar Food Center.”

The Food City Pharmacy, which will be relocated to a temporary facility in front of the store, will remain open throughout the construction, carrying a limited number of WIC-approved grocery and convenience items for shoppers wanting to redeem their Kentucky or West Virginia WIC benefits.

“We’re very excited about the new store and the additional services and conveniences it will provide, and I think our customers will find it well worth the wait,” said store manager, Josh Blevins, in a statement.

Expanding beyond its grocery selection, the new store will feature a floral boutique, pharmacy, Starbucks Cafe and an onsite café with a seating area, as well as an off-site Food City Gas N’ Go. Food City's GoCart curbside pickup will be available as well.

The new store will feature energy-efficient glass cooler doors, parking lot lights and refrigeration systems to motion sensors and 100% LED lighting, Food City said.

“Our customers can expect to find the same smiling faces, top-quality products and low prices, along with expanded variety/selection and some great new services and conveniences,” says Smith.   

Food City parent K-VA-T Food Stores operates 150 retail outlets throughout southeast Kentucky, southwest Virginia, east Tennessee, north Georgia and Alabama.