Harris Teeter Readies to Open 1st Converted Farm Fresh

On the heels of opening the largest store in its portfolio in New Bern, N.C., earlier this month, Harris Teeter will debut the first of its former Farm Fresh conversion stores in Virginia Beach, Va., on Wednesday.

The former 38-unit Farm Fresh, which was once the biggest regional grocery chain in Virginia’s Hampton Roads area, was divested by Supervalu last spring. The Kroger Co. in May acquired 18 of the units, with 11 going to its Harris Teeter division and eight to its Roanoke, Va.-based Mid-Atlantic division.

The first of Harris Teeter’s former Farm Fresh conversions at the Strawbridge Marketplace, at 2129 General Booth Blvd., will feature the retailer’s familiar signature amenities, highlights of which include hot foods and salad bars, a sub shop, fresh sushi, full-service meat and seafood departments, fresh lobster rolls and fresh steamed seafood, a full-service floral department, international cheeses, beer and wine, and an in-store pharmacy.

“Harris Teeter is thrilled to open the first of its former Farm Fresh-conversion stores,” Danna Robinson, communication manager for the Matthews, N.C.-based Harris Teeter, said in a release. “Harris Teeter has deep roots in Virginia Beach, and many of our valued associates—now members of our executive team—began their career in grocery with Farm Fresh. We look forward to continuing to serve our Virginia Beach neighbors with our expanded footprint and honoring the legacy of the neighborhood’s former grocery store.”

Related:Supervalu Exiting Farm Fresh Banner, Selling 21 Stores

Amid its ongoing Farm Fresh remodels, Harris Teeter added a crown jewel to its store expansion program in early December with the opening of its New Bern (N.C.) Marketplace at 3565 ML King Jr. Blvd. At nearly 100,000 square feet—the largest store in Harris Teeter’s portfolio—the retailer’s new flagship features “never-before-seen amenities and features,” Robinson said, such as a burger bar, a sushi train, a beer and wine bar with craft beers on tap and wine by the glass, a juice bar, ExpressLane online shopping, a Starbucks and a drive-thru pharmacy.

The New Bern location also feature a Harris Teeter Fuel Center, which offers customers 3 cents off per gallon with the use of a VIC card. Shoppers can redeem accrued fuel points for cents off the gallon at the fuel pump of any Harris Teeter Fuel Center or BP station.

The store has 12 full-service checkout lanes and eight express checkouts, as well as expanded departments and services throughout, including a nut grinding station, private professional pharmacist consultations, drug interaction/allergy screenings and a sit-down eating area.

Harris Teeter employs approximately 30,000 associates and operates stores in the Carolinas, Virginia, Georgia, Maryland, Delaware, Florida and the District of Columbia.