FOOD LION TO BUY 30 SHUT FARMER JACKS

MICHAEL HARRISON

SALISBURY, N.C. -- Food Lion here has signed an agreement to purchase 30 shuttered Farmer Jack stores in Virginia from A&P, Montvale, N.J., the company said.

The move would strengthen Food Lion's dominant position in the Richmond and Tidewater markets.

An A&P spokesman told SN the stores, which range in size from 16,000 to 39,000 square feet, were closed in January because they "underperformed" and did not jibe with the company's long-range growth plans.

Terms of the contract were not released. Both companies said they expect the deal to become final by the end of this month.

Chris Ahearn, corporate communications manager for Food Lion, said the company's initial plans are to renovate and open nine of the stores "in the next year," including an unspecified number of stores sometime this summer. All nine would operate under the Food Lion banner, Ahearn said.

The future of the remaining stores has not been decided. According to Ahearn, "At this point, we're still evaluating sites."