Food Lion wraps up 47 store remodels in North Carolina

Food Lion has upgraded 47 stores on the coast of North Carolina in a $77 million investment.

Plans call for the remodeled stores—located in 31 communities in the Greenville, Jacksonville and New Bern triangle—to hold grand reopening events on Wednesday, Salisbury, North Carolina-based Food Lion said Monday. Reopening celebrations will kick off with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 7:45 a.m. Afterward, the first 100 customers in line will receive a mystery gift card valued up to $250, free reusable shopping bag and trunk organizer.

Headlining the updates is a bigger assortment of ready-to-eat, ready-to-cook or ready-to-heat foods to provide more easy meal solutions, Food Lion noted. Most of the stores also have introduced self-checkout lanes in response to customer requests, the grocer said, adding that Food Lion To Go online grocery pickup and home delivery—offering the same price as in-store—bring shoppers more convenience as well.

The stores also feature a more modern look and feel, along with energy-efficient overhead LED lighting and refrigerated cases with doors. Food Lion, too, said it ramped up associate training to provide a higher level of service.

“Food Lion has been a proud neighbor in the Greenville, Jacksonville and New Bern communities for 43 years,” President Meg Ham said in a statement. “We’re excited to welcome our neighbors in these towns and cities into their fresh, new Food Lion. These remodels also reflect our ongoing commitment to invest in the growth and development of our associates so they can provide a shopping experience customers can count on.”

Customers also will find an extensive selection of fresh produce, meat and other products; more healthy foods; a large assortment of organic, gluten-free and plant-based items, including the Nature’s Promise natural, organic and free-from brand; and a wide variety of regional items sourced from local growers or manufacturers under Food Lion’s Local Goodness program.

“From a brand-new look and feel to more convenient grab-and-go items to make any meal easier, each store has made big changes with our customers in mind so they can nourish their families affordably and make life a little easier,” Ham added.

Besides Greenville, Jacksonville and New Bern, North Carolina communities with updated Food Lions include Atlantic Beach, Ayden, Beaufort, Belhaven, Chocowinity, Columbia, Emerald Isle, Farmville, Grantsboro, Havelock, Kenansville, Kinston, La Grange, Morehead City, Newport, Pink Hill, Plymouth, Richlands, Robersonville, Sneads Ferry, Snow Hill, Swansboro, Vanceboro, Wallace, Washington, Williamston, Windsor and Winterville.

Food Lion has steadily upgraded its store base in recent years. So far this year, the chain announced 30 remodeled stores in the Wilmington, North Carolina, area in May following the completion of updates to 20 stores across the Carolinas in April. another, prior to that, unveiled new stores in Little River, South Carolina (including a liquor store); Kernersville, North Carolina; South Boston, Virginia; and Inwood, West Virginia.

Part of Ahold Delhaize USA, Food Lion operates more than 1,100 stores across 10 Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states.