The Food Lion grocery chain is gearing up to revamp three of its supermarkets in Burlington just as its parent company prepares to break ground on a massive new distribution center in the western part of the city.
Over the past several weeks, the city’s inspections department has issued renovation permits for three stores that the Salisbury-based company operates within Burlington’s borders. The sites of these dramatic makeovers include Food Lion locations along West Webb Avenue and near the interstate interchange for Alamance Road. Meanwhile, workers have already started to clear out old fixtures from a third store along South Church Street that’s within shouting distance of Elon’s municipal limits.
In all of these cases, the proposed overhauls are being taken on by the grocery chain’s landlords, who expect to spend over $1 million on each project, according to the city’s inspections records. These projects are nevertheless part and parcel of a broader plan that Food Lion has to strengthen its market presence in its home state.
Katherine Kirby, a spokesperson for Food Lion, revealed that the coming months will see the company release more information about these improvements.
“We are currently remodeling stores across the Greensboro D[esignated] M[arket] A[rea] to bring an enhanced omnichannel shopping experience to our neighbors,” she went on to explain in a statement to The Alamance News. “While we’re not ready to share the full announcement just yet, we expect to have more details available later this year.”
Kirby emphasized that the forthcoming renovations aren’t directly related to the company’s much-ballyhooed plans for a massive new distribution center on Burlington’s western frontier. Last fall, Food Lion’s Dutch-owned corporate parent – Ahold Delhaize USA – announced that it would build this one-million-square-foot facility off of NC 61 in eastern Guilford County. The company ultimately expects to employ more than 500 people at this logistics hub once its running on all cylinders in 2033. It is also predicted to add more than $860 million to the tax bases of both Guilford County and Burlington – a prospect that has compelled the leaders of both jurisdictions to pledge nearly $40 million in sweeteners to make this plan a reality.
Food Lion’s proposed renovations are a much more modest proposition than the parent company’s plans for the new distribution center. According to Burlington’s inspection records, each of these projects is expected to cost somewhere between $1.1 million and $1.3 million. Meanwhile, Kirby acknowledged that the proposed renovations won’t have any impact on the footprints of the company’s stores.
“All stores will receive interior remodels only, with the exception of some updates to the building façade and, in some cases, new storefront signage,” she elaborated. “We expect all work to be completed by the end of the year. Customers may observe minor, shortterm impacts [from] construction.”
Kirby added that the stores will remain in operation while the renovations are underway.
According to Burlington’s inspection records, the city issued a permit for the first set of renovations on January 12. This particular project entails the “remodel of an existing supermarket” at 1780 West Webb Avenue – with an anticipated cost of $1,123,000. Situated at Webb Avenue’s intersection with West Davis Street, this property is currently leased to Food Lion by a Greensboro-based limited liability corporation dubbed Yorktown Investors.
The city’s inspections records are a bit more explicit about the other two renovations, which received the inspection department’s blessing on January 13.
One of these projects calls for $1,284,800 in improvements to a retail space that Food Lion leases within Eighty-Five Plaza. Although addressed as 2660 Ramada Road, this supermarket is located closer to Alamance Road’s juncture with South Mebane Street. According to the city’s inspection records, the Burington-based owner of this property plans to embark on a “moderate interior remodel” with “new equipment, updated décor, and finishes” while the exterior is in store for “modifications to include EIFS and wall scones.” The city’s inspection records add that there will be “no changes to the building[’s] size or occupancy” as part of this project.
The third proposed overhaul is set to take place at the Shoppes at Westbrook, which an LLC affiliated with Carolina Hosiery Mills owns at 3535 South Church Street. Located between Westbrook and South Williamson avenues, this property is slated to receive $1,120,800 in upgrades, including “new finishes [and] checkouts,” a refurbished deli, bakery, and “lounge,” “a new e-commerce room and modified vestibules.”
Preparations for these particular improvements are already well underway. On Monday, in fact, a forklift driver hauled off some of the store’s old retail gondolas, even as shoppers continued to pass through the supermarket.
