This is the first Super Bi-Lo in the Charlotte market, about 25 minutes south of Charlotte in Rock Hill. The store replaces the old Rock Hill Mall on Cherry Road. This store opened in November, and it is 63,000 square feet, nearly double the size of a standard Bi-Lo store. The former Bi-Lo store across the street on Cherry Road is now vacant and it is unknown at this time as to what will fill that spot. Another Bi-Lo, on Main Street in Rock Hill, is also being converted to the Super format. Additionally, a Super Bi-Lo is slated to open in Matthews, NC (at Weddington and McKee Roads) this year as well (photographed below). This is significant too because Bi-Lo is bolstering its image in the Harris-Teeter-saturated suburban south Charlotte market, where Bi-Lo only really has one other store on Elm Lane. Additionally, this marks Bi-Lo's return to Matthews since closing their store on Independence Blvd next to the old K-mart back in the 1990s. Read more about Rock Hill's Bi-Lo store in the press release here (and see how a Super Bi-Lo differs from a regular Bi-Lo).
Have any of you been to a Super Bi-Lo store? Leave comments...To Note: Greensboro had a Super Bi-Lo (and Knoxville too) at one time, but this was before they implemented the current prototype Super Bi-Lo store.
6 comments:
A Super BiLo is under construction in the Chattanooga area near the area's first Publix. From the press releases in the Chattanooga paper I get the impression of it being a upscale version of the typical BiLo, being more on the level of Harris-Teeter and Publix, but I expect service may fall below the standards of the two upper end chains.
I gather the prototype is very much derived from Super Stop & Shop and Super Giant stores operated by Ahold up east.
Sorry to dig up old topics...but...
We had a Super Bi-Lo when I was in grad school at the U of Tennessee in Knoxville (2001). I don't really remember much about it, so it apparently didn't leave that much more of an impression upon me than my regular Bi-Lo. But it did remind me more of Harris-Teeter, which I suppose is what they're going after.
Where is the one in Matthews going? I see they also have opened up/converted several Supers back in Greenville, my old stomping grounds.
Matt- it's not an old topic. In fact we used to have a Super Bi-Lo in Greensboro (first one that I had seen), but it was unrelated to the new Super Bi-Lo stores today, although similar in sentiment (having a Starbucks, being more like a HT). The Matthews one is going at the corner of Weddington and McKee Roads, across from the Harris Teeter at Plantation Market.
Anon.- It seems to be an upscale version of a typical Bi-Lo, but you might be right about service. And I believe you're also correct on the Super Stop & Shop / Giant comparisons since Ahold did implement the prototype Super Bi-Lo before they spun off the store.
Just in case anyone missed it, the Charlotte Observer did a little blurb on the new Super Bi-Los in today's (March 15, 2008) business section...Nothing earth-shattering, but still nice to see.
I checked out the Matthews Super Bi-Lo. It looks like the ex-Greensboro Super Bi-Lo updated to 2008 with some flat panel tvs around the store. I call it Super Bi-Lo 1.1 because I don't really see the big upgrades vs that old greensboro store.
Lowes Food stores are a notch better looking than Super Bi-Lo. They should rename all their Super Bi-Lo to just Bi-Lo and rename all their old stores something else.
I thought this Super Bi-Lo would be between Harris Teeter's Flagship and Super Flagship stores, nope.
(HT Supers=Southpark,Cotswold,Arberdem(sp), Friendly in Greensboro)
It has slightly less amenities than flagship stores like Matthews Festival or Stonecrest.
I give it 2-5 years, then it will be a replacement store for HT 147 across the street.
This is now a publix
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