Grocerying News Updates

Danville's Harris Teeter Closing in March

Last summer, Grocerying had the chance to visit Danville, Virginia and a Harris Teeter that we dubbed "the store that time forgot." As the news of its closing comes as little surprise, it is a blow to the already economically depressed Danville. Danville's grocerying scene now consists of Food Lion, Piggly Wiggly, Aldi, Wal-Mart Supercenter and a few small independents. In recent years Danville has also lost a Kroger, although Kroger still has a presence in nearby Martinsville. The closest Harris Teeter stores will now be in Greensboro, where some employees are transferring to and some customers say they will make the drive. It is worth noting that when we wrote the piece last year we predicted that the Danville store would not last much longer. Read more from the Danville Register & Bee

Wal-Mart now leads the Charlotte market

Wal-Mart has dethroned Harris Teeter as grocery market leader, according to an article published in today's Charlotte Observer. This comes as no surprise either as the Charlotte area's grocerying scene has changed immensely. We've seen stores leave (Winn-Dixie), new stores arrive (Lowes Foods) and a rise in specialty chains (Trader Joe's, Aldi, Compare Foods, Earth Fare) and of course supercenters (Wal-Mart, Target). Aside from Wal-Mart, in terms of number of stores Harris Teeter still dominates the northern and southern end of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, while Food Lion dominates the eastern and western portions. Get the full story from The Charlotte Observer and check out their graphic.

Bi-Lo's Woes & New Strategies

On the heels of Bi-Lo's Chapter 11 Bankruptcy reorganization and almost buyout by Food Lion, the South Carolina based grocery chain is trying a new strategy. The company has struggled to make a niche for itself as a mid-market grocer, so now they are banking on customer loyalty. Bi-Lo has partnered with area BP gas stations to promote usage of Bi-Lo's BonusCard for a program called Fuelperks. Read more about Fuelperks from The Charlotte Business Journal.

In other Bi-Lo news, two Charlotte area stores are slated for closing. Bi-Lo's store on Little Rock Road, which was a former Winn-Dixie, will close in March as will their store in Indian Trail off Independence Boulevard. WCCB-TV Fox Charlotte did a story on how anchor tenant Bi-Lo's closing causes a ripple effect throughout the shopping center hurting the smaller businesses.

The Harris Teeter that time forgot: Danville, Virginia

Yes, believe it or not, these photos were taken in 2009. Talk about a throwback! The Harris Teeter store in the former mill town of Danville, Virginia (about 40 minutes north of Greensboro, NC) looks like it has not been updated since the early 1990s at best. This store is an anomaly in itself, being the only Harris Teeter store in southside Virginia. The front of the store still sports the old Harris Teeter logo, something rarely found these days. The question is: does Harris Teeter really want to keep this store open? If Harris Teeter really wanted to stay in Danville in the long term, it would seem that they would have updated the store by now. It is in a demographically depressed area of Virginia, that has the highest unemployment numbers in the state. Perhaps it's only fitting that the Harris Teeter that time forgot be in the town that time forgot.

Update: As of March 2010, this store has closed.