Lowes Foods' new look

A competitive grocery market calls for grocers to be on their toes at all times.  In keeping with the trend, Winston-Salem based Lowes Foods stores is rolling out a contemporary look at some of their locations. This store in Greensboro on New Garden Road is one of the first Lowes Foods stores with the new, modernized look.  Gone are the tall, bulky shelving units on the aisles, replaced with low-rise shelves and wider aisles.  Additionally, new sleek signage is displayed all around the store and throughout the center of the store, directing customers to where they can find newly-relocated items.  At this time, it is unclear how many of their stores will get this look, but our guess is that most of them will.

Harris Teeter and Lowes Foods plan major shakeup in Charlotte and western NC

Breaking News: Harris Teeter and Lowes Foods are swapping stores in the Charlotte region and in Asheville.  We are working on the story, here are the stores that effected:

Harris Teeter stores converting to Lowes Foods

401 Cox Rd, Gastonia

1751 Neil Hawkins Rd, Gastonia

1145 E Marion St, Shelby

3010 N Center St, Hickory

210 Avery Ave, Morganton

Biltmore Center Parkway, Asheville

Lowes Foods converting to Harris Teeter

11124 Reniassance Dr, Davidson

17001 Kenton Dr, Cornelius

13018 Eastfield Rd, Huntersville

8445 Davis Lake Parkway, Charlotte

5939 Weddington-Monroe Rd, Wesley Chapel

15080 Idlewild Rd, Stallings

7036 Brighton Park Dr, Mint Hill

16045 Johnston Rd, Charlotte

10828 Providence Rd, Charlotte

867 Stockbridge Dr, Ft Mill

Li Ming's Global Mart opening in Greensboro

Above: Li Ming's in Durham in the former Circuit City

Li Ming's Global Mart, which already has two locations in the Triangle (one in Durham [photos] and a sister store in Raleigh, respectively), will soon breathe some life into the High Point Road corridor in Greensboro. Scheduled to open in the Fall of 2012, the Asian grocery store will encompass nearly 52,000 square feet in the Greensboro South Shopping Center, next to T.J. Maxx. High Point Road, an ever-evolving corridor has seen a shift to ethnic-oriented businesses in recent years.

Above: the former Lowes Foods on High Point Road

The location that Li Ming's is moving into has gone through many incarnations. The store originally opened in 1969 as a branch of discount store Zayre, later was an Ames (another discount store) briefly. As a grocery store it has been a Buy For Less and a Lowes Foods. It has been empty for a number of years since Lowes Foods vacated, so this is certainly a welcome announcement for that shopping center. The Li Ming's in Durham opened last year in a former Circuit City space across from South Square Shopping Center.

Whole Foods continues NC expansion into Wilmington

Whole Foods Market will open a store in Wilmington, N.C. in 2012. Both The Greater Wilmington Business Journal and WECT-TV report that the former Lowes Foods on Oleander Drive near Independence Mall has been selected as the site for the future Whole Foods. Sources say the store should open by late 2012 or early 2013. This opening would mark Whole Foods' 10th store in North Carolina. According to tax records, the size of the current building is 47,332 square feet. The Lowes Foods Store originally was a Hannaford's which opened in 1998. Prior to that it was the site of a Wilson's Grocery Store.

Ariel Image Courtesy Bing Maps.

Innovative way to compare prices at the grocery store

Grocerying has found a terrific new tool to use while trying to save money at the grocery store! WRAL-TV, Channel 5 in Raleigh, has compiled data and put it on their website. The items compared consist of everyday items that many people would purchase on an average trip to the grocery store. The list is comprised of apples, bacon, bananas, bread, butter, cheddar cheese, chicken breast, cola, eggs, ground beef, lettuce, milk, steak and sugar. WRAL-TV takes these items and compares them not only at five Raleigh grocery stores (Wal-Mart SuperCenter, Lowes Foods, Kroger, Harris Teeter and Food Lion); but they additionally compare it to the prices provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Not surprisingly, Wal-Mart has the lowest overall price on these items ringing in at $27.74, well below the next cheapest (which may surprise some of you) which is Harris Teeter coming in at $32.32. Right behind Harris Teeter is Kroger, at only pennies more with a total of $32.38. Then we have Food Lion at $34.54 followed by Lowes Foods’ comparable $34.76 and finally the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics with a grand total of $35.77. Their methodology provides that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is based on the south region. In addition, you can click “Show Trends” and see a line graph of all the stores prices over the past year - which shows a trend of falling prices between September 2008 and September 2009. A very neat tool to use indeed.

Link to Grocery Cart Tracker: http://www.wral.com/news/local/flash/2603702/

Future Lowes Foods - Wesley Chapel, NC

This Lowes Foods is under construction in Union County, North Carolina in Wesley Chapel, roughly between the historic town of Waxhaw, the county seat of Monroe and the suburban Weddington. It will be Lowes Foods' second store in Union County, the first being in Stallings just across the Mecklenburg County line at I-485 and Idlewild Road. The store is a significant symbol of Northern and Western Union County's rapid growth, due to its proximity to Charlotte, lower taxes and school system. The area has seen other big developments pop up, particularly at the intersection where this Lowes Foods is going -- there is a Harris Teeter across the street, and a new Target shopping center diagonally across from the Lowes Foods. Additionally, Waxhaw has seen major development come their way with a new medical center and shopping center including a Lowe's Home Improvement store. Grocerying will get an update of this store when it is complete, as the exterior design of the store is an interesting one.

Grocerying in Burlington and Winston-Salem

It's time for some Triad Grocerying! These photos are from Winston-Salem, Burlington and Gibsonville (NC).

Lowes Foods - Winston-Salem
This store is located at Robinhood and Peace Haven Roads in the Mount Tabor area of Winston-Salem. Winston-Salem is Lowes Foods' home turf and so many of the stores there have the older prototype look to them.

Harris Teeter - Winston-Salem
This HT store is just across the street from the Lowes Foods mentioned above. It has a newer look with the domes on top which are pretty rare to see.

Wal-Mart Supercenter, Burlington
This is the primary Wal-Mart store serving the Burlington and Elon areas.

Super Kmart Center - Burlington
Despite being a dying breed, this K-mart seems to be alive and kicking as a supercenter. Even as competition is increasing in the area. (Greensboro also has Super K-mart).

This Harris Teeter store opened last year after it relocated from its old location across the street. The store it is currently in used to be a Winn-Dixie, and Harris Teeter's old store is now a Gold's Gym.

One of the older styles of Lowes Foods, this was once a Byrd's Grocery Store before Lowes Foods took over them in the 90s.

Harris Teeter & Lowes Foods - Mint Hill

It was quite a challange to find a pic of this Harris Teeter store, but CoStar.com (which has virtually a photo of every retail establishment in the country) had a photo. It is located in Mint Hill Festival, about 15 miles from center city Charlotte. The store, a typical late-80s/early-90s HT model, closed on April 3, 2007 as if no one had noticed. MediaMongrel at UrbanPlanet had reported that this store was the comapny's most underperforming store in the chain. Many say that it was the Lowes Foods, built across the street in the mixed-use Mint Hill Town Center, that was the final death blow to the Harris Teeter store.

Grocerying in Winston-Salem

Lowes Foods - [Silas Creek] Parkway Plaza

This Lowes Foods opened in 1992, but is slated to close this month and become a Compare Foods store, which will be Winston-Salem's first. The store looks older than an early 90s store though, so I'm guessing it was something previously (a Byrd's perhaps?).
UPDATE: Grocerying reader Matt said that this store was once Lowes Foods' flagship store upon re-entering the Winston-Salem market and the first to feature their current logo and was most likely a Lowes since its opening.

Former Harris Teeter? - K-mart Plaza, Peters Creek Parkway

Is this really a former Harris Teeter store on Peters Creek Parkway, next to an old-school K-mart (which I have added a picture of for reference). If it was an old HT, it must have been the really old prototype store. (K-mart pictured below)
UPDATE: Anonymous said this was indeed a former Harris Teeter, which was originally a Big Star, and it operated as a low-volume store until its closing in the late 1990s.

K-mart - Peters Creek Parkway (see related blurb above)

Harris Teeter - Thruway Center

This store is located in one of Winston's oldest shopping centers, Thruway, and I consider this a "legacy" store of Harris Teeter, one that fits in the category with the other Morocroft-like prototype stores of the chain. I think that most of the major NC cities have one of these HT stores, as seen Thruway in Winston-Salem, Morocroft in Charlotte, Cameron Village in Raleigh, Friendly Center in Greensboro and Commons at University Place in Durham.
Update: Steven said this store was built where a Winn-Dixie once stood, once very upmarket.

Harris Teeter - Cloverdale

This HT nearby to the previous one shown is an old Kroger store (I believe) and is in close proximity to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center (that's a mouthful).
Update: Steven said before this was an HT & Kroger, it was a former Zayre. Additionally, old Kroger shells are found in the area at the Dollar Tree store in Cloverdale and the Goodwill nearby.

Former Bi-Lo, turned former Southern Family Markets, Peters Creek Parkway.

Food Lion - Peters Creek Parkway.

This store is directly across the street from the former Southern Family Markets and probably has gained a lot of business from the former customers of that store.

Lowes Foods, Little River Pavillion

(Photo courtesy Crescent Retail)
This Lowes Foods store in Little River, SC (just north of Myrtle Beach) is the fast-growing grocer's second store in South Carolina, after their store in Tega Cay just outside Charlotte. Lowes Foods' freshmart/freshsmart concept has enabled to grow and expand outside their core markets attracting new patrons and enabling them to become more competitive. This beautiful store is designed in a style that is very light and airy and blends in very well with the beach. The store is about 43,000 square feet and is located at Hwy 17 and Hwy 179 in Little River.

Lowes Foods - ID The Store

This store is on Lowes Foods' own website... can anyone tell me where it's located? Thanks

Edit: We have answers! Both lowes617 and Cathy from Lowes Foods have told us that this store is located in Hickory, NC at Mountain View.

Harris Teeter - Biltmore Centre Parkway, Asheville

This Harris Teeter is the only one in Asheville. It is located on Hendersonville Road and serves the affluent communities of Biltmore Forest and Biltmore Park. The shopping center was built in 1987. (Aerial Picture courtesy Loopnet)

JUNE 2012 UPDATE: This store is slated to close on June 17, 2012 and become a Lowes Foods store.  Harris Teeter will leave the market for a year and then open a new store on Merrimon Avenue north of downtown Asheville in 2013.

NOVEMBER 2012 UPDATE: A reader informs us that this Lowes Foods location will close December 15, after being open a mere 6 months.  This is the only Lowes Foods in the Asheville area.