Harris Teetering

Recently, there has been a wild amount of frenzy regarding a potential sale of Matthews-based grocer Harris Teeter.  Speculation is ablaze about what might happen to the regional upscale grocer, which has stores in the Mid Atlantic region and the Southeast.  When The Wall Street Journal reported that Harris Teeter was exploring options for a sale and the chain consulted with J.P. Morgan financial advisors, other chain grocery store names such as Kroger and Publix were mentioned.  However, it is our thinking that the most likely scenario is that a private equity firm will buy the chain and keep its name and branding as-is, and retain the headquarters just outside of Charlotte. 

If a sale occurred to Kroger, which is the second-largest grocery chain after Walmart, then we would see a return of the mid-market grocer to the Charlotte market, as well as a return to other markets that have experienced Kroger’s absence, like the Washington, D.C.-metro area.  Kroger, however, is the most typical mid-market grocer in America, which a price point that is more on par with Bi-Lo than Harris Teeter.  Kroger only has a handful of stores in North Carolina currently, in Raleigh and Durham, and if a takeover of Harris Teeter were to occur, this would make Kroger one of the most dominant grocery store chains in the state.

With Publix expanding into the Charlotte metro area, one would think that the quickest takeover for Harris Teeter, its most formidable competitor, would give them a stronghold of the market.  We don’t see this happening either though, because Publix grows a little more organically rather than through acquisition.  Publix is planning on opening stores in Charlotte’s Ballantyne and South End communities soon.

Ultimately, much of the speculation is just that, and like we said our prediction is that the customer won’t notice any changes if and when a transaction occurs.  With the store-swap with Lowes Foods last year in the Charlotte area, we think that Harris Teeter has worked hard to keep its core footprint of suburban markets and up and coming urban areas.

Columbia set for Whole Foods Market in 2012

Whole Foods Market is continuing its Carolina expansion, this time planning a store in South Carolina's capital city Columbia. South Carolina already has two Whole Foods stores in Charleston (Mt. Pleasant) and Greenville.

The Columbia store is set to open in the Fall of 2012 by renovating and expanding the former Kroger at Cross Hill Shopping Center off of Fort Jackson Road near Devine Street. Its location places it in between The University of South Carolina and adjoining neighborhoods, and Fort Jackson. The Kroger opened in 1968 according to tax records.

Wilmington, Greensboro and Charlotte each have a Whole Foods Market that is currently in the works.

Image via Edens & Avant.

Harris Teeter closing store at Golden Gate Shopping Center in Greensboro

Greensboro's Golden Gate Shopping Center is one unique development. It is one of the few shopping centers in the state (if not the country) to be anchored by two full-service grocery stores. One of those stores, Harris Teeter, announced today that they are closing before the end of the month. That store opened as an A&P in 1960, later becoming a Bestway and eventually a Harris Teeter store in 1988. This is their oldest store that is still in operation in town, and has been for well over 20 years.

Harris Teeter's store prior to its current remodel (Bargerconstruction.com)

Harris Teeter's closure of this location will leave virtually no Harris Teeter on the east side of Greensboro. In the past few years they have shuttered other nearby locations such as their store at Executive Square, which originally began as a Kroger, and their store on Summit Avenue at Bessemer, which is now a Compare Foods Market. The Golden Gate store's square footage, approximately 30,000 square feet, and its inability to expand (typical Harris Teeter stores run on average about 48,000 square feet these days) is cited as a reason for this store's closure.

The other grocery store in the shopping center is a Food Lion that opened as a Kroger in 1960. This store is roughly the same size as the Harris Teeter, just over 30,000 square feet, and it will become the sole grocery anchor of the center.
Golden Gate shopping center is one of the closest shopping centers to downtown, and the two stores have been able to compete because its location straddles a line between a middle class area and a very high income area.

Kroger exiting Greenville, NC

Kroger was once a ubiquitous part of North Carolina's grocery scene, with presence in virtually all of the major markets. These days, Kroger's presence is primarily in the immediate Triangle area, with one exception - a store in Greenville, NC. However, that's about to change. The last Kroger holdout in the eastern part of the state is set to close and be replaced by a Harris Teeter-a chain that is growing its presence in Eastern North Carolina.

According to the Greenville Daily Reflector and WITN, Harris Teeter is buying the Kroger Location at University Commons Shopping Center. According to the center's owner, Centro Properties, Kroger encompasses 67,722 square feet (which would make it one of the largest grocery stores in the state). However, after the renovation, the Harris Teeter store will only be 53,000 square feet.

Does this move symbolize the direction that Kroger may be heading in? Charlotte, the Piedmont Triad and The Sandhills no longer have Kroger, could their time be limited in the Triangle as well? Or will Kroger their focus on The Triangle as the mid-market grocery store for that region? Judging by many of the comments on The Daily Reflector's page, Greenville residents are sad to see Kroger go as one user posted "we no longer have a grocery store for the average Joe."

Could Kroger and/or Publix be headed to Charlotte?

Reuters is reporting that Mauldin, S.C.-based Bi-Lo is up for sale again. If you recall, last year Food Lion was announced as a potential bidder for Bi-Lo until Lone Star Funds, Bi-Lo's parent company, announced that Bi-Lo was no longer for sale. The chain has been teetering on highs and lows, while expanding their stores in some markets such as Columbia they have completely pulled out of other markets like the Triad after selling their stores to the failed Southern Family Markets. Reuters reports that Bi-Lo emerged from bankruptcy in March of this year.

Kroger and Publix are reportedly the top contenders for Bi-Lo. If this is the case, it brings the potential for Publix to enter the Charlotte market and for Kroger to reenter the market. However, we're not sure if this exactly will happen as it might be more likely and logical for grocery stores that are currently in the market to take over stores, most notably stores that already have: Food Lion/Bloom, Super G Mart, Compare Foods. Bi-Lo has closed a number of stores in the Charlotte region in recent times, two on Independence Boulevard, one in Dilworth and one on Little Rock Road to name a few. Needless to say, it will be interesting to see what continues to unfold in the Bi-Lo saga.

Reuters Article

Grocerying at Kroger Marketplace in Knoxville

Perhaps you've never seen a Kroger store like this before. This store is a Kroger Marketplace, their hyper mart format, located in Knoxville, Tennessee's Farragut neighborhood. The store includes everything from an expanded organic selection to international selection to furniture. It seems to be a concept that Kroger is testing out in select markets before rolling out new stores or potentially converting older stores. Clearly the store was built in response to stores like Wal-mart Supercenter, SuperTarget and Super Bi-Lo.

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/

Bi-Lo closing in Charlotte's Dilworth neighborhood, to be replaced by Bloom store

The Bi-Lo store at Dilworth Crossing in Charlotte, at the corner of Park Road and Ideal Way, is set to close this week after serving the Dilworth Community since 1988. But the history of the store dates back to a few years prior, when residents were engaged in a debate as to whether a grocery store should be built in their neighborhood or not. The Kroger Company wanted to build a store in this historic streetcar suburb, thus spurring the phrase "No Krogering In Dilworth." A photograph of the sign can be seen here. Prior to Bi-Lo's renovation of the store, the Dilworth store was one of Kroger's classic"greenhouse" style stores. You can still find the remnants of Kroger Greenhouse style stores around Charlotte these days converted into something else.

Currently, the Bi-Lo store encompasses around 45,000 square feet, and the interior seems like it was remodeled in the mid-to-late 90s but Grocerying does not officially know when the updates took place. The store also has been patroned by residents not only in Dilworth, but residents of the Wilmore community and other lower income areas, respectively, near I-77 for whom the store has provided as an alternative to neighborhood stores and the lack of having a full size grocery store in their immediate area. Bi-Lo has noted that the closing of their Dilworth store is not related to their recent filing for bankruptcy protection. According to the Charlotte Observer, the reason for Bi-Lo's departure from Dilworth is due to terms in their lease agreement, as the owner of the center wants to bring in a store that would better suit the neighborhood, which over the last 20 years has gone through a redevelopment of sorts of its own.

Many feel that Bi-Lo has struggled to find a niche, especially in the Charlotte market, as their stores in the lower-to-middle end are closing and as the concept of Super Bi-Lo is being tested in the market. Because the Bi-Lo store in Dilworth is in a prime location in what some may call a trendy neighborhood, the store will not sit vacant for long. Bloom, the "high tech" and more upscale market run by Food Lion, will construct a 55,000 square foot location in its space. Grabbing the location is a real boon for Bloom. Currently, their stores are on the fringes of the Charlotte area, and this will be their first real in-town location in south Charlotte, a region of town that is dominated by Harris Teeter. The Bloom store is scheduled to open by the end of the year.

More photos of the interior and exterior of the store:




The sign reads: "Our Park Road Bi-Lo will be closing on 4-25 Saturday at 7 p.m. We have enjoyed serving the community since 1988 and hnope you visit us at our other Charlotte locations. Thank you"

UPDATE: This store has been converted to a Food Lion.

Grocerying in Southwest Virginia

Here are some photos of stores in mostly rural Southwest Virginia. These photos are courtesy jerseyman4, and they include Kroger - the dominant grocery store in this region - and Food City, a regional chain based in Abingdon, Virginia. Food City also has stores in parts of Tennessee and Kentucky. This Food City is unrelated to other Food City chains, such as the ones found in Arizona and the ones in the New York City area. Additionally seen are the discount department stores Roses and Magic Mart. Photos are from Galax, VA.

Bi-Lo Independence Square Update

We've recently learned that the Bi-Lo store at Charlotte's Independence Square on Independence Boulevard has closed. This is the latest store to close on a quickly deteriorating "corridor of crap" where everything is seemingly moving south on US 74, or to the Uptown/Midtown area, leaving a black hole in between. The Steve & Barry's store, which took over the former Super K-mart Center on Independence Boulevard is closing as well, soon to leave another big empty 200,000 square foot store.

Grocerying in Milledgeville, Georgia

Kroger (Former Bi-Lo)

Piggly Wiggly - South Milledgeville

Milledgeville, Georgia (population 20,000) is home to the former state capitol and Georgia College and State University. It also houses the area's only Kroger store and two 24-hour Piggly Wiggly stores.

Before & After: Bi-Lo, Freedom Drive/Ashley Road

The first store opened originally in 1978 at Freedom Plaza (corner of Freedom Dr. and Ashley Rd.) as one of the first Kroger Sav-On stores in Charlotte. Then in the 80s when Kroger bowed out, it naturally became a Bi-Lo store. There is also a store that looks identical to this one over on Eastway as well at Northpark Mall. Bi-Lo left this location in 2002 to move down the street to the corner of Ashley and Allegheny to build one of their signature stores that is over 50,000 square feet. At last check, the old store had become a Dollar Tree store.

Information from Charlotte Mecklenburg Tax Website & Groceteria.com

Krogering in Wake County

Kroger - Wakefield Commons (New Falls of Neuse) - Raleigh (Wake Forest)

Kroger - West Park Place - Cary

Kroger - Town North - Raleigh

Kroger - The Shops At Pine Hill - Raleigh

Kroger - Wilders Grove - Raleigh

Kroger - Lynnwood Collection - Raleigh

Kroger - Garner Towne Square - Garner

Kroger - Fuquay Crossing - Fuquay Varina

Kroger - East Six Forks Road - Raleigh

Kroger - Maynard Crossing Shoping Center - Cary

Kroger - Bent Tree Plaza - Raleigh

Kroger - Lake Pine Plaza Shopping Center - Apex

Although the Charlotte and Triad metros may be devoid of Kroger stores now, one section of the state still has them. Wake and Durham Counties have Kroger stores, and there is also one Kroger in Greenville, NC. Kroger is the nation's largest grocer (if you don't count Wal-Mart Supercenter) and has kept a good presence in the Triangle area, maybe due to the fact that there are so many newcomers to the region and from where they moved there likely was a Kroger store. Kroger can be defined as the quintessential mid-market grocery store.

Most of the showcased Kroger stores are in Raleigh, Cary, Garner, Apex and Fuquay Varina -- all Wake County towns, seeing as collection of images comes primarily via Wake County Tax Website (which does a great job of keeping up with digital images). Additional images provided by Regency Centers Online and Loopnet Images.