Pictured left to right: John Jones, Executive Vice President/Director of Store Operations Drew Hembree, Director of Advertising Steve Smith, President/CEO Jesse Lewis, Senior Vice President/COO.
ABINGDON, VA – On Thursday, Food City officials announced their intent to purchase 29 BI-LO Supermarkets (including 21 pharmacies) in the Chattanooga market area. The locations, which range from 25,000 to 63,000 square feet in size, include:
Tennessee:
7804 East Brainerd Road, Chattanooga
6951 Lee Highway, Chattanooga
1600 East 23rd Street, Chattanooga
4510 Highway 58, Chattanooga
703 Signal Mountain Road, Chattanooga
3801 Tennessee Avenue, Chattanooga
3600 Hixson Pike, Chattanooga
4011 Brainerd Road, Chattanooga
255 Ocoee Crossing North, Cleveland
2310 McGrady Drive, Cleveland
420 Market Street, Dayton
6723 Ringgold Road, East Ridge
3715 Ringgold Road, East Ridge
841 U.S. 411 North, Etowah
8634 Highway 58, Harrison
5604 Hixson Pike, Hixson
8530 Hixson Pike, Hixson
1667 Ooltewah-Ringgold, Ooltewah
9213 Lee Highway, Ooltewah
3901 Dayton Boulevard, Red Bank
10161 Old Dayton Pike, Soddy Daisy
Georgia:
342 Blue Ridge Street, Blairsville
502 G.I. Maddox Parkway, Chatsworth
1287 N. Glenwood Avenue, Dalton
531 Battlefield Parkway, Fort Oglethorpe
311 North Main Street, LaFayette
319 Chickamauga Avenue, Rossville
820 Mission Ridge Road, Rossville
112 Crimson Drive, Trenton
“We are extremely excited to have this opportunity to expand our operation into the Chattanooga and north Georgia market, as part of our strategic growth plan. We very much look forward to joining their retail community and serving the region,” said Steven C. Smith, Food City president and chief executive officer. “Area consumers can rest assured that we plan to complete the conversion process as quickly as possible, with the least interruption to the normal flow of business.”
The company plans to invest over $40 million dollars in capital improvements to the locations during the first year. And while post-acquisition plans have not been completely finalized, Food City anticipates revamping the units and hiring the vast majority of BI-LO’s nearly 2,000 store associates.
“We are anxious to welcome the BI-LO associates to our team. We plan to retain their years of service and make the transition in benefits as seamless as possible. We certainly look forward to joining forces to serve the area residents and the community at large,” says John Jones, executive vice president and director of store operations for Food City.
BI-LO shoppers can expect to find many of the brands and products they currently enjoy, blended with a wide variety of items offered by Food City. “It’s our intention to enhance the overall variety and selection and further develop the services and conveniences provided to shoppers,” adds Smith. Company officials hope to finalize the acquisition by early fall.
“We are pleased to be part of providing the consumers in Northwest Georgia and Southeast Tennessee with only the best in food and services. If you enjoy shopping your present supermarket, or if you liked Red Food Stores, you are going to love Food City! I am personally pleased to have the opportunity to work with many of my former associates to serve the wonderful people in this area,” says Jesse Lewis, Food City senior vice president and chief operations officer. Prior to joining the Food City team, Lewis served a number of years in key positions for Red Food Stores in Chattanooga. Lewis is well acquainted with several of the BI-LO locations involved in the acquisition, as they are former Red Food stores.
Headquartered in Abingdon, Virginia, K-VA-T Food Stores, Inc. (Food City’s parent company) currently operates 104 retail supermarkets throughout the tri-state regions of Southeast Kentucky, Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee. Once complete, the acquisition will significantly increase the company’s consumer services. The Food Partners, LLC is serving as financial advisor to K-VA-T Food Stores, Inc. in its acquisition of the BI-LO supermarkets.
