Area Grocers
* BI-LO
Headquartered in Mauldin, S.C., Bi-Lo operates 215 supermarkets in South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee and employs about 15,500 people.
* FOOD LION
Food Lion's Chattanooga stores are among the 1,200 the grocer operates in 11 Southeast and mid-Atlantic states.
* PUBLIX
Publix is the largest employee-owned supermarket chain in the United States with retail sales of $23.9 billion in 2008. Its current employee count is more than 140,000.
* WAL-MART
Wal-Mart has at least 13 stores in the metropolitan Chattanooga area with about 4,000 workers. In Hamilton County, the retailer employs more than 2,500 in more than half dozen stores, which makes it one of the largest employers here.
The Chattanooga area grocery store business remains competitive amid the down economy as grocers try to build market share.
Bi-Lo, with 29 stores in the region, continues to operate all its units even after a bankruptcy filing earlier this year.
Michael Byars, president and chief executive officer of Bi-Lo, said the company is seeing solid sales momentum and a strong cash flow.
"Our customers have made Bi-Lo an important part of their busy lives and they can continue to expect the same fresh products, low prices and great service," he said.
The company has said it expects to exit bankruptcy as quickly as possible. It has a proof of claim hearing set Aug. 13 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Spartanburg, S.C.
Publix Super Markets, which now has three stores in the Chattanooga area, is seeing an increase in the number of people shopping with it the past year, said spokeswoman Brenda Reid.
"People have to eat," she said about doing business in the tough economy. "When money gets tight, people eat more at home. We're holding our own."
She said Publix has taken some green efforts to try to save money, such as on fuel and energy.
Greenlife Grocery, located on Manufacturers Road, is a full-service natural foods grocery store which its officials say is aimed at offering the freshest and healthiest foods and products available.
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Mike Pare, the deputy Business editor at the Chattanooga Times Free Press, has worked at the paper for 27 years. In addition to editing, Mike also writes Business stories and covers Volkswagen, economic development and manufacturing in Chattanooga and the surrounding area. In the past he also has covered higher education. Mike, a native of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., received a bachelor’s degree in communications from Florida Atlantic University. he worked at the Rome News-Tribune before ...
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