Food City plans to break ground today on its newest store, a 54,000-square-foot supermarket in downtown Athens, Tenn., as the grocer builds its presence between Chattanooga and Knoxville.
The new store, Food City's second in McMinn County, will be a $10 million to $12 million investment and employ about 175 employees, said Steven C. Smith, the supermarket chain's chief executive.
"We worked hard with the folks in the industrial development department and city and county to take an old piece of property and redevelop it downtown," he said.
Smith said the new store at 105 South Hill St., slated to open in November, will service downtown Athens and the surrounding area.
"We want to be close to rooftops. This happens to be a good location," he said, adding there will be a nearby Gas 'N Go fuel station.
The CEO said there's not another supermarket nearby and it's "a natural to put a store there." He said there will be some demolition involved at the site.
"We looked at different places in town," Smith said. "This one met the criteria all the way around."
Abingdon, Va.-based Food City acquired 29 former Bi-Lo stores in the Chattanooga area in mid-2015, and it has pledged to spend about $50 million upgrading those units.
Smith said the company also wants to fill in between Chattanooga and the Knoxville market, where the supermarket chain was already established.
"McMinn County is a good market," he said. "It's certainly one that has an upside for growth."
Food City District Manager Rodney Dillard said customers can expect to find "top quality products and competitive pricing they have come to expect from Food City, housed in a more energy efficient model, along with some exciting new features and conveniences."
The new location will include an in-store bakery and deli complete with a hot food bar, a large cafe seating area and expanded cheese section. A deluxe fresh food bar also will be available, featuring a wide variety of soup, wings, salad and fruit.
Also, full-service meat and seafood departments will offer pre-marinated and seasoned oven-ready products, plus all-natural meat selections, certified Angus beef and fresh sushi.
In addition, in-house meat cutters will hand cut steaks and fresh meat to order, the Food City floral boutique will be staffed with a designer seven days per week, and there will be a rapid check-out service with six traditional lanes, one express lane and four self check-outs, the company said.
The grocer already has a store in Etowah, Tenn., near Athens, which was one of the former Bi-Lo units it acquired. But, Smith said, officials hope of replace the Etowah store in "the not too distant future."
He said the Food City effort to upgrade the former Bi-Lo units just finished redoing four more stores - two in Cleveland, Tenn., one in Lakesite and another in Chatsworth, Ga.
"It's going splendid," Smith said. He said work is expected to begin soon on the grocer's East Brainerd store.
Smith said Rusty Rollins, who runs Food City's renovated Harrison store, drives in from Athens. He will be the store manager at the new McMinn County store, the CEO said.
"He'll be getting to go back home," he said.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.