Food City CEO Steven C. Smith says he's pleased with the Chattanooga area's reception thus far, and is looking forward to more good things with the renovation of stores set to start.More Info
Starting in February:› 4510 Highway 58› 8634 Highway 58› 5604 Hixson Pike› Soddy-Daisy› Ooltewah› St. ElmoSource: Food City
This month, Food City is beginning a full-scale makeover of the former Bi-Lo supermarkets, with work set to start on several East Hamilton-area stores.
The supermarkets will remain open, said Steven Smith, Food City's chief executive, noting a lot of work will be done at night.
"They'll be quite more of an ornate store," he said. "They'll look brand-new and feel like a brand-new store. We've got a lot of things we're going to add. Variety and selection will be better particularly going forward."
Two of the supermarkets, in St. Elmo and in Harrison, will receive an all-out refurbishing, Smith said. Plans are to "go in and blow those stores up and start from scratch," he said about the units which were Winn-Dixie stores before Bi-Lo acquired them.
The stores will garner new fronts and nearly all the equipment will undergo replacement, the CEO said.
"The box will stay the same size," he added.
Smith said four other stores will see lesser remodeling efforts through this winter and spring. This summer, work will start on six more stores and eventually renovation will touch the remaining units within two to three years, he said.
Also, there are several others which will need replacement, requiring either rebuilding or new locations, Smith said.
In addition, the first Food City fuel stations will start going up in Harrison, St. Elmo and Red Bank, he said. Smith said the Red Bank fuel station will be off-site but close by on Dayton Boulevard.
This year, the company plans to install five to eight fuel stations in the area, he said.
Food City's parent, K-VA-T Food Stores, announced last July it would enter the Chattanooga area by buying the Bi-Lo units. Since then, it has rebranded the stores and converted them over to Food City. The Abington, Va.,-based grocery chain added service meat and seafood sections to about a dozen of the Chattanooga supermarkets.
Smith said he's pleased with the results to date and the reaction of the market to Food City.
"We're delighted so far," he said.
Food City has added 500 to 600 more people to the 2,000 former Bi-Lo employees to man the supermarkets and bolster service, Smith said.
"We haven't lost a single store manager," he said. "We've got such good people. We're making a lot of headway."
Rebecca Westbrook Token, who was shopping last week at the St. Elmo store, said she's glad to see Food City bulk up its organic goods section at the supermarket.
"It has done a great job fleshing that out," the St. Elmo woman said. Token complained, however, about the store's meat prices.
Another shopper, Madison Weisenseel, said she likes the convenience of the store to her St. Elmo home. But, she said, the store isn't as clean as one of the newer Publix supermarkets at which she also shops.
Smith said there's more work ahead. He noted that Wal-Mart added a lot of square footage with its six new Neighborhood Markets.
But, he said, Food City has made a commitment to the Chattanooga market.
"We're going to spend $15 million to $20 million this year," Smith said. "It's a competitive market."
The remodeling is part of the $40 million to $50 million the company has pledged to spend over three years on its 29 area stores.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 757-6318