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Sunday, November 15, 2026Nov 15

Food City starts work on new Chattanooga supermarket

Staff photo by Olivia Ross / Officials break ground at the new Food City location on Lee Highway. Food City President and CEO Steve Smith and officials gathered on Thursday for the groundbreaking.
Staff photo by Olivia Ross / Officials break ground at the new Food City location on Lee Highway. Food City President and CEO Steve Smith and officials gathered on Thursday for the groundbreaking.

A new Food City supermarket in Chattanooga is slated to open next spring on Lee Highway, replacing an aging nearby store in a growing part of the city, officials said Thursday.

The 56,000-square-foot store will sit on what’s now a 6.5-acre wooded lot next to the Tennessee Baptist Children’s Home just past Highway 153, said Steven C. Smith, the company’s chief executive.

“It will have more variety and selection than the present store,” he said during the groundbreaking for the new supermarket that’s expected to cost up to $17 million.

Smith said the store will have a Starbucks cafe and a Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union branch, as well as an in-store bakery and deli, fresh food bar, and a full-service meat and seafood department.

He said the site also will offer a Gas ‘N Go fueling station.