Food City sites
› Open Wednesday: 3901 Dayton Blvd, Red Bank; 8634 Highway 58, Harrison
› Opening today: 3600 Hixson Pike; 8530 Hixson Pike
› Coming: 25 other stores converted to Food City through October
Photo Gallery
Intimate Suggestions
Hosted by Red Chair Promotions at KOTO Restaurant every Wednesday night, this night features karaoke, poetry, music and more.
Marsha Thibadoux drove Wednesday from Hixson to shop at Food City's new Red Bank supermarket the first morning it was open.
"I've shopped at Food City in Pigeon Forge and Sevierville," she said. "I like their food. Their bakery is really good."
Thibadoux was one of the early shoppers who visited the store, one of two that Food City unveiled Wednesday.
The units - the other one is in Harrison - are the first of 29 former Bi-Lo stores that Abingdon, Va.-based Food City acquired and is rebranding in the Chattanooga area over the next couple of months.
Two other Food City stores on Hixson Pike, one at Rivermont and the other near Daisy-Dallas Road, are slated to open today.
John Jones, Food City's executive vice president, said the first morning at the Red Bank supermarket was "pretty crazy," but that shopper support was "phenomenal."
"The store is beautiful," he said about the location that was shut down since Sunday afternoon as the grocer's employees worked around-the-clock to prep the market.
Not quite finished is a service meat and seafood area Food City is building to support patrons who, for example, want cut-to-order service. Jones said Food City is adding those in other stores, too, with an opening set for mid-October.
"That's a key part of our strategy," he said.
Glenda Dukes, who lives in Red Bank, said she liked the Dayton Boulevard store's cleanliness and product prices.
"I saved $5 for this alone," she said about a bag of dog food.
Dukes said she couldn't find one item she likes in the store and mentioned it to an employee.
"They said, 'If they don't have it, they'll get it,'" she said.
Sandee Jenkins, of Red Bank, said the store's prices are "really good, relatively speaking. I'm delighted they're open."
Jenkins said she shopped at the Bi-Lo and plans to buy groceries in the new Food City unit.
"It was laid out like Bi-Lo, which helps," she said.
The woman said a store employee transferred her Bi-Lo bonus card information onto a Food City card without a problem.
Michelle Lisotto, a Bi-Lo spokeswoman, said it will continue to honor its Fuelperks and other savings rewards to make the transition easy for shoppers.
She said Fuelperks rewards expire 90 days after making a grocery purchase, so shoppers will still have that time frame to redeem gas savings after making a purchase at a Bi-Lo location. Additionally, the Bi-Lo bonus card will be accepted at all Bi-Lo locations until those are converted to Food City, Lisotto said.
Food City officials have said they plan to build fuel stations at or near some of its stores.
Food City's parent, K-VA-T Food Stores, announced in July it would enter the Chattanooga market by buying the Bi-Lo units. The company now has 122 Food City locations and 10 Super Dollar stores in Virginia, East Tennessee, Kentucky and Georgia.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.