Last updated on November 21st, 2019
The new Food City at 151 Cook Street in Abingdon, Virginia, opened on Oct 30. The 62,000-s.f.-plus flagship store—the largest store the grocer has constructed—is a replacement for the company’s existing Towne Centre Drive location.
“This day has been long awaited by our company, our loyal customers and our dedicated associates and we couldn’t be more excited to celebrate the opening of our new Abingdon Food City,” says Steven C. Smith, president and CEO of Food City, which is based in Abingdon. “As our largest construction to date, the new flagship store will debut some exciting new concepts for our company, along with the most modern conveniences available.”
Features of the new store include an in-store Starbucks Café offering a wide assortment of blended hot and cold coffees and beverages; a growler station with craft beers on tap, along with a number of wines and a seating area; a Food City Pharmacy equipped with a drive-thru; and a bakery/deli complete with an Asian wok, cheese and sandwich shops, hot food bar, large indoor café seating area, outdoor patio seating, stone hearth pizza oven and hickory smoker. The new fresh food bar features a wide variety of soup, wings, salad and fruit selections. Full-service meat and seafood departments offer fresh sushi, pre-marinated and seasoned oven-ready products, plus a complete selection of all-natural meats with no solutions added, including Certified Angus Beef. In-house meat cutters will hand-cut steaks and fresh meat to order.
Expanded grocery, frozen food, beer and produce departments go well beyond the normal fare with a huge selection of gourmet, international and specialty items, featuring a full line of natural and organic items. The Food City Floral Boutique is staffed with a designer seven days per week, offering a full assortment of fresh-cut floral arrangements, bouquets, gift items and more.
Checkout options include seven traditional checkout lanes, one express lane, four self-checkouts and a new innovation in customer-assisted checkout—the Raptor accelerated checkout featuring 360-degree scan tunnel technology.
The location also features a Food City Gas N’ Go with a large seven-pump station, including diesel fuel. Customers also can take advantage of Food City’s GoCart curbside pickup service to shop online and pick up their order when they arrive at the store or visit foodcitydelivers.com for same-day service with Food City’s home delivery, powered by Instacart.
The location features several energy saving concepts, ranging from energy-efficient glass cooler doors, parking lot lights and refrigeration systems, to motion sensors and 100 percent LED lighting, as well an open-rafter ceiling design.
“Our customers will find the same smiling faces, top-quality products, exceptional customer service and low prices they have come to expect from Food City, combined with lots of exciting new features and conveniences,” said Store Manager Jack Wycoff.
The 30-acre development also includes a number of other retail outlets, restaurants and hotels, which are scheduled to open later this winter. The property was originally part of a 70-acre parcel. The remaining 40 acres were donated to the Town of Abingdon to construct a new sports complex to serve area youth.
“We’re proud to call Abingdon and Washington County home, whether it be our Corporate Support Center, Food City Distribution Center or our three retail locations. We are committed to being a good corporate citizen and a good neighbor by continuing to support and invest in our community. We look forward to continuing to serve the residents of Abingdon and Washington County at our new state-of-the-art location,” Smith said.
The private development investment, which is in excess of $40 million, includes nearly 191,150 s.f. of new retail, office and hotel space. The project represents approximately 688 jobs, including 300 new jobs. The development’s construction, combined with its estimated annual sales, will generate significant property and sales tax growth for the area—$568,294 annually for Washington County, Virginia, and $1,352,487 annually for the town of Abingdon (based upon Washington County treasurer estimates). Over a 15-year period, that would amount to nearly $29 million.
The development also brings about significant road improvements to the Exit 17 area. As a result of the investment, the Exit 17 interchange will receive a total redesign. In addition, Cook Street and Green Springs Road are now part of a four-way controlled intersection.
“These modifications will greatly improve traffic flow through the Cummings Street area, as well as Green Spring Road,” said Smith.
K-VA-T Food Stores, Food City’s parent company, operates 132 retail outlets throughout southeast Kentucky, southwest Virginia, east Tennessee, Chattanooga and north Georgia.
