Food City is building a new store on US-411 North in Etowah, Tennessee. The 41,100-plus-s.f. supermarket will replace its existing location and be constructed on the same site.
“The residents of Etowah have certainly been supportive of our company and we look forward to providing our valued customers with a new, larger state-of-the-art Food City to replace the existing, outdated location,” says Steven C. Smith, Food City president and CEO.
The company temporarily closed the Etowah store on Jan. 8 to make way for new store construction. “As you can imagine, closing the store, even temporarily was an extremely difficult decision for our company,” says Smith. “Unfortunately, it was the only viable option that would allow us to safely construct a new, larger, up-to-date facility on the same site. Rest assured that we will utilize every resource at our disposal to erect the new store in the quickest, safest manner possible, to minimize shopping interruption and inconvenience to our customers.”
The surrounding Food City locations will welcome Etowah customers during the temporary closing. The Etowah pharmacy prescription files will be transferred to the Athens, Tennessee, Food City Pharmacy, however Etowah pharmacy customers may fill their prescriptions at any Food City Pharmacy without interruption. The Etowah store associates will be temporarily transferred to area Food City locations as well. “I’m very excited about the new store and the additional services it will provide our customers,” says District Manager Barry Brogan. “Our store planning and development team does an excellent job and I’m confident they will get us up and going as quickly as possible. In the meantime, our management team will be working between the other area Food City locations, checking on our customers and associates.”
The new location is expected to be complete by late summer and will include an in-store bakery/deli with a food bar, large café seating area and pizzeria. Full-service meat and seafood departments will offer pre-marinated and seasoned oven-ready products and a complete selection of meats that are all-natural with no solutions added, including Certified Angus Beef and fresh sushi. In-house meat cutters will hand cut steaks and fresh meat to order. Expanded grocery, frozen food and produce departments will offer a large selection of gourmet, international and specialty items. The Food City Floral Boutique will be staffed with a designer seven days per week, offering a full assortment of fresh-cut floral arrangements, bouquets, gift items and more. The Food City Pharmacy will provide a full range of services, including immunizations, text notifications, prescription call reminders and free membership to the Food City Pharmacy Wellness Club. Rapid checkout will be provided by five traditional check-out lanes and four self-check-outs. Customers can also visit foodcitydelivers.com to take advantage of same-day service with Food City’s home delivery, powered by Instacart.
“The larger departments will allow for enhanced variety and selection and greater ease maneuvering through the store,” says Smith. “I am confident that our customers are going to be pleased with their new, much-improved Food City and will agree that it was well worth the wait.”
The location will also feature several award-winning energy-saving concepts, ranging from energy efficient glass cooler doors, parking lot lights and refrigeration systems, to motion sensors and 100 percent LED lighting.
Headquartered in Abingdon, Virginia, K-VA-T Food Stores (Food City’s parent company) operates 132 retail outlets in Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, and Georgia.
