Food City will open its new 56,700-square-foot store on Main Street in Marion, Virginia, on Sept. 16, replacing the grocer’s existing location and creating 50 new area jobs.
The opening continues a busy expansion year for the Abingdon, Virginia-based grocer, The Shelby Report of the Southeast‘s 2026 Retailer of the Year. The Marion replacement was part of its 2026 plans alongside new Alabama stores and Tennessee expansions. The company’s history in the Smyth County community stretches back nearly half a century.
New services, conveniences
“Our company has been serving this community for almost 50 years through our former Piggly Wiggly location and now our Food City store,” said Steven C. Smith, Food City president and CEO. “Our customers will find the same smiling faces, top quality products, exceptional customer service and competitive pricing they have come to expect from Food City, along with some exciting new services and conveniences.”
The store features an in-store bakery and deli with a hot food bar, a large café seating area with a fireplace, a fresh food bar with soups, salads and fruit, a hickory wood smoker, fresh sushi and in-store catering services. Full-service meat and seafood departments offer Certified Angus Beef and in-house butchers to hand-cut steaks and fresh meat to order, while expanded grocery, frozen and produce departments carry a wide selection of specialty, gourmet and vegan items, the grocer said.
The Food City Floral Boutique is staffed by a designer seven days a week, and additional amenities include a Food City Pharmacy, a Food City Gas N’ Go fuel center, and curbside pickup and home delivery for online shoppers.
Sustainability important
The location also incorporates energy-saving features, including energy-efficient glass cooler doors, 100 percent LED lighting, motion sensors, upgraded refrigeration systems and efficient parking lot lighting.
“We are excited to welcome our customers to our new store. We sincerely appreciate their patience during the construction process,” said Lori Baxley, longtime Food City store manager. “We believe they will find it was well worth the wait.”
Headquartered in Abingdon, K-VA-T Food Stores, Food City’s parent company, operates 163 retail outlets in southeast Kentucky, southwest Virginia, east Tennessee, north Georgia and Alabama.