Coming soon to Kroger and Walmart stores in North Carolina’s Triangle: Blue Bell Ice Cream. Brenham, Texas-based Blue Bell will begin distributing its ice cream products in area stores in Wake, Durham and Orange counties on March 19, according to an announcement from the company. It began distribution in the Charlotte area in 2004, reports […]
Category: Southeast
The Shelby Report of the Southeast covers grocery retailers, wholesalers and suppliers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. Follow the latest store openings, remodels, leadership changes and market news from the region.
Posted in, Southeast
Southern Family Markets To Come Under New Ownership
A new company has been formed to purchase all 57 Southern Family Markets (SFM) stores. Belle Foods LLC was formed in Birmingham, Ala., by William “Bill” White, a longtime industry veteran who has worked in both the Bruno’s and Piggly Wiggly organizations. According to the Feb. 7 announcement, Belle Foods is buying stores in Alabama, […]
Posted in, Southeast
Aldi Opening New Store in Greensboro, N.C.
Greensboro, N.C., is getting yet another grocery store. The Business Journal reports that Aldi, a Batavia, Ill.-based subsidiary of Germany’s Aldi Group, plans to open a new store at 1507 New Garden Rd. sometime in 2013. Aldi bills itself as a super-discount chain with a no-frills approach and a limited selection of 1,400 items. The […]
Posted in, Southeast
Chiquita Offers Incentives for Execs to Move to Charlotte
Chiquita Brands International Inc. is offering incentives to entice its executives to move to Charlotte, N.C., reports The Charlotte Business Journal. In a securities filing Tuesday, the company spelled out the relocation benefits it will offer key employees who choose to transfer. Those benefits include payment for the costs of searching for a new residence […]
Posted in, Southeast
Publix Deal Brings New Owner At Celebration Shopping Center
A shopping center in Celebration, Fla., has a new owner after Publix signed up to be a 50,000-s.f. anchor tenant, reports the Tampa Bay Business Journal. A group based in New York bought the 124,000-s.f. Water Tower Shoppes from General Electric Credit Equities in January. The center had been struggling for nearly seven years since […]
Posted in, Perishables, Southeast, Suppliers
Annual National Retail Beef Backer Awards Announced
Broulim’s Fresh Foods, Haggen Food & Pharmacy/TOP Foods, Harris Teeter Inc., and Safeway were given the National Retail Beef Backer awards during the 2012 Cattle Industry Annual Convention & NCBA Trade Show in Nashville, Tenn., last week. Funded by the Beef Checkoff Program, this effort recognizes grocery establishments that are doing an outstanding job of […]
Posted in, Southeast, Southwest, West
More Than 500 Walmart Women File EEOC Discrimination Charges
In a move to protect their right to pursue individual and class-action pay and promotion claims against Walmart Stores Inc., more than 500 former and current Walmart women employees who had been part of a national class-action lawsuit have filed a charge of discrimination against the retailer with the U.S. Equal Employment and Opportunity Commission […]
Posted in, Southeast
Carney To Assume CFO Job Following BI-LO, Winn-Dixie Merger
Brian Carney, current EVP and CFO of BI-LO, will soon be taking on a bigger role—pending the merger of the South Carolina-based grocery with Winn-Dixie. Carney will assume the CFO position of the combined companies. Winn-Dixie CFO Bennett Nussbaum is leaving the position to become integration lead following the completion of the merger. Before joining […]
Posted in, Equipment & Technology, Northeast, Southeast
Piggly Wiggly Carolina Expands Online Grocery Service
After successfully offering online shopping in 10 stores for the past four years, Piggly Wiggly Carolina has expanded its Click’n Shop program to 26 additional locations, nearly tripling Piggly Wiggly’s eCommerce presence in South Carolina. With MyWebGrocer’s Click’n Shop online shopping solution, Piggly Wiggly Carolina shoppers can purchase groceries online and choose to pick up […]
Posted in, C-Store News, Southeast, Southwest
7-Eleven Acquires 55 Sam’s Mart Stores in the Carolinas
Slurpee® drinks, Big Bite® hotdogs, Big Gulp® beverages and other convenient services are on their way to Charlotte. Dallas, Texas-based 7-Eleven Inc. has entered into an agreement with Sam’s Mart LLC to acquire 55 Sam’s Mart stores in North and South Carolina and convert them to 7-Eleven® stores this year. The transaction is anticipated to […]
Posted in, Southeast
Target Remodeling 3 Richmond, Va., Stores to Carry More Groceries
The Richmond, Va., region’s cutthroat grocery industry will become even more competitive this spring, reports the Richmond Times Dispatch. Target has started remodeling three of its 12 Richmond-area stores to increase the number of grocery items at those locations by about 40 percent. More area stores could follow. According to the Dispatch, the Minnesota-based retailer […]
Posted in, Southeast, The Kroger Co.
$2.3M Verdict Returned In Kroger Slip-And-Fall Lawsuit
A jury in Gwinnett County, Ga., has returned a verdict of $2.3 million in damages in a slip-and-fall lawsuit against Kroger Co. after a judge determined Kroger destroyed and manipulated important video evidence involving an injured customer, The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports. The lawsuit arose out of a May 2008 incident in which Craig Walters, […]
Posted in, National, Southeast, Suppliers
Smithfield Completes 100th Donation in Hungry Homes Tour
Virginia-based Smithfield has completed its 100th donation on its Helping Hungry Homes® tour—totaling more than 14 million servings of protein donated to local food banks across the country. “We’ve traveled from Miami, Florida, to Anchorage, Alaska, bringing hard-to-source protein to wonderful food assistance organizations and have just made our 100th tour donation,” said Dennis Pittman, […]
Posted in, Southeast
Fruits, Vegetables Star in USDA’s New School Meal Standards
The United Fresh Produce Association is applauding the release of new nutrition standards for school meals. First Lady Michelle Obama and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack celebrated the new school nutrition standards earlier this week at Parklawn Elementary School in Alexandria, Va. The new standards will double the amount of fruits and vegetables served to […]
Posted in, C-Store News, Equipment & Technology, Midwest, Southeast
Noble Roman’s Partners with The Pantry for Pilot Program
Noble Roman’s Inc., the Indianapolis-based, non-traditional pizza franchisor, is partnering with The Pantry Inc., a leading convenience store operator in the Southeast, for a pilot program featuring Noble Roman’s branded foodservice system. The Pantry is headquartered in Cary, N.C., and has more than 1,650 locations in 13 states. The pilot program will begin with a […]
Posted in, Southeast
Publix Coming to Nashville Neighborhood
Boyle Investment Co. has kicked off a $9.5 million redevelopment of The Crossings, a shopping center in Nashville’s Donelson area, to make way for a new Publix Super Market, the Nashville Business Journal reports. The 110,229-s.f. shopping center is located at the northwest corner of Lebanon Pike and Fairway Drive, one block away from a […]
Posted in, Southeast
Rouses Donating $50K to Interactive Grocery Exhibit at Museum
Thibodaux, La.-based Rouses Markets will be donating $50,000 for a new interactive grocery exhibit at the Bayou Country Children’s Museum. The museum installation, called Rouses Farmers Market, will feature Cajun recipes and mini grocery carts for the children to fill with seafood, fruits and vegetables indigenous to the bayou region along with goodies found in […]
Posted in, Marketing News, National, Organic Natural, Southeast
North Carolina Sauce Lauded in Bon Appetit Magazine
Original Cackalacky™ Spice Sauce was featured in the February 2012 issue of Bon Appétit Magazine, with editors declaring it a favorite in their “Savor The South” issue. The sauce was notable as an example of “… a fresh crop of artisans [who are] giving the Southern pantry a whole new shelf life.” Created in Chapel […]
Posted in, Beverage News, Equipment & Technology, New Products, Southeast
Star Packaging Launches Fully Recyclable Stand-Up Pouch
Atlanta-based Star Packaging Corp., a provider of innovative flexible packaging, has launched its TerraFlex RP line of fully recyclable stand up pouches. The newest addition to Star’s TerraFlex family of sustainable packaging solutions, TerraFlex RP is ideal for use in virtually any flexible packaging application. From food and beverage to grass seeds and lawn products, […]
Posted in, Southeast
Bubba Burger CEO Buys Peterbrooke Chocolatier
Hickory Foods, the parent company of Bubba Burger, has completed the purchase of Peterbrooke Chocolatier Inc., according to a report in The Florida Times-Union. CEO Billy Morris will rename the company Peterbrooke Chocolate Co. and operate it under the Hickory Foods umbrella Peterbrooke, headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., has five local stores and 20 franchised stores—two […]