Houchens Food Group Inc. has announced two leadership appointments – Misty Bryant to director of retail operations and Boyd West as senior director of fresh merchandising. Bryant, who joined Houchens Food Group in 2007 as a merchandising assistant, has held a series of progressively senior roles over nearly two decades with the company, including category […]
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.
Community Coffee Promotes Crump As SVP, Chief Commercial Officer
Community Coffee, a family-owned retail coffee brand, has appointed Kristi Crump as SVP of brand, retail and e-commerce and chief commercial officer. In this expanded role, Crump will lead the brand’s commercial strategy. She will bring together consumer insights, digital growth and product innovation. Her goal is to continue expanding Community Coffee’s presence in homes […]
Whole Foods Market Preps New Store In Downtown Jacksonville, FL
Whole Foods Market will open a new 38,432-square-foot store May 21 at 1 Riverside Ave. in Jacksonville, Florida. The location features more than 800 items sourced from 115-plus Florida-based suppliers. The store’s design pays tribute to the site’s history. Vertical wooden slats reflect the lines of the Florida Times-Union newspaper building that once sat there. […]
Harris Teeter Breaking Ground On North Florida Store
Matthews, North Carolina-based Kroger subsidiary Harris Teeter is breaking ground April 24 on a new 61,000-square-foot store at 11901 Atlantic Blvd. in Jacksonville, Florida. Local elected officials, including Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan, as well as Harris Teeter President Tammy DeBoer, are expected to attend the groundbreaking. The store, which property developer Sleiman said will sit […]
Stepherson, Superlo Foods Expand Digital Engagement With RSA America
Stepherson Inc. has deployed RSA America’s loyalty and digital engagement platform across all 11 Superlo Foods stores in Memphis, Tennessee, and Mississippi. Structured as a multi-year agreement, the partnership introduces a unified loyalty rewards program, digital coupons and a branded mobile app aimed at increasing shopper engagement and visit frequency, as well as strengthening the […]
Food City Launches Pharmacy RX Pickup Station Pilot In Gatlinburg, TN
Food City has introduced an RX Pickup Station at its store in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, a city that has no pharmacy locations. The first of its kind for a retail location in the state, the kiosk operates through a pilot program with the Tennessee Board of Pharmacy. The program enables Food City to fill prescriptions at […]
Winn-Dixie Same-Day Delivery Via Amazon Now Covers Most Of Florida
Amazon and Winn-Dixie have expanded their grocery delivery partnership, bringing same-day service to the majority of Florida households. Seven months after a pilot program in Jacksonville and Orlando, the service now covers about 100 cities and towns in the Sunshine State and South Georgia. The latest expansion adds major metropolitan areas, including Miami, Fort Lauderdale, […]
The Fresh Market Launches Refreshed Rewards Program, Mobile App
The Fresh Market has unveiled two digital enhancements – a revamped loyalty program reintroduced as TFM Rewards and the company’s first native mobile app – designed to deliver greater value, personalization and convenience to shoppers. TFM Rewards offers expanded savings and rewards, special in-store events with member perks, 5 percent savings on curbside orders, enhanced […]
Publix Honors 6 Employees With Mr. George Community Service Award
Publix Super Markets recognized six associates with the Mr. George Community Service Award for outstanding commitment to their communities during the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting. The award honors associates who embody the giving spirit of Publix founder George Jenkins. “George Jenkins once said, ‘We are not only in the grocery business, we’re in the people […]
AGEF Golf Outing Raises More Than $53K For Scholarships
The Alabama Grocers Education Foundation (AGEF) held its annual golf outing April 9 at Timberline Golf Club in Calera, Alabama. The event, presented by Buffalo Rock/Pepsi, brought together members of the grocery industry and raised more than $53,000 to support the foundation’s scholarship programs. To date, the event has resulted in more than $1.5 million […]
Publix Expands NC Footprint With New Durham Store
Publix opened a new 41,744-square-foot store April 11 at 4628 Guess Road in Durham, North Carolina, part of its continued expansion in the state’s Research Triangle region. The location features traditional departments, including a bakery, full-service deli and meat and seafood counters. The store also houses a full-service pharmacy with a drive-thru and offers home […]
Winn-Dixie Wins Three First-Place Honors At National Pie Championship
Winn-Dixie took home three first-place blue ribbons during the American Pie Council National Pie Championship on April 8-9 in Orlando, Florida. The retailer’s winning entries spanned classic and specialty categories, including the 8-inch caramel apple pie, 8-inch caramel chocolate pecan pie and 11-inch apple lattice pie. The 8-inch caramel apple pie garnered its sixth blue […]
Dollar General To Deploy AI-Enabled Audio Network In 6K Stores
Dollar General Corp. is expanding its retail media capabilities through a new partnership with QSIC to launch an artificial intelligence-enabled in-store audio network. The rollout will cover about 6,000 stores across 48 states, doubling the retailer’s audio footprint to 12,000 locations by the second quarter of 2026. The platform utilizes AI to integrate point-of-sale data […]
Ingles Markets, Summer Road Trade Blows Ahead Of April 30 Proxy Vote
Ingles Markets has released an investor presentation ahead of its April 30 annual meeting, intensifying its opposition to a director nominee put forward by Summer Road LLC, the family investment office of David Sackler. Summer Road issued its own statement disputing the grocer’s claims. The Asheville, North Carolina-based grocer is urging shareholders to vote for […]
Ingles Issues In-Depth Investor Warning Ahead Of Proxy Fight
Ingles Markets has released an investor presentation ahead of its April 30 annual meeting, intensifying its opposition to a director nominee put forward by Summer Road LLC, the family investment office of David Sackler. The Asheville, North Carolina-based grocer is urging shareholders to vote for its two independent director candidates – Rebekah Lowe and Dwight […]
Rainforest Distribution Opens Multi-Zone Facility In Fort Pierce, FL
Rainforest Distribution Corp. has opened a 62,817-square-foot distribution center in Fort Pierce, Florida, that features ambient, refrigerated and frozen temperature zones. Located at 3800 Crossroads Parkway within the Interstate Commerce Center, the site provides access to 37 percent of Florida’s population within two hours and 92 percent within four hours, according to the company. Rainforest […]
Publix Signs Leases For 3 New KY Supermarket Locations
Publix Super Markets has executed leases for three new Kentucky stores – in Bowling Green, Richmond and Versailles. Each city will welcome a 54,964-square-foot Publix Super Market with an adjacent Publix Liquors. The stores are expected to create about 150 jobs apiece. An opening time frame has not been determined for any of the three, […]
Food Lion Feeds Provides 1.7M Meals Through College Basketball Partnerships
Food Lion Feeds helped provide more than 1.7 million meals to those in need through its Score to Give More initiative during the 2025-26 college basketball season. The program tied free throw production from 54 participating men’s and women’s basketball teams to meal donations for campus food pantries and local Feeding America partner food banks. […]
Harris Teeter Named To Newsweek’s Most Trustworthy Companies List
Harris Teeter has been recognized by Newsweek as one of “America’s Most Trustworthy Companies” for 2026. The recognition covers 700 companies across 23 industries and is based on an independent survey of 25,000 U.S. respondents, producing more than 100,000 evaluations, plus online media sentiment. “We believe trust is earned, and we honor it every day […]
Coke Florida Unveils Limited-Edition America250 Commemorative Cans
Coca-Cola Beverages Florida (Coke Florida) debuted limited-edition America250 Coca-Cola cans at its Jacksonville manufacturing facility, one of a select number of production sites nationwide creating commemorative packaging representing all 50 states ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary. The America250-themed Coca-Cola and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar mini-cans will be available at retailers across Florida beginning April 6. […]
