Lowes Foods is expanding again near Charlotte, part of a broader move for the region
A North Carolina grocery store chain is expanding again in the Charlotte area, this time in Waxhaw.
Lowes Foods will open a store on the southwest corner of Providence Road and Prescott Glenn Parkway at The Shops at Prescot Village, according to the Winston-Salem-based grocer. Construction and opening schedules have not been determined.
It’s part of the Prescot Village 100-acre mixed-use development, according to an online sales flyer by New South Properties of the Carolinas. The site, being developed by The Widewaters Group, is near Harris Teeter at 8157 Kensington Drive.
Lowes Foods has three Charlotte-area locations in Mooresville, Harrisburg and Huntersville, and plans to open three more in Concord, Kannapolis and Indian Land, S.C. The Concord is expected to open in the fall, company spokesman Scott Carpenter said. The other sites will open over the next two years.
All this expansion comes amid steep competition with other North Carolina chains like Matthews-based Harris Teeter and Salisbury-based Food Lion, as well as Florida-based Publix, and German discount grocers Lidl and Aldi.
Lowes Foods also said Wednesday it will open a store in Lexington, S.C. Other previously announced stores are in Winterville, N.C., Aiken and Summerville in S.C., and Marble Hill, Georgia. The latter store is expected to open this summer.
“We are entering a period of growth for Lowes Foods as we move into Georgia and continue to expand within our footprint in North and South Carolina,” Tim Lowe, Lowes Foods president and head of retail for parent company Alex Lee said in a statement Wednesday.
In 2014, Lowes Foods began pulling out of Charlotte, swapping stores with Harris Teeter and closing under-performing stores as part of a reinvestment strategy in new stores and remodeling others.
The 67-year-old company has almost 9,000 employees at 80 Lowes Foods supermarkets in the Carolinas. Lowes Foods is a subsidiary of Alex Lee, based in Hickory.
Charlotte supermarket competition
Lowes Foods isn’t the only grocery store looking to grab a piece of the Charlotte market’s $9.5 billion in supermarket sales. Consider:
▪ Last month, The West Boulevard Coalition moved another step closer to opening Charlotte’s first cooperative grocery store in an area that’s been without a traditional supermarket for over 30 years. Charlotte City Council approved the coalition’s rezoning petition for 3.5 acres at Clanton Road and West Boulevard to build Three Sisters Market. The full-service grocery store is expected to break ground this year.
▪ Also last month, Charlotte-based international grocer Compare Foods opened its ninth store, this one at 5601 South Blvd. The store includes two restaurants, a coffee and ice cream shop, and a bakery.
▪ In November, Sprouts Farmers Market opened in the former Earth Fare at 14124 Steele Creek Road in Steele Creek. The Phoenix-based specialty grocer opened its first Charlotte store six years ago at 15121 Ballancroft Parkway in Ballantyne.
▪ Last year, retail giant Walmart, the No. 1 grocer in the Charlotte region by market share, remodeled 11 area neighborhood markets and supercenters.
▪ In March, Publix opened a 48,387-square-foot store at North Creek Village in Huntersville. Publix plans to open at least six more stores in the region: 10 Tryon building on the corner of Tryon and Ninth streets in uptown; Arboretum at Providence and Pineville-Matthews roads; Clear Creek Crossings development on the corner of Albemarle and Rocky River Church roads; Harris Farms Shopping Center in Mooresville; The Colony on the corner of Sharon and Colony roads in SouthPark; and at 11525 Carmel Commons.
▪ In 2022, Super G Mart, a family-owned international supermarket, opened its third and largest North Carolina store at 10500 Centrum Parkway in Pineville
▪ Also in 2022, discount German-grocer Lidl opened its 10th Charlotte-area store at 11200 Carmel Commons Boulevard.
Lowes Foods plans Kannapolis debut, with another store opening soon in the Charlotte area
Grocer details plans for new Charlotte-area store, complete with entertainment options
