Grocery shoppers entering Food Lion supermarkets in the Rocky Mount area can have an improved experience thanks to a major improvement to those locations.
The Salisbury-based grocery store chain has invested $365 million in upgrading a total of 167 Food Lion supermarkets in North Carolina and Virginia. Five of those Food Lion locations are in Rocky Mount; one is southwest of the city in Nash County; and one is in Nashville.
Cynthia Moore, the manager of the Food Lion at the River’s Edge shopping center in the southwestern part of Rocky Mount, recently discussed the upgrades to the interior of that supermarket.
The most immediately visible difference is a result of the installation of brighter lighting to better showcase products.
With Moore late last month to show the changes being made were two Food Lion officials, Trish Bednarz and Angel Vargas.
Bednarz, a Food Lion regional director of operations, said that based on customer feedback and market research, the focus on remodeling the supermarkets was on providing customers with ease and convenience.
“We listen to our customers. Our customers lead us to our next step,” Bednarz said. “And we have a lot of customers that don’t call this Food Lion. They call it their hometown grocery store.”
Moore was quick to show that after customers enter the River’s Edge Food Lion and turn right to begin shopping, they see a new tall display of food that is either ready to heat, ready to cook or ready to eat.
“Oh, we can’t keep this stuff on the shelf,” Moore said of the customer response to that display. “They love this.”
Moore also showed the bakery and deli, which not only has well-displayed rows of food, but also has highly visible new signage telling the shopper what part of the supermarket he or she is approaching.
Just past the bakery and deli, Moore showed a newly redesigned produce department, with food in new refrigerated, table-like open displays in the center of the department.
The department includes both open and open-by-door refrigerated displays of food along the supermarket’s walls in that department.
Ronnie Pittman of the Battleboro community, who is a produce attendant in the supermarket, said working in the improved River’s Edge Food Lion is “awesome. It’s beautiful.”
Pittman also noted that he’s grateful to be employed.
“It’s a blessing to have a good job in today’s society,” Pittman said.
Pittman has worked 3½ years at the River’s Edge Food Lion and a total of 23 years for Food Lion.
In the meat section, Moore also showed a new walk up and open-by-door refrigerator with luncheon meats for sale.
Moore said that not only is the new refrigerator more energy efficient than the past open display of luncheon meats for sale, “It’s bright, and they can see it.”
She also showed that once shoppers obtain the food and items they want, they now have the option of going to one of four self-checkout stands, particularly if they have a small number of foods and items.
She also noted that an ambassador is stationed at the ready to provide help with the self-checkout process if needed.
Moore showed the supermarket’s Food Lion to Go setup of refrigerators, storage containers and paper sacks in place to serve customers who want to purchase foods and items online to be picked up.
She said that she has about 55 employees at the River’s Edge Food Lion, with about five of them assigned to the Food Lion to Go service.
“I’m hoping we will need more eventually, I do, but right now, five is what we need,” she said.
The supermarket also offers delivery service of food to homes via the internet-powered DoorDash and Instacart services.
Moore has been running the River’s Edge Food Lion for about 10 years. She has been with Food Lion for 30 years, including about 10 years as manager of the supermarket off North Fairview Road in the eastern part of the city.
Moore said that she loves the company.
“It has always taken care of my family,” she said. “And it looks out for their associates. They’re just a good support system.”
Bednarz, who has been working for Food Lion for 25 years, said the company cares about its associates and its customers.
“We are a family,” Bednarz said. “It’s not just a place to work.”
Vargas, who is a Food Lion regional retail support specialist, also has been working for Food Lion for 25 years.
Vargas described the company’s workplace as having a “Count-on-me culture.”
Barbara Scott of Rocky Mount has been shopping at the River’s Edge Food Lion for more than 15 years. Scott said she likes the upgrades at the grocery store.
“It’s a whole lot better,” Scott said, adding that she particularly likes the new lighting and the way food and items are organized.
“And the people that work in there are so courteous to you,” Scott said.
The history of Food Lion can be traced to having opened in 1957 as a single location in Salisbury and having eventually gone on a growth spurt. In 1974, Food Lion became an American division of what is Dutch-based retail food giant Ahold Delhaize.
Currently, Food Lion has 1,108 stores in the Southeast and in the Mid-Atlantic states.
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