Food Lion expands presence in Virginia

Food Lion this week opened its third supermarket in Quinton, Va., a suburban community about 20 miles east of Richmond in New Kent County.

Located at 561 New Kent Hwy., the new store offers a self-service hot wing bar, fresh-cut fruit, a plant-based section and a range of “grab-and-go” meal options. That includes a wide variety of local offerings, such as an assortment of Ukrop’s sandwiches, wraps, salads in the deli and pies, cake, cookies, bread and rolls in the bakery area.

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Locally sourced items at the store, open daily from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., also include fresh produce from Kirby Farm in Mechanicsville; seafood delivered direct from Sam Rust Seafood in Hampton; and meat from Gunnoe’s Sausage in Cifax, Dutt & Wagner in Abingdon and Gwaltney Foods in Smithfield.

A strong private-label offering also is a highlight of the new store, including the Food Lion brand across the aisles as well as the better-for-you Nature’s Promise brand, with natural and organic items such as beef, pork, poultry, milk, eggs, bottled water, cereal and coffee, among other products.

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Food Lion noted that sustainability is a hallmark of the Quinton store as well, including energy-efficient LED lighting overhead and in refrigerated and freezer cases; doors on all beer, dairy and lunch meat cases; and motion sensors on all frozen food cases. The sensors dim the lights to 20% output when not being shopped by a customer. Food Lion added that it’s the nation’s only retailer to receive the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy’s Energy Star Partner of the Year Award for 20 straight years. The Salisbury, N.C.-based chain also recently garnered recognition from the EPA for efforts to reduce refrigerant emissions.

“Having been a part of the greater Richmond community for nearly 23 years, I’m very excited to welcome our Quinton neighbors into their new Food Lion,” store manager Selvedin Dokic commented. “My team and I look forward to supporting our community and helping nourish families with the products they need at the low prices they expect from us. Our neighbors can count on us to offer a great assortment and variety of products that make it easy for them to get everything they need in one shopping trip.”

Food Lion also has stores at 2589 New Kent Hwy. and 7300 Market Place Dr. in Quinton. Overall, the grocer operates more than 1,100 stores in 10 Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states. Other new stores opened this year by the chain include locations in Warrenville and Myrtle Beach, S.C. In April, Food Lion reopened all 62 stores acquired from Southeastern Grocers and secured and reopened another nine locations previously closed by Southeastern Grocers. And through the fiscal 2021 second quarter of parent company Ahold Delhaize, Food Lion achieved its 35th consecutive quarter of comparable-sales growth.