Charlotte Supermarkets

[nonillogical]

44 minutes ago, kermit said:

Meh, grocery store announcements are exciting for me because they generally indicate some significant new retail investment in intown neighborhoods. It does not appear that Wegmans will bring us that. 

I am constantly amazed by how much information can be found from all of us -- thanks for all the info guys! (and ladies?)

Yeah I'm saying we're not the weird ones, Cary is for the crazy over-saturation of strip mall retail centers, usually anchored by a grocery store. To be fair though every time I visit I'm surprised that the demand really does seem to be there, its not like any of them are closing down. 

[Spartan]

Cary is suburban paradise. Just like Ballantyne, it's not going anywhere.

[NCMike1981]

Pretty soon Cary will have Wegmans, Publix, Harris Teeter, Kroger, Lowes Foods and Food Lion.....I have a feeling there will be a grocery store falling out going on in the area shortly, that's a lot of chains for one town.

Edited January 22, 2016 by NCMike1981

[CLT2014]

Kroger continues their quest to grow and grow and grow. They are bidding to buy Greensboro based Fresh Market that has 8 locations in Charlotte (~180 nationwide). Fresh Market's ~1.8 billion in sales per year might help the Kroger conglomerate pass the $110 billion mark in sales and they will be close to 3,000 stores.

Note: This is not a done deal, but Kroger has made it to the second round of the Fresh Market auction with private equity firms bidding as well.

Edited February 11, 2016 by CLT2014

[cha]

Anyone know of a good go-to market that sells a nice selection of imported French or European food and drink items?  Kind of like where an ex-pat might like to find something.  I've heard of the Asian Corner Mall being international but don't know what all is inside. 

[Guest]

10 minutes ago, cha said:

Anyone know of a good go-to market that sells a nice selection of imported French or European food and drink items?  Kind of like where an ex-pat might like to find something.  I've heard of the Asian Corner Mall being international but don't know what all is inside. 

lol. you will be very disappointed at Asian Corners if you are looking for French/European food. I have no guidance for you however, short from getting charcuterie and wine. If you were looking for Italian I'd say Pasta and Provisions. 

 

Edited March 9, 2017 by Guest

[SgtCampsalot]

38 minutes ago, cha said:

Anyone know of a good go-to market that sells a nice selection of imported French or European food and drink items?  Kind of like where an ex-pat might like to find something.  I've heard of the Asian Corner Mall being international but don't know what all is inside. 

I think your best bet would be Super G Mart on Independence Blvd in/near Matthews (where the old Bi-Lo and Best Buy used to be)

[Temeteron]

5 hours ago, cha said:

Anyone know of a good go-to market that sells a nice selection of imported French or European food and drink items?  Kind of like where an ex-pat might like to find something.  I've heard of the Asian Corner Mall being international but don't know what all is inside. 

Dean & Deluca offers French and Italian cheeses, wines, olive oils and other products.

Cedarland is a locally owned Lebanese/Middle Eastern market that offers middle eastern desserts, snacks, German chocolates, Turkish chocolates, hookahs, houmus, olives, milk, cheeses and other things by the pound. They also have an area where you can order kebabs to eat in. 

Zygma- Polish Supermarket

Golden Key European food market- offers Russian, Ukrainian, Romanian and other Easterm European products. 

Agora Greek Market- Greek products 

Minos Foods- Also Greek products, a little bigger than Agora's selection. 

Also, you have got to check out Asian Grand Market, it is like being in Hong Kong! Super G Mart is also very International, but mostly Asian and Latino with a sprinkle of Russian products. 

 

I know you asked particularly French and Italian but I thought I'd give you some others too

Edited March 10, 2017 by Temeteron

[cha]

Awesome!  Thank you both for the suggestions.. been away from Charlotte for about a decade now, looking forward to getting back!

[SgtCampsalot]

Article about food insecurity and food deserts in Charlotte, and how the current method of "grocery store wars" doesn't do anything for communities who need grocers.

[Matthew.Brendan]

Capitalism at its finest!

[cjd5050]

On 3/19/2017 at 9:08 AM, SgtCampsalot said:

Article about food insecurity and food deserts in Charlotte, and how the current method of "grocery store wars" doesn't do anything for communities who need grocers.

You're not going to solve food deserts until SNAP is revised.  Especially the it comes to being able to access fresh food.

One issue is stores need to have a steady flow of traffic in the store to ensure product cycles through.  With SNAP currently there is a spike at the first of the month and that's it.  Very difficult for a product manager to run a department around that.  

Another issue is just the reality that many on SNAP simply don't purchase the same type of products  (fresh v. packaged/frozen) as typical store customers.  These places are run off formulas and tiny 1% to 2% margins.  Grocery stores need years and years of these tiny profits to reach a return.  

 

Personally I think home delivery is a better than trying to get stores built.  

[kermit]

Is Huntersville going to get Charlotte's first Wegman's? The size of the space (78,000 sq ft) is on the small end of Wegman's usual size I think.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/business/biz-columns-blogs/development/article155665104.html

 

[Prodev]

It's a large format Harris Teeter. 

[JRNYP2C]

I sure hope so!  Was up in DC over the weekend and had to stop by the local Wegman's just to get my fix!

[jednc]

9 hours ago, Prodev said:

It's a large format Harris Teeter. 

That's what I figured. Huntersville only has 3 HTs, so it was about time for another.

[KJHburg]

Yes do Wegmans even have gas stations? I am sure it is a big Harris Teeter that is the size of what they are building at Rea Farms Village and Riverbend in NW Charlotte Both which are Teeters. 

[Prodev]

My guess is that they'll end up in the Huntersville/Lake Norman area given the demos, but it'll be somewhere in the exit 23-28 area, and will need to be in a more regional location with easy access to the interstate. They function more like a Costco than a typical grocery store. I don't think they'd settle for a small format store either, so it would be the full 130,000 SF store.  

[jednc]

6 hours ago, Prodev said:

My guess is that they'll end up in the Huntersville/Lake Norman area given the demos, but it'll be somewhere in the exit 23-28 area, and will need to be in a more regional location with easy access to the interstate. They function more like a Costco than a typical grocery store. I don't think they'd settle for a small format store either, so it would be the full 130,000 SF store.  

I know someone from Buffalo who lives north of the lake who'll be really happy if you're right.

Edited June 13, 2017 by jednc

[LKN704]

Not to change the subject, but I honestly don't know what's so great about Wegmans. They are basically the Publix of Western NY to me-I've visited their stores before. They were nice, but weren't so nice that I would shop there every single time. I don't need employees to be 100% happy all the time-I find it creepy (TBH, I hate it when every single person in Publix asks me how I am).

I just want a grocery store that is clean, bright, and well-stocked. I like Publix, and I used to enjoy shopping at Bloom. When I lived in Albany, I used to shop at Hannaford. I just wished that Food Lions were as nice as Hannaford is.

The best grocery stores I've ever been to are Waitrose (in the UK), city super (in Hong Kong), and Fred Meyer (in the Northwest).

I'm still waiting to get a Costco in LKN too.

[cjd5050]

1 hour ago, LKN704 said:

Not to change the subject, but I honestly don't know what's so great about Wegmans. They are basically the Publix of Western NY to me-I've visited their stores before. They were nice, but weren't so nice that I would shop there every single time. I don't need employees to be 100% happy all the time-I find it creepy (TBH, I hate it when every single person in Publix asks me how I am).

I just want a grocery store that is clean, bright, and well-stocked. I like Publix, and I used to enjoy shopping at Bloom. When I lived in Albany, I used to shop at Hannaford. I just wished that Food Lions were as nice as Hannaford is.

The best grocery stores I've ever been to are Waitrose (in the UK), city super (in Hong Kong), and Fred Meyer (in the Northwest).

I'm still waiting to get a Costco in LKN too.

2

Sorry but Publix does not come close to Wegmans in many areas.  Mostly on the outside wall stuff like Meats/Seafood, Bakery, and Prepped Foods.  But if you shop and make food from the isles you're not going to know the difference.  

The employees at Wegmans are happy because they provide awesome insurance for full-time workers and lots of scholarships for teens.  

[KJHburg]

Amazon is buying Whole Foods for $42/share announced this morning. Jim Kramer on CNBC is foaming at the mouth about it is the end of grocery stores as we know it spoken like a Manhattanite who doesn't have the choices we have here in Charlotte. Plus the Germans are coming Lidl, Aldi and Walmart the nations #1 grocer is not going to roll over either. It is market disrupting for sure. 

[CLT2014]

Amazon will now have a backdoor to execute a hybrid model of physical grocery stores and rapid home delivery from stores in wealthy areas of large metro areas. It will certainly disrupt the market. I am curious if they will bring Whole Foods prices down though to compete with Lidl or Aldi, or if they will go for the convenience / quality combination to justify keeping the price premium. At current Whole Foods pricing, it will always be a niche for more affluent shoppers and Walmarts / Aldi / etc... for the majority of the population. 

Edited June 16, 2017 by CLT2014

[videtur quam contuor]

If one wants a pie from a grocer, and where else does one buy a retail pie, then Whole Foods is absolutely the place to go. I mean a real pie and not italian casserole on crispy bread.

[kermit]

HT board and executives decided to sell at exactly the right time. 

Hat tip...