The Delhaize Group, the Belgian conglomerate that owns Food Lion, announced Thursday that it will close 113 underperforming stores in the United States, including one in Cary.
The Cary Food Lion is the anchor in a retail plaza at 973 N. Harrison Ave.
Delhaize also operates Bloom and Bottom Dollar stores. All told, the company is closing 126 stores across its three brands.
It is also converting 64 Bloom and Bottom Dollar Food stores to Food Lion and retiring the Bloom brand.
Both Food Lion and Bottom Dollar are based in Salisbury, where Food Lion was founded.
The closings announced Thursday are part of what Delhaize calls its "new game plan" to revive slumping sales.
Part of that is a change in strategy that Food Lion has been testing in the Triangle and Chattanooga markets since May. The grocer cut prices on 6,000 items, reorganized shelves, added shopping carts, increased staffing, and made efforts to improve customer service.
The company said Friday that those changes continue to show good results, particularly in Raleigh, where customer visits and the number of items sold continue to outpace other Food Lion markets.
It turns out a March opening for the new Arhuas Furniture store in Crabtree Valley Mall was a conservative estimate. The store will open its doors Feb. 24, the company confirmed this week. ... Joe Van Loco, the joint venture between the entrepreneurs behind Joe Van Gogh coffee and Locopops, has opened its store in the Towne North shopping center on Creedmoor Road in North Raleigh. The store sells coffee drinks and ice cream and sorbet treats.
Complete Nutrition will hold a grand opening for its three Triangle stores from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday. The stores are in Alexander Place Promenade in Raleigh's Brier Creek, the Poyner Place shopping center in North Raleigh, and Crossroads Plaza shopping center in Cary. The event includes a buy-one-get-one-free sale, prizes, and one-on-one consultations with nutrition specialists.
A new neighborhood pet store that caters to North Hills' health-conscious pet owners, Woof Gang Bakery, is opening Saturday at 4421 Six Forks Road, Suite 120, Raleigh. This is the company's third franchise in North Carolina, with other locations in Asheville and Cashiers. The store offers full- and self-service grooming, pet foods and supplies. Raleigh residents and sisters Lindsay Trumpler and Courtney Reid are the franchise owners. The first 20 dogs on opening day get free treats for one year. ... Chicago-based Mia Francesca Trattoria has opened in North Hills at 4100 Main St. The Italian restaurant will be open daily for lunch and dinner.
In Morrisville, Ravi Patel and Shiv Chakraborty have opened Fantastic Sams at Park West Village shopping center. The salon's grand opening is from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. During that time, $9.95 will get you a haircut, a slice of pizza and drink. ... Also at Park West Village, GNC, which sells nutritional products, will celebrate its opening Thursday through Jan. 22 with storewide discounts, giveaways and free samples. The location is owned by Carter and Laura Dalton, who have operated the GNC in North Hills Mall in Raleigh for close to 10 years.
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