Food Lion will open a second grocery store in Knightdale on newly acquired land
Food Lion will build a second store in Knightdale after acquiring nearly seven undeveloped acres of land last week.
The Salisbury-based grocery chain purchased the 6.73-acre, vacant lot at 9400 Poole Road for $1.26 million, as first reported by the Triangle Business Journal.
Food Lion contracted the land almost three years ago, according to Pat Moore, a principal at Raleigh’s CityPlat, which brokered the deal. But public utility challenges, including sewer issues on the property, delayed the process.
“Still, it got scooped up pretty quickly,” Moore told The News & Observer. “They ended up purchasing the land, which they don’t often do, so they believe in the area.”
The property sits along a thoroughfare between Wake and Johnston Counties that is undergoing rapid development, Moore added. The immediate area isn’t currently served by a major grocery store.
“So it’s got lots of potential,” Moore said. “There will be more traffic moving through there.”
Food Lion didn’t have anyone available for comment, and the company did not share a projected construction timeline with CityPlat. Pending resolution of the site’s utility issues, construction could begin within about five years, Moore estimated.
“I’m not sure how long it will be until they build,” he said. “It could be anywhere from next year to five years.”
The grocery store will join more than 1,000 Food Lions across 10 states. The 64-year-old chain was founded in Salisbury, but has been owned by Belgium’s Delhaize Group since the 1970s.
