Tall windows in the brick façade of the new two-story Food City supermarket on Eastman Road in Kingsport, Tenn. overlook an unintended miniature town square, with strip businesses lining the parking area. The spot was formerly home to a shopping center with a bustling but 20-plus-year-old Food City, begging for a replacement. While the store now on the site is new, its primary focus is the same as the old: the community that surrounds it. “It’s their store,” says Ed Moore, store manager at the location for more than over 24 years.

While the store now on the site is new, its primary focus is the same as the old: the community that surrounds it. “It’s their store,” says Ed Moore, store manager at the location for over 24 years.

For parent company K-VA-T, based in Abingdon, Va., consideration of other sites for the replacement unit was out of the question—this is one of the busiest corners in the city, with good access in all directions. Four months and a week after its predecessor closed, the new store opened in November 2007, about seven months earlier than originally anticipated. But coming in ahead of schedule didn’t mean the project was a breeze. Indeed, it faced more than its fair share of challenges, according to the executives behind the project.

Just making room for the new superstore here was no mean feat. “The site dictated a lot of what we could do,” says Steven C. Smith, president and c.e.o., K-VA-T Food Stores. “There’s a street behind the store, a creek, plus shops. We have enough parking, although we would like more.”

K-VA-T purchased additional property on an adjacent street to accommodate the store’s Gas ‘N Go. “We didn’t have a preconceived notion about how to use this property—we started with a blank sheet of paper. We just wanted to use it wisely and efficiently, to give customers as much as we could on this site,” says Smith.

While many communities require supermarket developers to “jump through hoops,” Smith points out, Kingsport, an industrial town with over 66,000 people within a five-mile radius of the store, was different.

“It was refreshing—they want to help business,” says Smith. Even so, there were many obstacles to overcome. “Our landlord had an existing building with value,” he notes. “We wanted to tear it down, then build it back at a rent we could afford.” TIFF financing helped, as did the mayor, board of aldermen, and other local officials. Almost all buildings in the previous on-site strip center had to be torn down, and displaced tenants compensated.

“Initially, we thought that we wouldn’t have to close the old store prior to opening the new one,” recounts Smith. An elevation difference changed those plans, however.

To head off negative impacts during the closing/building period, store manager Moore, already an active participant in the community, kicked his visibility up several notches. From speaking at local clubs, to becoming the subject of “Where’s Ed?”—a company Web site with regular updates showing Moore in a variety of locations, including on a tractor at the site—the store manager kept Kingsport in the loop about construction progress.

Community outreach went beyond Moore, however. After announcing the store closing, K-VA-T, which operates 91 Food City stores and seven Super Dollars in southeast Kentucky, southwest Virginia, and northeast Tennessee, sent direct mail coupons to shoppers to encourage them to turn to other Food City stores in the interim. “We kept 70 percent of the store’s customer base,” recalls Smith. “They shopped our other stores during the downtime    . . . . We had only hoped for 50 percent.”

The chain also dispersed the store’s associates during the construction to other units as close as possible to their homes.

A good neighbor

With neighborhoods clustered closely around the store, the company was concerned about residents’ potential negative reactions to construction noise from 6 a.m. until 10 p.m., but no one complained. Instead, many came by to watch the construction, notes Moore.

Perhaps the patience neighbors demonstrated during the project was payment in kind for K-VA-T’s own consideration shown during the period. To help customers with limited mobility, for example, the grocer coordinated with the city to schedule buses offering free rides for passengers going to other Food City stores.


The store’s biggest competitors are a Wal-Mart Supercenter, Kroger, “and the economy,” says Smith. Other contenders include a new SuperTarget, locally owned White’s Supermarkets, Food Lion, Save-A-Lot, and Winn-Dixie, but according to Smith, Food City is the market share leader in the Tri-Cities area, which includes Kingsport and Johnson City, Tenn., and Bristol, a twin city in Tennessee and Virginia.

“Kingsport has been very good to us,” says Smith. “We wanted to build a store they could be proud of. We added space for additional selection in dairy, frozen foods, and center store, as well as larger produce and service areas.”

At 55,000 square feet, the store is the largest ever constructed by the company, but it’s not a prototype, as few locations in Food City’s marketing areas would require a store of this size, says Smith.

The view from up here

Supermarkets aren’t often considered breathtaking, but the view from the second-floor balcony of the many departments, encompassing sleek black shelving and colorful products under open ceilings and covered ductwork, is definitely a jaw-dropper.

The additional floor houses deli seating inside and out, offices, training facilities, and a huge community room that locals use for everything from seminars to baby showers. Yet even this dividend comes from an accommodation to the constraints of the site, as the second floor was necessary because of space limitations.

Most departments in the store are larger than the company’s norm and carry a full complement of SKUs. “We wanted to put in a facility so the community would have no need to travel for more variety,” explains Smith. The gesture seems to be working: Most perishable departments here rank No. 1 in company sales.

Entering the deli, customers can get a java jolt at the Seattle’s Best Coffee Express and join friends at Café Kingsport. Nearby, a sub shop offers sandwiches made to order for eat-in or takeout. Piazza bread, similar to an individual pizza with customer-selected toppings, is a Food City exclusive. The hot food bar offers six to eight meats and six to eight side dishes, plus desserts for lunch and dinner. Gravy and biscuits, a southern staple, are featured each morning on the breakfast bar. Fruit and veggie trays, ham biscuits, sandwiches, and an array of salads fill the cold case. Nearby racks hold specialty cheeses, plus pre-sliced meats and salads.

An olive bar with 16 varieties has been a successful deli addition, says Judy Cody, deli supervisor/trainer, adding that deli sales overall have been strong at the Kingsport store. “Our grand opening for this new store was around Thanksgiving, and we broke company sales records—over $61,000, which is phenomenal in our part of the country,” she says.

A “ship” birthday cake sails atop the bakery case, where three full-time cake decorators create customized treats. Homemade candies fill one case, drawing longtime shoppers who know the maker’s work—she’s been here for over 20 years, and is one reason the bakery is so successful. Says Cody, “Out of 35 bakery/deli associates at this Food City location, 12 have been with the store at least 20 years.”

Fresh items from local growers dot the huge produce area; right now strawberries and blueberries are in season. Locally grown organic zucchini, squash, and peppers are also available.

The rainbow colors of fruits and vegetables appear almost electric against black shelving in the department. A cut-fruit section with snack sizes and trays for parties adjoins shelves of unusual produce such as baby pineapples, key limes, and “Grapples,” which are apples injected with grape juice.

Nearby, a 70-item salad bar, run by the produce department, is swamped by customers.

A permanent sampling station strategically placed between produce, seafood, and bakery/deli, is operated at least five days a week.

As customers shop produce and bakery/deli, they pass the floral department with its European look, hardwood floors, and wagon brimming with fresh-cut flowers. “Shoppers may walk in with no intention of purchasing flowers, but eventually they stop—they’re drawn to it,” says Irving Miles, area floral supervisor/trainer. “Bouquets are an aggressive impulse item.” The store also has an agreement with a local hospital gift shop to provide arrangements for patients.

Shish kabobs with beef, brats, or chicken are big sellers, and command attention in the service meat case. Marinated boneless chicken breasts, a department specialty, also tempt shoppers. Specialty burgers like Black and Bleu, Spinach Feta, and Bacon Cheddar are made daily. Next door, service seafood’s No. 1 seller is fresh salmon fillets, followed by tilapia.

Certified Angus beef is big in Food City meat departments. “Locally grown” lamb is also available, as well as sausage made on-site. Case-ready ground turkey is popular for the health-conscious, while sushi, still new to this part of Tennessee, merits a small display. The store sells only all-natural chicken, including Gerber organic and private label ValuTime for budget watchers.

In frozen, hors d’oeuvres, pizza, and helpful ideas are grouped together. Frozen pizza, a big seller at the store, is merchandised prominently with 14 doors and a wide range of brands, says Smith. Energy-saving LEDs spotlight ice cream, entrees, pizzas, and more against the black-shelved freezer doors.

Other energy-saving features built into the store include an alcohol/glycol refrigeration system that uses less refrigerant, and is more efficient and safer because of reduced risk of discharge.

Beer aficionados are welcomed at the store. They can try a bottle before buying a six-pack; and microbrews and imports are available by the bottle or via the store’s “Pick a Six,” a program allowing customers to pick any six bottles for $8.99.

“Customers who purchase imported beers are desirable,” explains Smith. “They generally love to cook and spend more on groceries each week.”


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A sign of the times

Food City receives DSD deliveries from only one ice cream vendor, c.e.o. and president Steve Smith notes. "All other ice cream is coming through our warehouse -- we can do it more efficiently now, with the price of gas so high." He points out that some vendors have cut back on the number of weekly store deliveries because of fuel prices, resulting in product outages.


Community Christmas spirit

Every year, several hundred volunteers gather at the Kingsport, Tenn. Food City to fill plastic bins with 15 tons of donated food and toys, which find their to some of the poorest areas in Appalachia via the Santa Train on the Saturday before Thanksgiving.

Sponsored by CSX Transportation, the Kingsport Chamber of Commerce, and Food City, the locomotive has traveled its 110-mile route for more than 65 years to bring Christmas to the mountains. As many as five generations greet the train each year as it chugs through southwest Virginia, southeastern Kentucky, and northeast Tennessee.

Oakwood Markets, a now-defunct local chain, originally sponsored the train. When the owner retired, he called Ed Moore, manager of the Kingsport Food City, and asked if that company would take over sponsorship.

"There's no higher compliment than a competitor handing something this important off to us," recalls K-VA-T president and c.e.o. Steve Smith.

"I get a lot of enjoyment from the event," says Moore. "We get all the donations here at this store, and pack it up" with the help of volunteers. Due to the new store construction project in 2007, the gifts last time had to be packed up in the parking lot, he adds. "We had more volunteers than ever, because they knew the situation."