Grocery Stores In and Around Charlotte NC

I work with a lot of relocating folks, coming to buy a home in Charlotte NC or the surrounding areas courtesy of their jobs at Bank of America or Wachovia or TIAA-CREF or Billy Graham Ministries or Lowe's Home Improvement.

One of the little things we chat about while we're touring the area is what grocery stores are where and what they're like.

Our fanciest and finest grocery store (outside of the specialty stores) is Harris Teeter. Locally owned and operated and one of the more successful grocery chains in the southeast, it's universally acknowledged as our best. Not that anything really comes close, but this is as close as you'll get to Wegmans! Publix is also a pretty close comparison.

Harris Teeter is a very intelligent company-they plan their stores' locations to be in areas that fit their criteria for income levels (middle to upper middle), rooftops, and family demographics (they like families with small to medium children-think sugar cereal!). So when HT comes into an area, it's acknowledged as proof that the area is moving on up.

Our newcomer to the grocery world is Lowe's Foods. They're pretty stiff competition for Harris Teeter (and are unaffiliated with Lowe's Home Improvement). Nice clean stores with excellent wine selections. You can also place your food orders online with several of their stores and use the express driveup lanes (as a mom with little kids, I love this service!).

Similar to the strategy utilized by Lowe's Home Improvement and Home Depot, you'll see new Lowes Foods cropping up near existing Harris Teeter stores whenever possible.

The oldie goldie grocery store is Food Lion. Based out of Salisbury NC (about 30 minutes north of Charlotte), they've long been willing to put stores where other chains would not. One main reason is that Food Lion doesn't rule out dry counties or dry cities. (Harris Teeter won't place a store in a dry county as they rely on the profit margin from beer and wine.) Rural North Carolina is dotted with Food Lion stores. Comparable to Albertson's or A&P. Food Lion has long been known as the low price leader and more than 10 years later, they're still fighting the stigma brought on by that ABC news expose in regard to repackaging meat. Their new entrant into the grocery market is the Bloom stores. These stores are designed for busy folks who want to get in and out with their convenience items-you get a scanner when you come in the door so you can tally as you go. Food Lion is embracing technology in an effort to regain lost ground in the metro areas.

If you're relocating to Charlotte NC, Harrisburg NC, Concord NC, or any of the surrounding areas, give us a call. We specialize in providing a higher level of service to make your relocation as smooth as possible.