Harris Teeter Shows Its Love for the Lowcountry
In a trade exclusive interview, Progressive Grocer sat down with Matthews, N.C.-based Harris Teeter’s Danna Robinson, director of corporate affairs, and Joey Bates, senior director of store development and strategy – construction, maintenance and market refresh, as well as a future inductee into Refrigerated Food Hall of Fame this October at the NFRA Convention, to find out more about the grocer’s refresh of all 12 of its Charleston, S.C.-area stores, which is currently underway and involves a series of grand-reopening Taste of Teeter events across the region, starting with a June 18 ribbon cutting at Six Mile Marketplace Harris Teeter, in Mt. Pleasant. The following conversation has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Progressive Grocer: Why was the Charleston, S.C., area chosen for a refresh?
Danna Robinson: Charleston is an important market for Harris Teeter. We’ve served the Charleston community for 48 years, and this multimillion-dollar investment is a testament to not only our commitment to our Lowcountry neighbors, but our continued love for the community. Harris Teeter likes to say we are In Food with Love, and so that’s a theme that you may hear throughout today.
PG: Could you talk a little bit about the kinds of physical improvements that the Charleston area stores will receive as part of this refresh?
Joey Bates: Sure. It was varied by location, and it’s honestly the beginning of a different approach to a strategy that we’re going to continue. We’ll continue to come back to the Charleston market and invest in stores in the future as well. So, there’s different amenities in some of the stores. Some of ’em receive different decor packages, updated flooring. We did a revamp of our entire produce department in virtually every store.
[We also] re-grounded and connected with our associates on a personal level and really dove back into what we hang our hat on, which is great service to our customers. So, much more so than just the investment in physical changes to a store or improving the overall experiences of a store. We really focused a lot on our people and on diving back into what’s at the heart of our business, and that’s taking care of the customer and serving that community.
PG: How is Harris Teeter balancing shopper needs with the remodeling process? Do the stores remain open while they're being remodeled or refreshed, or whatever the term is you prefer?
JB: Yes, they do. Remodels by nature are disruptive, but we try to do our best to keep open lines of communication with the customers while we’re doing the remodels. We are mindful of the impact on certain days and certain times of day with regards to where we’re doing work. And then a lot of the major disruptive work is actually done overnight so that it’s not being performed during the day, when most of our customers are shopping, but [the stores] do stay open.
PG: You mentioned the doubling down on your fresh assortment. How is Harris Teeter accentuating fresh in these refreshed stores?
JB: We’re really focused on produce and the remaining fresh departments, but when you talk about the Lowcountry area, it’s really a resurgence of focusing on local. This is a great local market for us, so whether that be leaning in on the local produce and the farmers that we have business relationships with, or diving back into different seafood programs, given where we are, here in Charleston, or even the bakery programs, it’s really a commitment to variety, providing fresh product with the great service, but then really getting close with the neighbors that help us provide that food. It’s a fantastic local market for us, and we really dove back into that element of our business.
I would like to think that between the local commitment, revamping our fresh departments, and then a lot of focus on our produce and other areas, that that’s our distinguishing factor.
[RELATED: How Rebuilt Harris Teeter Store in North Carolina Reflects a Shared Spirit of Resilience]
PG: Are you putting in signage that specifically calls out the local products, like the farmers who provided it, or gives a little bit of the backstory?
JB: Yes. There’s been a new foundation of signage for local that’s throughout our stores to upgrade the themes and showcase [the items]. We’ve created different [signage] outside of the fresh departments to showcase not just our fresh products that are local, but also all of the other products we carry that are local, whether it’s honeys, or jams and jellies, or other items throughout the store, so that you’ll see more local displays throughout the store, with a common signage of commitment. And then there will be more of the stories behind the suppliers.
While [June 18] is a launch date for us to showcase a different level of engagement in Charleston, it’s just the beginning. This is a new place for us to continue to grow in the marketplace, and I think you’ll see our commitment to local and the communication around that evolve and grow with the consumers.
PG: You also talked about leaning back into your customer service. Is there any particular initiative that you’re taking on that? Any additional training? How are you getting across that renewed commitment to make customer service greater than ever?
JB: We've always been deep-rooted in customer service, and as part of this commitment to the infrastructure, we felt it important to re-engage all of our associates and just refresh and reiterate the training that’s in place every day, but create new elements to communicate with today’s associates differently than in the past. Whether that’s using technology or videos for training or creating different elements, you’ll see engaging our associates with not only our branding and awareness, but you’ll see our local associates included in commercials from here in the Lowcountry talking about our branding, talking about our In Food with Love campaigning, and really driving that pride and showcasing that pride to our customers. We have it; it’s here every day.
It’s really just about shining a spotlight on it and about coming back into that commitment with it. So, it’s just a very important piece of who we are, and it’s really just taking what we’ve been doing and amplifying it and driving some excitement around it and refreshing it and keeping it fun for everyone.
PG: What is the specific purpose of the Taste of Teeter events that are planned as part of these reopenings?
DR: The Taste of Teeter event is a way for us to welcome the community back into their Harris Teeter and celebrate their new amenities [among] friendly faces. … Taste of Teeter is simply a celebration of the absolute best that Harris Teeter has to offer. We’re going to highlight regional favorites here in the Lowcountry, specifically Palmetto Cheese [the area’s version of pimento cheese], local seafood. We have Charleston Coffee Roasters and other Southern cuisines throughout these events throughout the Lowcountry. Again, it’s just a way to say thank-you to our customers: “We apologize for the mess [of remodeling]. Welcome to your brand-new Harris Teeter.”
PG: You talked a lot about local and how that’s one of the linchpins of this refresh. How does Harris Teeter establish relationships with local producers and growers both in the Charleston area and beyond?
JB: It’s an evolving equation for us. A lot of people actually reach out to us or will ask a store manager, and the store management team will contact our store support center and reach out to our merchandising team. That’s one way we gain that trial. Another way is we do have people whose focus in the marketplace is to go out and find these folks that are in this local business, whether that’s through attending a farmers market or a local event to see what’s there and really doing a community outreach and seeing what’s available.
But … if someone’s passionate about food and they create their own product and they want to sell it, a lot of times they’ll come to us, and those relationships start really on the ground, and it’s a back-and-forth type of dialog. We try to meet the need wherever it’s found, and at times that’s even on social media, which is a new element to the business we run. So, it’s really creating that relationship and opportunity wherever it exists and reacting and responding to give the customer what they’re looking for.
As for details on future market refreshes, Harris Teeter was not yet ready to disclose that information publicly. In Charleston, four stores have already been extensively remodeled to include elevated self-checkouts, new produce displays, expanded food cases and more, while eight more will receive various enhancements.
Harris Teeter employs 36,000 associates and operates more than 250 stores and 70 fuel centers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Maryland, Delaware, Florida and the District of Columbia. The food retailer is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Kroger Co., whose nearly 420,000 associates serve more than 11 million customers daily through a digital shopping experience and retail food stores under a variety of banner names. The Cincinnati-based grocer is No. 4. on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2025 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.
