N.C. Food Lion DC to Expand

Delhaize America and its Food Lion division have revealed plans to expand the company's distribution center in Dunn, N.C., adding about 54,000 square feet to increase storage space for refrigerated and frozen foods.

The expansion “reinforces our commitment to North Carolina and enables us to continue to serve our customers in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states,” said Cathy Green Burns, president of Salisbury, N.C.-based Food Lion

The enlarged refrigerated and frozen section at the DC will provide additional storage for more than 4,000 dairy, meat and frozen food items.

“The expansion of this facility will further support storage capacity for Food Lion grocery stores,” explained Gerry Greenleaf, VP of distribution and transportation for Delhaize America, also based in Salisbury. “After the devastating tornado that struck North Carolina this spring, we evaluated opportunities to further enhance this facility as part of our rebuilding efforts. As our business grows and storage capacity needs increase, this was the right opportunity to expand this distribution center.”

The DC first opened in 1987 and services 264 Food Lion stores mainly located in North Carolina. The facility employs more than 700 associates, and after the expansion will measure about 1.3 million square feet. On average, the DC ships more than 1.4 million cases of products weekly, and houses 12,800 items. In the wake of the tornado, Food Lion has resumed full grocery operations, and hopes that the reconstruction of the refrigerated and frozen foods will enable it to return to pre-storm operational levels. The company expects to open the expanded space by early next year.

Employing about 109,000 full-time and part-time associates, Delhaize America has more than 1,600 stores in 16 states in the eastern United State under the Bloom, Bottom Dollar Food, Food Lion, Harveys, Hannaford Supermarkets, Reid’s and Sweetbay banners. The Food Lion family of supermarkets operates more than 1,100 supermarkets, either directly or through affiliated entities, under the names of Food Lion, Harveys or Reid’s. The chain employs about 62,500 associates in 11 Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states.