June 20, 2017 | By Katherine Peralta, The Charlotte Observer
Harris Teeter on Tuesday opened its newest Charlotte location, another example of the plus-size stores it’s building lately.
Along with other typical grocery offerings, the new store has a Starbucks coffee stand, a wine bar, a beer growler station, a sit-down eating area and an expanded specialty foods section.
The new 53,000 square-foot supermarket at 2717 South Blvd. – in the Sedgefield Shopping Center that is being redeveloped – is less than half a mile away from the 55,000 square-foot Publix that opened in spring 2015.
The store’s vintage exterior signage is a nod to the fact that the Sedgefield location is the site of Harris Teeter’s second-ever location. It closed in 1988.
“As we are returning to the exact block where the original South Blvd location stood nearly 30 years ago, we decided to embrace the nostalgia of our 1960’s roots by incorporating one of the company’s original logos on the exterior of the building,” spokeswoman Danna Robinson said.
To celebrate the grand opening, the store hosted a ribbon-cutting at 5 p.m., followed by a food sampling event. The store is open daily from 6 a.m.-midnight.
Davie Hinshaw dhinshaw@charlotteobserver.com
Harris Teeter, owned by Cincinnati-based Kroger, is Charlotte’s biggest grocer by market share.
Charlotte’s grocery market has become increasingly crowded in recent years with the entrance of Florida-based Publix, as well as the planned expansions of the German grocers Aldi and Lidl. Amazon agreed to buy Whole Foods Market on Friday, and experts say the lower prices resulting from the deal could put pressure on grocers like Harris Teeter to similarly lower costs to stay competitive.
Katherine Peralta: 704-358-5079, @katieperalta
Davie Hinshaw dhinshaw@charlotteobserver.com
Read the original article in The Charlotte Observer.