Woodfin Food Lion out, “appropriate” grocery store in

Posted on by David Forbes

The Food Lion at Woodfin’s Newbridge Shopping Center has been open since 1988, but on Dec. 13, it will close its doors for good.

A Lion in winter: The Woodfin Food Lion, which will close its doors Dec. 13. Representatives of Reynolds Mountain, which owns the property, say an “appropriate” grocery store will take its place. Photo by Jonathan Welch

“Reynolds Mountain bought out our lease,” store manager Rebecca Stewart told Xpress.

Reynolds Mountain, however, tells a different story.

“Their lease runs out at the end of December,” spokesperson Leslie Groetsch told Xpress, adding that the decision came from Food Lion’s corporate management.

Reynolds Mountain owns the shopping-center property and is at the heart of a collaboration with the town of Woodfin to build a central commercial and residential downtown core for the area.

The store will transfer all of its full-time employees to other stores in the area, Stewart said. Starting Dec. 5, the store began offering 30 percent off all products except alcohol and tobacco.

As for the store’s replacement, Groetsch said that “our own plan calls for a grocery store that is appropriate to the needs of the area.”

Asked about what Reynolds Mountain means by “appropriate,” she added that “there are two Ingles near here, there’s a Fresh Market just down the road. We’re looking at several different options right now.”

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