It’s a new day, new kind of store for Food Lion

CONCORD — Shopping for new customers, Food Lion has shelved its old store design in favor what company officials call an “edgy style of store” at its newest location.

The new store at U.S. 29 and Pitts School Road opened Wednesday morning. The company calls it the first “ultra-modern”Food Lion and said Salisbury shoppers will see a similar store in July.

“It’s different from anything anyone at Food Lion — or even anywhere — is used to seeing,” said Kyle Mitchell, Food Lion’s vice president of construction and engineering.

Design firm ArchitecturePlus International of Tampa, Fla., incorporated several elements aimed at making shopping easier and faster.

Shoppers standing at the front should be able to locate most products by the 8 1/2-inch letters that spell out where to find produce, meats, dairy and other items.

A seven-degree bend in the middle of each aisle allows a shopper standing at the end of an aisle to see 75 percent of products on the shelves, as opposed to 25 percent on traditionally-designed aisles. “The quicker you can discern where you need to go, the better,” said Thomas Henken, vice president and director of design for ArchitecturePlus International. “This store is all about convenience.”

Unloading groceries should be easier, too, with checkout counters arranged in a semi-circle to make more room between each.

The company also changed the feel of the 38,000-square-foot store.

Designers left out ceiling tiles to expose rafters in the 25-foot-high ceiling for a roomier feel. In addition, rounded corners make the store feel “softer.” Added colored bands around the walls liven up the interior.

Outside, tilted letters that spell out “Food Lion” make for a sense of speed. The company plans to remodel a Salisbury store at the intersection of Jake Alexander Boulevard and N.C. 150, incorporating some of the new design elements. If the Concord and Salisbury Food Lion stores, along with new stores planned for Rock Hill, S.C., and Martinsville, Va., prove successful, Food Lion may add the new design to its prototype blueprints.