To be Built on Site of Old Bowling Alley on Ringgold Road
ABINGDON, VA – Earlier today, company officials announced plans to construct a new Food City and Gas N’ Go on Ringgold Road in East Ridge. The 54,000-square-foot supermarket will serve as a replacement for the existing location and is expected to open early Summer of 2022.
“We’re extremely proud to partner with the City of East Ridge on this partnership in the Border Region District to convert a somewhat blighted piece of property into a modern state-of-the-art supermarket,” says Steven C. Smith, Food City president and chief executive officer. “This project will result in well over a hundred new area jobs and bring a Starbucks café to East Ridge, along with some other exciting new conveniences and services. We are hopeful that this project will serve as a catalyst to promote other development in the area as well.”
Officials with the city believe the amount of added services the new store plans to offer will draw shoppers from well beyond the East Ridge area, including the Brainerd area, Missionary Ridge, and parts of North Georgia.
“We are extremely excited for the construction of a new Food City and Gas N’ Go,” said Brian Williams, Mayor of East Ridge. “It has been a pleasure working with Food City regarding this new development. The additional services, products, and jobs the new store will provide to our area is incredible.
“We have been diligently working to attract and recruit new development in this area. I too, believe this modern state-of-the-art Food City supermarket will be a catalyst for additional new development on the West end of East Ridge. We thank Food City for their continued belief and support in East Ridge.”
The location will include an in-store bakery and deli offering fresh baked goods, deli meats, cheeses, hot foods, large café seating area, fireplace, hickory smoker, pizza oven, fresh food bar offering a variety of soup, salad and fruit selections, and full-service catering and event planning. Full-service service meat and seafood departments will offer pre-marinated/seasoned oven ready products, a complete selection of top-quality meats, including Certified Angus Beef, and fresh sushi.
In-house meat cutters will be available to hand cut steaks and fresh meat to order.Expanded grocery, frozen food, and produce departments will go well beyond the normal fare with a huge selection of gourmet, international, and specialty items. The Food City Floral Boutique will be staffed with a designer seven days per week, offering a full assortment of fresh-cut floral arrangements, bouquets, gift items, and more.Rapid checkout service will be provided by six check-out lanes and seven self-checkouts.
The location will also feature a Food City Pharmacy, equipped with a private consultation room and drive-thru window, Food City Gas N’ Go including diesel fuel, GoCart curbside pick-up, and Starbucks café, offering a wide assortment of blended hot and cold coffees and beverages, as well as an assortment of tasty breakfast sandwiches and pastries. Several award-winning energy saving concepts will also be included, ranging from energy efficient glass cooler doors, parking lot lights, and refrigeration systems to motion sensors, 100% LED lighting, and open rafter ceilings.
Headquartered in Abingdon, Virginia, K-VA-T Food Stores (Food City’s parent company) operates 134 retail supermarkets throughout southeast Kentucky, southwest Virginia, east Tennessee, north Georgia, and soon to be Alabama.