Veterans from Radford’s VFW Post 776 were on hand Wednesday to raise the flag during Food City’s opening ceremony.
The parking lot was full, and shoppers were lined up Wednesday morning as opening ceremonies marked the grand opening of Radford’s Food City supermarket.
The 8 a.m. festivities at the store’s Tyler Avenue location included the raising of the American flag by veterans from VFW Post 776 in Radford and the Pledge of Allegiance, an invocation by Jesse Furey of Valley Bible Church, the singing of the National Anthem by Moriah St. Louis and a ceremonial ribbon cutting by store manager Brooks Dawson. After that, the doors were opened, turning grocery shoppers loose to make their way inside and see the new supermarket for themselves.
Radford Mayor David Horton and Chris Hurst, delegate to the Virginia House of Delegates from the twelfth district, were on hand to welcome the supermarket to town. Steve Smith, Food City’s president and CEO, spoke briefly, recalling the company’s founding in 1955 in Grundy in Southwest Virginia as a Piggly Wiggly store. Today, he said, Food City has some 17,000 employees and almost three billion dollars in annual sales. He noted that 12 percent of the company is owned by its associates through a profit-sharing program available at no cost to them.
The 9,700+-square-foot supermarket is Food City’s first location in Radford. The company does have a store in Pulaski.
The new supermarket includes a bakery/deli with a hot food bar, a stone pizza oven and a cafe seating area. Pending COVID-19 regulations, a deluxe hot food bar will be available. It will feature soups, wings and salad and fruit selections.
Full-service meat and seafood departments offers pre-marinated and seasoned oven-ready products and a selection of top-quality meats that are all-natural, including certified angus beef and sushi. In-house meat cutters are on hand to hand-cut steaks and fresh meat to order.
Flanked by the supermarket’s leadership team, Food City manager Brooks Dawson (center with scissors) cuts the ribbon that symbolically marks the store’s opening.
Expanded grocery, fresh food and produce departments offer a complete selection of gourmet, international organic and specialty items.
The supermarket has a floral boutique with a full assortment of fresh-cut floral arrangements, bouquets and gift items. Rapid checkout service is provided by five traditional check-out lanes and 10 self-checkout stations.
The supermarket also has a Starbucks inside, a growler station with craft beers on tap, along with a number of wines and a seating area. GoCart curbside pickup is available. GoCart customers can shop online at foodcity.com and pick up their orders when they arrive at the store.
The supermarket includes a pharmacy, which has drive-thru service and a consultation room. Separate from the main building is a five-pump gas station, Food City Gas ‘N Go. It offers diesel fuel and an electric car charging station. The station offers Food City Fuel Bucks. Shoppers can earn one fuel buck for every dollar they spend in the supermarket and can receive bonus fuel bucks on qualifying prescriptions and participating gift cards. For every 150 fuel bucks redeemed, customers can save 15 cents per gallon. Every Wednesday, Gas ‘N Go customers can redeem 300 fuel bucks to receive 30 cents off each gallon up to 20 gallons.
“Our customers can expect to find top-quality products, exceptional customer service and competitive pricing, along with some exciting new features and conveniences,” said CEO Smith.
