Bi-Lo on Pamplico Highway sold to Food Lion
By: Don Kausler, Morning News
FLORENCE, S.C. – Food Lion is acquiring the Bi-Lo store in south Florence and plans to open its sixth grocery store in Florence later this year.
Bi-Lo will have no more stores in Florence. Less than a year ago, it closed its store on West Palmetto Street.
“Making a decision like this to sell a store to another retailer is definitely not made lightly, but it made sense from a business standpoint,” said Joe Caldwell, a senior manager of corporate communication and sports partnerships for Southeastern Grocers in Jacksonville, Florida.
Three other Bi-Lo stores in South Carolina are being sold to Food Lion: one in Myrtle Beach, one in Surfside Beach and one on Two North Road in Columbia.
“We anticipate closing this transaction in late May,” said Benny Smith, a spokesman at the Food Lion corporate office in Salisbury, North Carolina. “We’re really excited about our openings.”
There are no plans to close any Food Lions in Florence, Smith said, including two near the Pamplico Highway location. One store is two miles south at 2600 S. Irby St., and another one is 3.6 miles west at 1307 Second Loop Road.
“We’re always known as being right there in the community for our customers,” Smith said.
Food Lion also has Florence locations on North Cashua Drive, East Palmetto Street and West Palmetto Street. It has three other stores in the Pee Dee: one each in Darlington, Marion, Dillon and Bennettsville.
Bi-Lo still has stores in the Pee Dee in Darlington, Hartsville and Kingstree.
Web Article: SCNow.com
