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Food Lion's parent company, Delhaize America, will close four area stores within the next 30 days as part of a larger "repositioning" strategy, the grocery giant announced Thursday.
Among the stores affected are two of the company's newest and most bally-hooed local stores: The market at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Gwinnett Street that opened last March and the Southbridge location that opened in 2009.
The Food Lion in the Eisenhower Square shopping center and another store in Rincon were also on the closure list, which included 113 stores in Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee and West Virginia.
"Food Lion is focused on repositioning our business for future growth," said Cathy Green Burns, president of Food Lion, in a press release. "By closing underperforming stores, we will continue to position Food Lion for success, especially in light of our brand strategy results."
Local reaction was not so positive. Word of the MLK store closing swept through Savannah City Council chambers Thursday. Alderman Van Johnson, who represents the district, called the news "devastating."
Added Mayor Edna Johnson: "The city is obviously very disappointed with this news. The store served an area that was underserved, including public housing residents, senior citizens and SCAD students."
The MLK location has attracted "local interest," according to Jackson."That is why we are going to continue to look on the bright side and not give up on it," she said.
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You can read the article in its original context, complete with asinine public commentary, at Food Lion to close four local stores.
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