Most expensive store in NC.

Every Food Lion in the area I live (Concord, NC) is disgusting. By "disgusting", I mean in comparison to Wegmans, Harris Teeter, or Target. Their produce is always rotten or nearly so, and the customer service abysmal.

After the problems with the quality of their meat shown on the news, I will never buy meat there. Don't mess with my food! :(

I consider myself an above average knowledgable shopper. I raised a large family and had to make every spent dollar count. As a result, I would go out of my way to shop at the supermarket that was superior in selection, pricing, cleanliness and freshness of product.
That being said... my husband and I moved to the very rural town of Millsboro in southern Delaware.  This is how I became aquainted with Food Lion. I've shopped at stores in Connecticut, New York, Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and more (my husband was a military member).  This store is one of the worst I've ever shopped.  Here in Millsboro, Delaware, they have almost no competition.  Their selection is of the poorest I've ever seen. Their beef pricing is high.  However, whether or not you purchase on sale or at regular price... their cuts are low-quality and tasteless.  If I want good steaks or roasts, I have to travel 20+ miles to shop at a Safeway or a Super-G. Also, I have to carefully scrutinize the expiration dates of everything I buy.  I've brought home countless items that were well past the safe purchase date and have had milk and Half n' Half go bad a day or two after purchase.  Since we live in a very rural community, of which most is farmland, there are hundreds of products they don't carry since the manager has deemed them "exotic" foods.  Apparently, in his opinion, the local "bumpkins" have no use for Philly Cream Cheese spread with veggies since this is an "exotic" item... though they do carry the same product with salmon. This is only one of many, many items I've asked about. I've even struck up conversations with other local shoppers who feel as I do but feel forced to shop there since this Food Lion is the "only game in town".
By and large, since they employ locals, the staff are friendly and helpful... but I suspect that even they would not shop there if they had a choice.
I'm sure that if one of the larger chains would open a store here, Food Lion would be forced to compete or close. This would be a win-win for local consumers.
My husband is being transferred again and we're moving back to the Philly suburbs. So for me... well, I never thought I could be so excited about seeing the inside of an ACME or a Genardi's or a Giant. 

I was disappointed visiting the new BottomDollar. The prices still don't ring up correctly. There is also little variety, just a lot of the same thing. The prices are somewhat lower than Food Lion but you can do a lot better at Food Basics or other A&P; chains if you wisely use your coupons along with specials, and benefit from the double coupon policy at A&P; family stores. BottomDollar, like Food Lion and Bloom does not double.

Sure is cheaper than most, but if that a good reason to give them high marks? I don't think so.

They have more or less recovered from the 'bad meat problem' from a few years ago--I equate this store with Giant and Safeway. A basic grocery store--depending on the management, the employees will be friendly, or you'll feel like smashing them in the face with the grapefruits in your shopping cart.

Food Lion is not dirty at all. Dateline NBC rated them the cleanest store around. No matter were you shop there will always be those employees who are rude, Wal-Mart is full of them. But as a whole, Food Lion really is a great place to shop and save.

Hi there, First of all I want to say ahead of time that I have no axe to grind with Food Lion. I worked for them when I was attending College and quit when I graduated with no hard feelings. In fact the part of the country I lived in at the time no longer has Food lion as they shut down all their stores in that part of the country ( Texas ) I'm just telling my particular observations from my time at 6 different Food Lion stores. I worked at Food Lion long long ago ( When the Dateline story broke )as a perishable manager, I managed Dairy, Frozen Food and Produce, and I think I can point out some of the reasons for the problems people have posted on this topic. The big reason I see that their stores are so dirty and the employees so unfriendly at times is the messed up way they calculate how much help they need to schedule in the stores from week to week. They use a formula that takes weekly sales and divides it up to get how many hours a manager can schedule for each department in the store, then it divides it further into what hours you can schedule at certain times of the day. The problem with this is that most stores have fluctuations in business depending on the time of month so this causes these stores to end up short handed and the employees that are there are usually overworked as they are made to work other departments in the store to make up for the shortfall in help. Overtime or adding hours that the schedule doesn't call for is a big no no at Food Lion so this is why you see long lines and closed registers. Here are a few interesting facts about FL ( To me anyway ) There are many grades of Produce a company can buy for its stores. Food lion most of the time buys grade B or C produce ( Stuff with a much shorter shelf life and inferior quality ). On the other hand stores like Kroger, for instance only buy grade A produce or above for their stores. Produce managers at Food lion are under intense pressure to turn a profit every 4 weeks ( the inventory cycle ) and the profit margines are so small that most produce managers will try to sell produce that other stores would throw out. I have personally seen a Food Lion supervisor digging in the dumpster behind the store and bringing back in produce he thought shouldn't have been thrown out. It wasn't put back out for sale or anything but you get the idea about how much pressure you are put under to sell it all and not throw anything out. Try this, go buy a 5lb bag of potatoes from FL, then go buy them from another store then sit them side by side on your kitchen counter and see which one developes soft spots and starts sprouting first. The Dairy dept. is a bit different. Food lion works deals with vendors to take their short dated perishables off their hands at a discounted price and in turn ships them to the stores to sell. There is nothing wrong with this however you have to be really careful to check the dates on your cheese and sour cream, etc as you might end up with expired items. Like anything else how good the dept. is depends on the people working there. If you have a good manager and employees they keep up with the product and pull the out of date stuff however I have personally seen lots of out of date stuff on shelves. I would also take exception to the person that posted that Food Lion's employees are better off without a Union. I have worked in both a non union and union shop and I can tell you straight out that having a Union is better for the employee than not having one. Right now if you worked at Food Lion and wanted a raise you would be at the mercy of whatever manager you work for. Food Lion Managers get a bonus on how well they control overall costs in their stores so you tell me, is he going to be more or less inclined to get his employees a raise. However if you are in a Union everyone gets together and your raises, benefits, etc are negotiated so that you are not in a position of having to depend on the goodwill of others to get ahead, and if there is a problem you have an organization to back you up. Bottom line, one worker alone is less likely to get something than everyone together. Thats not to say Unions don't have problems, they do but they are not the monster some would lead you to believe. Anyway, end of rant. Clear out people ! Nothing to see here !!!

As a Food lion Employee here on the East Coast, I can tell you that Food Lion Sucks! they tell you that they care about their customers and employees, but they really dont. They sont believe in raises everand there stores are very dirty unless they just opened ( but just give 'em a week after they opened and they will be dirty) Most of the employees are nast, ignorant and very mean people who do not care about customers, Food Lion will promote people who do bad but will keep the "good" employees at a lower level position, most employees dont alst long and Food Lion threatens us not to talk about unions or talk to unions, if we do we get fired! I've been aorking there almost two years( the longest part timer in my store). I have observed roaches in their bathrooms and mice in the back rooms, their Food Lion brand food is actually name brand food with Food Lions name on it, their Butchers Brand Meat that premiered last summer is actually a lower quality meat then they were selling before, I think we throw away more produce then we sell because the quality sucks! The bakery and deli's selection suck and all of the cakes, donuts, pies and other baked goods come in frozen and they just let them thaw out, I would never shop at a Food Lion Store, other smaller "hometown" type grocery stores are much better!!!! Don't Shop Food Lion! Remember I am a Food Lion Employee just telling you the truth about Food Lion Stores!!!!

good selection fair prices ok service.saves me money for the same stuff.just a store.

as a food lion employee, i can give you all my honest opinions whether you like them or not. first, food lions are usually dirty, but this is mostly because of the retards running them. newer fl's are clean, organized, and mostly good. produce is good, but that's only because we display it that way. meat- i dont know, i'd buy somewhere else anyway. prices---yes, prices are a little high, but we give AWESOME customer service. try getting that at your local wal-mart. We are not a union shop, nor will we ever if i have a hand in it, unions tend to screw everything up more than it was before, trust me my dad lost his job because of a union. In summary people, it's not the associate's fault prices are higher than a competitor, you cant find something you found at another store, or that the company doesnt have handles on our paper bags, if you dont like it, sorry. Rude people need not shop here, nice people we will bendover backwards for. get over yourselves people. work retail for a year, and see what i mean

Beware the dairy section!

Store is very mundane and cheap looking in appearance. Produce is below average quality. Prices are reasonable. Customoer service is good. Best thing about the store is that you hardly have to wait in line. Few people shop there.

First off food lion is not American owned anymore but ownen by a corp out of Belgium.second they discriminate against handicapped shoppers.third they put my food back up when I told the register girl who was black who was more interested in talking to the other black register clerk to wait while I went for bread & cheese my stuff was not on the conveyer,when I said something to the manager who was black he said it was not their responsibility to get gro for people this was after I said I was a bilaterial amputee,I believe that had I been black the sitituation would have been delt with differently.my wife witnessed the incident and I have contacted food lion and the north carolina Attorney Generals office.I plan to file a reverse racial discrimination lawsuit.

What a dirty hick ass store, a gas station with no gas! AND THEY HAVE THE CORNIEST COMERCAILS EVER!!!!!!!!!!!

Meat is questionable, prices are high and their selection is poor. Deli and bakery are about as bad as you can get.

Food Lions are everywhere here. The have driven an Acme Mkt out of business by unethical means, then bought the newly renovated building and offer it for lease to any business EXCEPT a super market. Even their advertised specials are priced above other brand stores regular prices. The organization of goods and the shelf labeling truly suck. They are notorious for putting the sale signs behind non-sale meat department items and not even having the sale items in the meats case. I shop only for myself and have low income so to drive another 20 or 30 miles to the other choices may not improve my bottom line. I long for the day that another brand of grocery store opens nearby, their biggest draw will be the hordes escaping the clutches of FL.

For me, Food Lion is an advertised special only shopping stop. If they have an advertised special that intrigues me, I'll make the trip, but otherwise I find that their stores are frequently small, dingy and understaffed. The quality of their produce is just average and the selection limited. Their meat tends to be substandard and their deli products inconsistent. Overall, I find it more convenient to shop elsewhere.

Originating in Salisbury, North Carolina, Food Lion (previously Food Town) is one of the more successful and widespread grocery store chains in the Southeast. Food Lion stores are generally average sized stores (ie larger than the mom and pop's but smaller than the super stores). The chain emphasizes lower prices at the cost of smaller selections and less gourmet type selections. As a result, many grocery shoppers go to Food Lion for less expensive basics such as milk, bread and eggs but somewhere else (eg Harris Teeter) for more specific items and better grade meats.

Food Lion as a company sucks. Food Lion as a grocery store, lets just say I'd rather shop at Food Lion than anywhere else I have to choose from. Harris Teeter = too expensive / Winn-Dixie = nasty / Wal-Mart = long lines + hordes of ignorant rednecks.

Been shopping there since they were Food Town. Great place to do your 'regular' shopping. Nothing fancy just good prices and mostly good customer service.

I don't think they believe in giving raises....EVER

F-

Prices are good. . .but the meats and produce are second-rate.

I am begining to hate these stores because of the treatment they render to their employees and thier customer servise sucks. They treat people as if they are nothing and treat customers as if they are stupid. Stop buying out Piggly Wigglys please and try improving youre own stores first!

Their stores are too small, never enough cashiers, what cashiers they do have are usually snotty women with attitude. I never liked any of my shopping experiences in this grocery store chain. They have a small selection of choices as well in every department..bleah ! :(

The best food store down in the South!

Ugh....the Food Lions in Tennessee are the pits.

I cannot believe that I am leaving a rating or a comment for a grocery store but... I have to admit that Food Lion is where I shop. They are always nice, helpful and courteous. The produce looks decent ( Whenever the truck has come in ) and the meats are fresh. The prices won't kill you and neither will the store; They aren't bigger than heaven like some stores ( Wal-Mart ). I gave up on the super stores a long time ago; Especially when I finally got thru the line and my eggs had begun to hatch...