Last updated on 30 April 2025.
Quick history:
- Established in 1957 as Food Town by members of the Ketner family, who had previously operated Ketner’s stores but sold out to Winn-Dixie.
- First location still stands at 1818 West Innes Street in Salisbury NC.
- Knowing for LFPINC (Lowest Food Prices in North Carolina) ad campaign and bumper stickers in the 1970s.
- Acquired by Belgian Delhaize Group in 1974.
- Name changed in 1983 to permit expansion into areas with pre-existing Foodtown chains.
- Briefly operated upscale Bloom (2004-2012) and limited assortment Bottom Dollar (2005-2015).
Additional material:
More information offsite:
- The Town That Built Food Lion
- Food Lion on Wikipedia
- Food Lion: A Neighbor to Count On (60th anniversary book)
Bottom Dollar was also in the Pittsburgh market and operated for a year or two. Most of the locations were bought or leased by Aldi. Which is interesting that Aldi is not mentioned on this site at all.
It’s not like it’s a grand anti-Aldi conspiracy. As I mention here, the site has never been about providing a history of every chain that ever existed in the U.S. It’s actually more about the historical location lists and maps, and I’m not really even updating these chain history pages anymore. Aldi is represented on many of the location lists.