Southern Family Markets to open stores Wednesday
Firm takes over one Winn-Dixie, two Bruno's locations
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Three grocery stores in the Huntsville area are taking on a new name.
A former Winn-Dixie store at 12290 U.S. 231-431 in Meridianville and former Bruno's stores at 9020 Bailey Cove Road in southeast Huntsville and 8050 U.S. 72 West in Madison will have grand openings Wednesday at 8 a.m. as Southern Family Markets supermarkets.
Birmingham-based Southern Family is an affiliate of food distributor C&S Wholesale Grocers Inc.
"We intend to significantly improve the shopping experience for our customers," Frank Curci, chief operating officer of Southern Family, said in a prepared release. One example, he said, is the "200 percent guarantee" on all perishable food such as produce, meats, seafood and deli/bakery items. "If customers aren't completely satisfied with these products, we'll double their money back - no questions, no hassles, no problem."
All three stores will have pharmacies.
Southern Family is focused on meeting families' grocery and pharmacy needs, Curci said. "It's no accident that the word 'family' is the central part of our name," he said. "We want Alabama families to feel special when they come in our stores, and to give them the highest-quality, freshest foods at the most cost-competitive prices possible. Our family-focused customer service will be a key differentiator for us."
In all, Southern Family will open 14 supermarkets in North Alabama on Wednesday - including two in Decatur, three in Florence, two in Athens and one each in Moulton, Guntersville and Scottsboro. All these stores were formerly operated by Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. or Bruno's Supermarkets Inc. but have been purchased and converted by Southern Family.
Winn-Dixie, which filed for bankruptcy in February and planned to close or sell 326 of its stores, sold leases to 102 stores. Also, Southern Family agreed to buy 104 of the 426 Bi-Lo and Bruno's stores. Bi-Lo Holdings LLC is the parent company of Bi-Lo LLC and Bruno's Supermarkets.
More Southern Family stores are being opened in phases, said Judy McGowan, the new company's manager of marketing/advertising. "By March of 2006, our plans are to operate more than 100 stores" in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina and Tennessee.
In August, a former Winn-Dixie store at 7950 U.S. 72 at Wall-Triana Highway in Madison became the area's third Star Super Market store.
Winn-Dixie, based in Jacksonville, Fla., conducted store-closing sales at the 224 stores that were not sold in the auction, including Huntsville stores on Whitesburg Drive, Winchester Road and Oakwood Avenue.
Customers at the new Southern Family locations can register for prizes, including a 2006 Chevy Uplander, groceries for a year (a $5,200 value), $1,000 in groceries, a 2006 Daytona 500 trip, a $1,000 Travelocity travel voucher, a Grand Ole Opry weekend, a NASCAR weekend, plasma and big-screen televisions, bicycles, grills and more.
© 2005 The Huntsville Times
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