After BI-LO closed, North Myrtle Beach gets a new grocer. Here’s what’s in store
A North Myrtle Beach BI-LO grocery store reopened Wednesday under the Food Lion banner, preserving one of the closest grocery stores to the beach across the Grand Strand.
The new Food Lion is also one of the closest grocery stores to Atlantic Beach, ensuring the small, historically Black town still has access to fresh food and produce. Upon its reopening, the former BI-LO was among dozens across the Carolinas and Georgia that will be acquired by Food Lion over the next three months, as BI-LO’s bankrupt parent company divests millions of dollars in assets.
“We will absolutely be working closely with the folks in Atlantic Beach,” new store leader Robin Pendergraft said. “I personally actually live across from Atlantic Beach, and it is my favorite part of the beach to go to.”
The store wasn’t closed for long; just over 10 days is what Food Lion said it took to rebrand the store. It’s also already ahead on hiring, able to preserve many BI-LO’s existing employees, Pendergraft said.
“We’ve been able to maintain a large group of the associates that were already employed here at BI-LO before Food Lion did the purchase take over,” Pendergraft said. “Our customers have been really excited to see friendly faces, people that they knew, which is a big part of our brand. It’s just an awesome, awesome opportunity.”
BI-LO’s parent company, Southeastern Grocers, sold 62 BI-LO and Harveys Supermarket stores to Food Lion last year. The majority of the stores, 38, are in South Carolina, with two in North Carolina and the rest in Georgia. The acquisition also includes a store in Pawleys Island, which has not yet been rebranded.
The rebranded store comes to the Grand Strand just two months after a Food Lion’s closure in Myrtle Beach proper created food desert for much of the downtown area.
The North Myrtle Beach Food Lion will be one of the largest for the grocery store chain in the Grand Strand, Pendergraft said. In line with Food Lion’s commitment to having local brands available, the store sells products from Surfside Beach’s Benjamin’s Bagels.
Pendergraft said the store’s location will ensure tourists have easy access to a grocery store on their way to the beach. Not even 12 hours after the store reopened, she was also happy to see traffic from locals, many of whom have been able to zip over on golf carts, which she says really demonstrates how accessible the store is for people.
“We are going to have everything our beach customers are used to us having and more. We’re going to offer them a fantastic service. We care about them. We want to be a part of the community,” Pendergraft said. “This is the only grocery store that’s right here adjacent to Windy Beach and the Crescent Beach area, where customers can drive their golf cart to the grocery store, pick up what they need and take it straight on over to the beach.”
This story was originally published February 11, 2021 at 10:28 AM.
