THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 24, 1995 TAG: 9508240628
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEPHANIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 54 lines
With Caesar salad bars, cappuccino sections and homemade pastries, grocery store chain Harris Teeter Inc. plans to sweet-talk its way into the Hampton Roads market.
Harris Teeter, an aggressive retailer based in Matthews, N.C., on Wednesday announced plans to open three stores in Hampton Roads: in Virginia Beach's Princess Anne Plaza, in Chesapeake's Greenbrier community and in Newport News.
Ned Dunn, president of Harris Teeter, said the company does not know how many stores it eventually will open locally. But Teeter officials are looking at several other sites in the area, including one at Virginia Beach's Oceanfront, real estate sources said.
``We're really looking everywhere from Washington to the North Carolina line,'' said Dunn, who attended Wednesday's ground-breaking ceremony in Virginia Beach.
New markets could include Richmond and Northern Virginia, he said. The 140-store chain plans to open and replace up to 20 stores a year over the next five years.
In Virginia Beach, executives have high hopes for the 66,000-square-foot supermarket in Princess Anne scheduled to open next May. It will be the first Harris Teeter to open in Hampton Roads and will serve as the region's flagship store.
Executives hope to entice local shoppers with indoor restaurants, European-styled pastries, hot ready-to-eat meals, fresh salads and crusty breads.
Mayor Meyera E. Oberndorf said the city has been lacking in upscale grocery stores.
``I think we have a very sophisticated buying population,'' she said. ``There's a growing need . . . for culinary fixings.''
That's what Harris Teeter believes, too. The company likes the area's demographics though it thinks the competition will be tough.
Harris Teeter, owned by Charlotte-based Ruddick Corp., will compete with hometown chain Farm Fresh Inc., the market leader in Hampton Roads, and others like newcomer Hannaford Bros. Co.
Norfolk-based Farm Fresh, headed by Michael E. Julian, has remodeled, relocated and sold stores to better position itself against with Harris Teeter and Scarborough, Maine-based Hannaford.
``He is very savvy,'' Dunn said of Julian. ``I think we'll be good competitors.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color graphic by John Corbitt, Staff
by CNB