see lowe s market . lowes foods type subsidiary founded 1954 1954 in wilkesboro north carolina usa headquarters winston salem north carolina usa number of locations 97 stores 2015 1 area served south carolina north carolina virginia products grocery deli bakery meat seafood produce dairy floral online ordering delivery fuel pharmacy revenue 1.6 billion 2007 parent alex lee inc. website www.lowesfoods.com lowes foods in pinehurst nc lowes foods is a grocery store chain based in winston salem north carolina . the chain s initial growth was in the mountains of north carolina and rural areas of virginia but starting in the late 1990s has geared expansion towards metropolitan areas in north and south carolina . until october 4 2009 lowes foods used s & h greenpoints on their store discount card ; this was replaced with fresh rewards on october 5 . 2 many of lowes foods stores also offer lowes foods to go where shoppers can order groceries online and drive to the store to pick them up . business and home delivery is available at select locations throughout north and south carolina . contents 1 history 2 locations 3 references 4 external links history edit lowes foods started in 1954 in wilkesboro north carolina with a single store opened by jim lowe former co owner of lowe s home improvement warehouse and son of its founder . lowe sold that store to j. c. faw . expansion in wilkesboro and the mountain regions of nc shortly followed . in 1984 the chain was sold to merchants distributors inc. mdi 3 a grocery distributor based in hickory north carolina . after mdi bought institution food house in 1992 mdi reorganized as a holding company alex lee inc. with mdi ifh and lowes as subsidiaries . it was named for alex and lee george sons of the mdi founder . 4 5 6 in 1997 alex lee bought byrd s food stores inc. of burlington north carolina which had 43 stores . lowes had 56 stores few in the area served by byrd s. the byrd s stores became lowes stores . 7 8 in 2000 delhaize america had to sell 38 hannaford stores to satisfy antitrust concerns . lowes bought 12 of these six plus one under construction in the research triangle region and six along the north carolina coast . 9 in 2007 lowes foods opened its first fuel station at a hickory north carolina store . as of august 2016 14 lowes foods stores had fuel stations . lowes offers a five cent discount per gallon of gas with each 100 spent inside the store which is redeemable at lowes foods fuel stations or any participating speedway or wilcohess locations in north and south carolina . 10 11 in march 2011 lowes foods opened a frugal cousin series of stores called just ave. these stores are located all in north carolina and mainly in rural areas targeting budget conscious shoppers . the first location opened was in pilot mountain north carolina . 12 in august 2011 lowes began the aisle50 program in the carolinas intending to expand to other areas and other chains in the future . deals from aisle50.com will not likely replace coupons but shoppers will be able to buy certain products for about half their normal prices . 13 in march 2012 the company stopped selling pink slime and reported that it was only present in ten percent of its products . 14 on june 1 2012 the company announced that they were leaving the charlotte north carolina market by trading ten charlotte area stores with harris teeter for six western north carolina stores and 26.5 million in cash . 15 by march 2015 lowes began shifting its store portfolio and had closed the six stores it acquired from harris teeter as well as stores in cary west jefferson and greenville north carolina . these closures were announced as part of a comprehensive growth strategy that would include rebranding all existing lowes foods stores by 2019 and entering into the greenville south carolina market in 2016 . lowes plans to add three to five greenville stores as part of its growth strategy . 16 17 18 19 20 in august 2016 lowes foods announced the closures of two lowes stores in north wilkesboro and shallotte north carolina as well as a just ave location in dobson north carolina . the closures are part of an overall investment strategy to accelerate growth . 21 locations edit supermarkets just ave gas stations total stores south carolina 6 0 3 6 north carolina 71 19 11 90 virginia 1 0 0 1 total 78 19 14 97 supermarket and just ave are considered stores . gas stations are part of actual stores and therefore do not count towards total store counts . references edit peralta katherine march 10 2015 . lowes foods is closing 2 charlotte area stores . charlotte observer . retrieved march 14 2015 . fran daniel lowes drops greenpoints winston salem journal october 2 2009 . carolinas fyi about lowe s and lowes the charlotte observer march 16 2003 . http www.lowesfoods.com content corporatehistory.cfm retrieved on 2008 12 15 . rob urban l r s man of the year known for modesty lee george gets praise for good works the charlotte observer january 15 1989 . company profiles alex lee inc. . hoover s. retrieved 2012 06 12 . karine michael lowes foods swallows byrd s the herald sun september 30 1997 . in the region winston salem journal february 27 1998 . mike ramsey 38 sold as part of merger ; 6 hannafords in area will become lowes food stores star news june 1 2000 . daniel fran december 5 2010 . stomping grounds fleet feet sports is enjoying more space at new location in old master s loft store . winston salem journal . retrieved december 5 2010 . gas rewards . retrieved august 5 2016 . one year anniversary celebration at just ave in pilot mountain winston salem nc march 3 2012 press release . lowes foods . march 3 2012 . retrieved march 14 2015 . dunn amy august 14 2011 . lowes to offer daily grocery deals . news & observer . raleigh nc . retrieved august 14 2011 . lowes food to stop selling pink slime beef harris teeter supermarkets inc. announces agreement with lowe s food stores inc. to purchase and sell certain assets . harris teeter . june 1 2012 . retrieved august 5 2016 . lowes foods to close asheville location . lowes foods . november 28 2012 . retrieved august 5 2016 . lowes foods is closing 2 charlotte area stores . august 12 2014 . retrieved august 5 2016 . lowes foods is closing 2 charlotte area stores . march 10 2015 . retrieved august 5 2016 . lowes foods in greenville closing in september . august 22 2015 . retrieved august 5 2016 . lowes foods announces plans for greenville store . february 27 2015 . retrieved august 5 2016 . lowes foods supermarket in north wilkesboro to close by sept. 17 . journalpatriot.com . august 5 2016 . retrieved august 5 2016 . external links edit official website lowes foods to go s & h greenpoints alex lee inc just ave foods v t e supermarket chains in the united states kroger baker s supermarkets city market dillons food stores food 4 less foods co. fred meyer fry s food & drug gerbes super markets harris teeter jay c king soopers kroger owen s pay less super markets qfc ralphs roundy s pick n save mariano s metro market copp s ruler foods scott s smith s albertsons acme markets albertsons amigos carrs haggen jewel osco lucky market street pavilions randalls safeway shaw s and star market super saver tom thumb united supermarkets vons supervalu county market cub farm fresh hornbacher s save a lot shop n save shoppers ahold delhaize food lion giant carlisle giant landover hannaford brothers company martin s food markets stop & shop southeastern grocers bi lo fresco y m s harveys supermarkets winn dixie wakefern pricerite shoprite the fresh grocer other national chains aldi iga lidl target walmart regional chains asian 99 ranch market great wall supermarket h mart hong kong supermarket island pacific supermarket marina food marukai corporation u.s.a. mitsuwa marketplace nijiya market seafood city shun fat supermarket uwajimaya hispanic bravo el ahorro supermarket fiesta foods fiesta mart la perla tapat a supermarkets m s club mi pueblo food center supermercados teloloapan vallarta supermarkets organic earth fare natural grocers trader joe s whole foods market wholesale bj s wholesale club costco sam s club conventional acme fresh market amigo andronico s balducci s bashas best yet market big y boyer s food markets inc. bristol farms brookshire brothers brookshire grocery company buehler food markets inc. c town supermarkets cash & carry central market d & w fresh market dave s markets dean & deluca demoulas market basket dierbergs markets dorothy lane market easy way store econofoods family fare fairway market fareway festival foods festival foods minnesota food giant food city foodarama foodland foodland hawaii foodtown pathmark gelson s gerland corporation giant eagle grand mart gristedes grocery outlet harmons harps food stores h e b heinen s fine foods highland park market homeland houchens hugo s hy vee ingles inserra supermarkets jerry s foods jungle jim s international market karns quality foods key food super fresh the food emporium king kullen kings super markets kuhn s quality foods lewis food town lion supermarket lowe s market lowes foods lund food holdings magruder s marc s market basket market of choice marsh supermarkets martin s super markets meijer met foods minyard food stores miracle mart mollie stone s markets morton williams new deal supermarket new seasons market niemann foods no frills supermarkets nugget markets pcc natural markets petrini s piggly wiggly piggly wiggly carolina co. pink dot price chopper price mart price chopper supermarkets publix pueblo raley s supermarkets red owl redner s markets remke markets rice epicurean markets ridley s family markets roche bros. rosauers supermarkets rouses russ s market save mart supermarkets saverite schnucks scolari s food and drug seafood city sedano s sellers bros. sendik s food market sentry foods seven mile market shop n save smart & final spartannash sprouts farmers market stanley stores star market stater bros. stew leonard s strack & van til straub s markets sullivan family of companies super dollar discount foods super one foods super saver foods b & r stores the fresh market times supermarkets tops friendly markets united grocery outlet urm stores valu king victory supermarkets village market food center weaver street market wegmans weis markets westborn market western beef winco foods woodman s markets yoke s fresh market zabar s zupan s markets defunct banners a mart a & p food basics pathmark waldbaum s abco foods alpha beta american stores appletree markets belle foods big bear stores big star markets bloom bottom dollar food bruno s buttrey food & drug byrd s carter s foods chatham clemens markets colonial stores dahl s foods daniel reeves stores david s supermarkets davis food city delchamps deskins dick s supermarket dominick s eagle food centers eberhard s eisner food stores farmer jack felpausch finast fisher foods food fair food world food a rama fresh & easy furr s genuardi s giant open air glen s markets grand union hamady brothers henry s farmers market hills supermarkets hinky dinky jitney jungle johnnie s foodmaster kessel food markets laneco marketside mars national supermarkets national tea omni superstore penn fruit penn traffic pick n pay supermarkets plus purity supreme quality markets qfi red food reid s schaffer stores company seaway food town seessel s simon david skaggs companies southern family markets sunflower farmers market sunflower market super duper sweetbay supermarket tidyman s twin valu ukrop s super markets warehouse economy outlet weingarten s wild oats markets xpect discounts list of