 |
| ||||||
Text Size 
• Email • Printer Friendly
|
Saturday, January 10, 2009 3:00 AM Farm Fresh to close Two restaurants look to open in the Gateway Plaza By Rochelle Moore | Times Staff Writer The Gateway Plaza will lose a major tenant next month but is also preparing to gain two restaurants. Thirty-seven Farm Fresh grocery store employees were told on Thursday the store will close Feb. 21, nine months after its grand opening in Wilson. Employees as well as customers were saddened by the news Friday. "I really hate that," said Clara Fulghum of Kenly, who shops at Farm Fresh regularly. "They just got here. It must be the economy because they have plenty of customers." Several Farm Fresh employees were talking about the closing with each other and customers as they worked Friday. "I'm sad because I don't want to be on unemployment," said Tomika Moore, a Farm Fresh deli worker from Bailey. "A lot of people are saying they didn't give it a chance." Farm Fresh opened in the Gateway Plaza in May, just days after competitor Harris Teeter opened a new store at Heritage Crossing shopping center. The company planned to hire 125-150 workers but the store now has just 37 employees. "Farm Fresh is closing its Wilson, N.C., location effective Feb. 21," said Susan Mayo, vice president of consumer affairs and public relations for Virginia Beach, Va.-based Farm Fresh Supermarkets. "Like all retail operators, it is part of the normal course of business to continue to review and update our store portfolio. While the decision to close a store is always difficult, given the impact on associates and customers, it is guided by what is best for our company." Since May, Farm Fresh offered Wilson-area shoppers a variety of choices. The grocer has offered a wing bar, rotisserie and fresh fried chicken, fresh subs, sandwiches, wraps and a soup and salad bar. The store has had a full-service deli with Boar's Head products, a health food department, bake shop, cheese shop, wine depot, floral department and a pharmacy. "I'm sorry to hear (about the closing)," said Edna Bass, a Fountain-area resident. "I hate that. It seems to be the case these days that businesses are closing." The Farm Fresh closing comes at the same time that the SuperValu chain, which owns Farm Fresh, announced that 50 stores will close in 2009. Farm Fresh has 5,000 employees working at 44 stores in Virginia and North Carolina. SuperValu has 2,500 retail grocery locations and approximately 190,000 employees nationwide. While the Farm Fresh closing will leave a hole in the Gateway Plaza, the shopping center could add two new tenants this year. Representatives with Buffalo Wild Wings Grill and Bar are seeking city permits that would allow the opening of a restaurant in the former Party America store, which is next to Farm Fresh near Raleigh Road. The restaurant may add an outdoor patio seating area that would take up six asphalt parking spaces on the west side of the building near Raleigh Road, said Janet Holland, assistant director of Wilson Planning and Development Services. The patio seating area and the restaurant's plans to open in the plaza require the issuance of a conditional use permit by the Wilson City Council. The plaza is considered inside a highway business park, a B-6 zone, which requires the permit prior to opening. "If they are on schedule and get everything approved, they can go to the February Planning Board and City Council (meetings)," Holland said. The patio is proposed to be a raised concrete area with landscaping. The restaurant would locate inside of a 6,400 square-foot building and offer inside seating, with a bar similar to bars located in Applebee's restaurants, Holland said. City planning staff are also discussing facade ideas for the restaurant. Buffalo Wild Wings is a growing restaurant chain with two new restaurant locations in Knightdale and Burlington. Out of its 500 stores nationwide, North Carolina is home for 13, including Greenville. The company promotes itself as being "a home away from home for wings, beer and sports lovers across the country," with 14 signature sauces and 40 cent wing Tuesdays and 50 cent boneless Thursdays. Also in the works for the Gateway Plaza is a Checker's restaurant. City Council will review proposed site plans this month and decide whether to issue a permit that would allow the drive-through chain to open on the Forest Hills side of the plaza near Home Depot. rochelle@wilsontimes.com | 265-7818 |
| Add Comment: | |  | | (All comments must be approved) |
| View Comments: | | | | (40 comments) |
no money man said...
was farm fresh given alot of money to come to wilson, like the city gave to home depot to open here. my tax dollars at work again. where is the bailout money for all the small businesses in the wide awake town of wilson n.c.
Friday, January 16, 2009 at 4:18 PM
Tourist Trap said...was farm fresh given alot of money to come to wilson, like the city gave to home depot to open here. my tax dollars at work again. where is the bailout money for all the small businesses in the wide awake town of wilson n.c.
Friday, January 16, 2009 at 4:18 PM
Wrong. Cook-Out (the one I mentioned in my earlier comment), moved in after the Candelwood Suites. Where have you been?
Thursday, January 15, 2009 at 9:54 PM
Amen Snyder!!! :)
Thursday, January 15, 2009 at 1:39 PM
Tourist Trap, the hotels moved back there AFTER the food places. Where have you been?
Thursday, January 15, 2009 at 9:11 AM
People get all excited when yet another Chain of Burger or wings joints opens. People must not get out of Wilson much.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009 at 5:48 PM
