Food City is an American supermarket chain with stores located in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia. It is owned by K-VA-T Food Stores, Inc., a privately held family and employee-owned corporation (13% via ESOP) headquartered in Abingdon, Virginia.Steve Smith says Food City committed to improved health, wellness throughout region , Tricities.com accessed April 15, 2011 K-VA-T Food Stores owns the Food City Distribution Center (formerly Mid-Mountain Foods), a distribution center K-VA-T helped form in 1974 and acquired full control of in 1998, Misty Mountain Spring Water, LLC, a producer of bottled water, as well as limited-assortment grocery stores named Super Dollar Food Center, Food City Express and Gas'N Go convenience stores, and Food City Wine and Spirits liquor stores. Many of their supermarkets have their own fuel stations, with the Gas'N Go branding.
It offers many private label product choices under the brands "Food Club," "TopCare", "That's Smart!", "Food City Fresh!", "Full Circle", "Crav'n Flavor", "Paws Happy Life", "Simply Done", "Wide Awake Coffee Co.", "Tippy Toes", "Harvest Club", "Evolve", "Over the Top", "Nostimo", "CharKing", "Misty Mountain", "Flock's Finest", "Culinary Tours", "Pure Harmony" and more, many of which are part of the Topco corporate brand program.Topco Mainstream Brands , Topco.com accessed on April 21, 2023Food City - Our Brands, FoodCity.com accessed on April 21, 2023 Food City is also the exclusive distributor of regional favorites such as "Kay's Ice Cream", "Moore's Classic Snacks", "Terry's Classic Snacks", "Kern's Bread", and "Lay Classic Meats".Legacy Brands , FoodCity.com accessed on April 21, 2023
History
K-VA-T Food Stores, Inc. traces its history to 1955, when company founder Jack Smith opened his first Piggly Wiggly store in Grundy, Virginia, with the help of three special stockholders: his father, Curtis Smith, uncle, Earl Smith and cousin, Ernest Smith. In 1963, Smith added a second store in South Williamson, Kentucky, followed by a newly constructed third location in Pikeville, Kentucky, in 1965, and a store in Prestonsburg, Kentucky, in 1967.
The company continued to grow steadily until 1984 when it acquired Quality Foods, a 19-store chain (founded in 1918), that operated under the Food City name. The Smiths adopted Food City as the new nameplate, along with its heritage, for all of their stores going forward. In 1989, Food City purchased the 37-store White Stores chain based out of Knoxville, Tennessee, more than doubling the size of the company.
In 1998, Food City acquired the 11-store Kennedy Piggly Wiggly chain as well as full control of Mid-Mountain Foods, the current Food City Distribution Center. The following year, Winn-Dixie pulled out of the Knoxville market and sold their seven stores to Food City. In February 2006, Food City announced the purchase of eight BI-LO locations in Knoxville, Maryville, and Oak Ridge, Tennessee.Food City to Buy 8 Tennessee Bi-Lo Stores , progressivegrocer.com February 20, 2006
K-VA-T celebrated its 50th anniversary November 17, 2005, by opening a store in Vansant, Virginia, just outside Grundy. Three years later, in October 2008, K-VA-T opened its 100th store in Rogersville, Tennessee. The company celebrated this event by sending a special commemorative I-beam to every store in the company where employees signed it as a goodwill gesture for the new store. The beam sits above the entrance way in the 100th store.
In December 2010, K-VA-T purchased Old Town Market in Tazewell, Tennessee, as a replacement store for their New Tazewell, Tennessee, location.Food City buys out Old Town Market, will remodel building, claiborneprogress.net December 2010
In July 2015, Food City announced the purchase of 21 BI-LO locations in the Chattanooga, Tennessee market as well as eight BI-LO stores in Northern Georgia from Southeastern Grocers. The company plans to invest over $40 million in capital improvements to the locations during the first year as well as install Gas'N Go fuel stations in as many locations as possible.Food City Acquires Chattanooga Area BI-LO Supermarkets , press release July 23, 2015Food City to Add Gas Stations to Grocery Sites , cspnet.com July 24, 2015 K-VA-T reached a milestone in October 2015 by opening its first Georgia location, a converted BI-LO, in Rossville, Georgia. That same month, K-VA-T opened a Food City in Johnson City, Tennessee, the largest store ever constructed by the company.New Food City store on N. State of Franklin Road set to open Wednesday , WJHL October 20, 2015
In November 2017, Food City opened its first in-store Starbucks in a newly built location in Athens, Tennessee. As of April 2024, the company operates 60 Starbucks in-store locations.
In February 2020, The National Grocers Association named K-VA-T Food Stores and Food City as Outstanding Marketer at the 2020 NGA Creative Choice Awards.
In June 2020, K-VA-T announced that they were expanding into their fifth state with plans to construct a supermarket in Albertville, Alabama.Food City Coming to Albertville, AL foodcity.com accessed June 10, 2020 The store opened on April 14, 2021.
In August 2022, K-VA-T announced plans to acquire the Cooke’s family of stores in the Greater Cleveland, Tennessee, market area. These stores include four Fresh n’ Low locations and the Cooke's Food Store and Pharmacy in Tennessee along with one Fresh n’ Low location in Georgia. By January 2025, Food City had consolidated all of the Fresh n’ Low and Cookes stores into nearby, newly expanded Food City locations or, in Ocoee and North Cleveland, had built much larger, Food City replacement stores.
In October 2025, K-VA-T agreed to acquire three Winn-Dixie locations, this time in the Birmingham, Alabama market, with plans to convert the stores located in Fultondale, Trussville, and Jasper, to their Food City banner in early November 2025.
Headquarters K-VA-T's corporate operations were located in Grundy, Virginia, from its inception in 1955 until it moved to Abingdon, Virginia, in the 1970s. Over the course of the years, the company's operations were spread out over five different buildings throughout Abingdon and Washington County.
In October 2013, K-VA-T officially consolidated its corporate operations into a new headquarters building in downtown Abingdon, Virginia, at 1 Food City Circle. The four-story, , facility sits on 17 acres and used parts of the old building in the construction of the new one, with the parking garage receiving renovations to continue its use.Food City hosts tour, open house at new headquarters, tricities.com November 21, 2013 In November 2017, K-VA-T donated their previous corporate office building in Abingdon to the Barter Theater.Food City donates building to Barter Theater , WCYB TV November 8, 2017
Super Dollar Food Center In 2008, K-VA-T opened its first limited-assortment grocery store named Super Dollar Discount Foods in Wytheville, Virginia, which was later demolished in 2020 to make way for a new Food City location. Over the course of the years, the new format grew by opening up new locations and converting some older, smaller, Food City locations in Pikeville and Prestonsburg, Kentucky; Rogersville, Tennessee; and Grundy, Virginia. In May 2017, K-VA-T began re-branding the Super Dollar Discount Foods stores in Abingdon, Hillsville, and Wytheville, Virginia to the Super Dollar Food Center banner. Over the course of 2017, the rest of the Super Dollar Discount Foods locations were converted to this new banner. As of March 2022, there were 5 Super Dollar locations, with one having a Gas'N Go fuel station.Super Dollar Food Center: Locations , superdollarfoodcenter.com accessed April 28, 2021
Express by Food City In June 2020, K-VA-T converted its older Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, location to their new Express by Food City format.Express by Food City in Pigeon Forge Set to Open foodcity.com accessed June 10, 2020
Food City Wine & Spirits In August 2012, K-VA-T opened its first Food City Wine & Spirits liquor store, in Pikeville, Kentucky.Food City unveils big changes , news-expressky.com August 31, 2012 The company's second Food City Wine & Spirits opened in Louisa, Kentucky in August 2015.First Legal Liquor In Louisa In Decades , thelevisalazer.com July 18, 2015 A third location in Whitesburg, Kentucky was added in May 2020 followed by a fourth location in Middlesboro, Kentucky in September 2021.
Convenience stores In April 2012, after purchasing a former Exxon branded station in Coeburn, Virginia, K-VA-T opened its first Food City Express branded convenience store to complement their existing grocery store. In June 2014, K-VA-T opened a second location in a former RaceWay convenience store in Elizabethton, Tennessee, under their Gas'N Go branding. Another pair of Gas'N Go convenience store locations were constructed and opened in Morristown and Bristol, Tennessee, later in 2014. A fifth location was opened in Oliver Springs, Tennessee in July 2016 with a sixth location that opened in Pikeville, Kentucky in June 2023.
Curt’s Ace Hardware In April 2022, K-VA-T announced plans to join the Ace Hardware family of stores by launching their line of Curt’s Ace Hardware stores and was evaluating Virginia locations in Abingdon and Bristol along with Piney Flats, Erwin, and Elizabethton, Tennessee in addition to Mize Farm & Garden Supply in Gray, Tennessee, which K-VA-T had recently acquired.Food City Joins Ace Hardware Family of Stores foodcity.com accessed April 28, 2022Food City Going Into Hardware Business progressivegrocer.com accessed June 24, 2022 In June 2022, the first location opened in Bristol, Virginia.1st Curt’s Ace Hardware store opens in Bristol, Va. wjhl.com accessed June 24, 2022 In May 2024, K-VA-T opened their twelfth Ace location in their hometown of Abingdon, Virginia.Curt's Ace Hardware opens in Lebanon and Abingdon WCYB accessed January 23, 2025 In March 2025, K-VA-T converted their former Fresh n'Low grocery store in Ocoee, Tennessee to their thirteenth Curt's Ace Hardware location.Curt’s Ace Hardware opens in Ocoee Cleveland Daily Banner accessed March 22, 2025 In April 2025, K-VA-T opened its thirteenth Curt’s Ace Hardware in Galax, Virginia.Food City Builds Up Its Hardware Business Progressive Grocer accessed April 28, 2025
Defunct banners
Fresh n’ Low/Cooke's Food Store & Pharmacy In October 2022, K-VA-T began operations of four Fresh n’ Low locations and Cooke's Food Store and Pharmacy in Tennessee along with one Fresh n’ Low location in Georgia.
Food City broke ground on two larger stores to serve as replacements for the Candies Creek and Ocoee Fresh n’ Low locations in June 2023. The Cooke's Food Store and Pharmacy was closed in December 2023 after the Food City near the location was expanded.
By January 2025, all of the Fresh n’ Low locations had been consolidated into nearby, newly remodeled Food City locations or replaced entirely with a larger Food City.
Oldtown Market When K-VA-T acquired Quality Foods and adopted the Food City name in 1984, the Galax, Virginia, Piggly Wiggly location was renamed Oldtown Market. In 1989, Food City sold Oldtown Market to two of its retired management team members. This banner is not to be confused with the Old Town Market Tazewell, Tennessee, location that K-VA-T purchased and rebranded in 2010.Carolyn Roberts Named Store Manager of Galax Food City , FoodCity.com accessed on May 18, 2018
Valu Foods K-VA-T had converted their Sweetwater, Tennessee, location into Valu Foods, a discount warehouse store. This location closed in 1999.
While It Lasts K-VA-T closed one of its two Sevierville, Tennessee, locations in 2005, but it reopened this location a few months later under the While It Lasts banner. This location was used as a closeout store for the various products and brands from the Bi-Lo stores acquisition that were not carried in regular Food City locations. It closed in 2006.