Retail & FoodService

Wal-Mart ascended to its place atop U.S. retail by focusing on big supercenters in rural and suburban markets. But today, it is counting on something entirely different — growth in its small but surging small-scale grocery store and e-commerce businesses. …

State officials say Harris Teeter plans to hire 41 more workers at its Indian Trail distribution center [in North Carolina] over the next three years as the grocer expands the facility. …

“Four Brothers” pays tribute to the 3rd generation of Coborn’s brothers, Bob, Dan, Bill and Ron, all credited with taking Coborn’s, Inc. to new levels under their leadership in the 1960′s through today. …

Widely reported to be scouting sites throughout Florida in 2013, Phoenix-based Sprouts Farmers Market Inc. (Nasdaq: SFM) has planned four stores in metro Atlanta, two of which have recently opened. But real estate sources in Tampa and Jacksonville say the specialty grocer is no longer actively looking in Florida. …

For years, the grocery options were slim in the neighborhoods between the District’s Walter E. Washington Convention Center and Union Station. There was a decades-old Giant Food on O Street NW that was demolished in 2011, and there were a handful of corner stores specializing mostly in alcohol, cigarettes, candy and chips. …