KANNAPOLIS — The bells and whistles were ringing at the grand opening of Lowe’s Foods in Kannapolis on June 18.
As only the second Cabarrus County Lowe’s Food location, people were eager to see the place. Hundreds lined up outside the door to get in when it opened at 8 a.m. Following the egg drop and confetti, shoppers filed in to see the new grocery and food store.
Lowe’s Foods started in 1954 in North Wilkesboro and has grown into South Carolina and Georgia with almost 80 stores across the region. The chain is known for its food stations that complement their grocery shopping area, and the Kannapolis location is no different.
This location has been in progress since the Kannapolis City Council approved the development agreement for the complex in 2023. The store employs roughly 120 people and sits at the corner of Kannapolis Parkway and Rogers Lake Road.
Walking into the store, one of the first things is the Community Table. A table made of reclaimed wood from a barn, the space will serve as an event hub for food and beverage tastings and other community opportunities that are updated monthly.
Surrounding the table are all of the different shops for fresh food that make up one side of the store, and the other side is a more traditional grocery store.
“So if you want to come for lunch, come for lunch, grab some food, sit over there, eat. If you want to sip while you shop, grab a beer or glass of wine, do that. If you want to order catering, you want to cook yourself, we have all the spices. We have everything that you need, but we’re doing this at prices that are comparable to every other store,” Senior Director of Guest Engagement at Lowe’s Kelly Davis said.
Past the table, there is the beer den and Boxcar coffee shop where shoppers can get a beverage to go while they walk around the store. Additionally, they have their cakery, cookie making and bread making operation that bakes fresh goods throughout the day.
The location also includes the staple Chicken Kitchen which cooks rotisserie and fried chicken throughout the day. Every time a rotisserie chicken is taken off the spigot or a child asks, Lowe’s employees have to stop and do the chicken dance.
“It is absolutely designed for kids to come and have fun,” Davis said.
Many of the other shops are also aimed at being interactive for kids, like the Sausage Works station that includes knobs and buttons that make their sign move.
Kannapolis has welcomed Lowe’s so far with enthusiasm. Last Sunday, June 14, the location held a pre-opening block party that drew out around 1,000 people, according to Davis.
Among the crowds on Thursday were three Kannapolis City Schools exceptional children teachers who were on an outreach mission to find community partners for the program. They first started at Lowe’s Foods for some snacks and to talk to the new business owners.
“We are going out in the community to try and recruit businesses to partner with our high school students in the occupation course of study for job shadowing. We thought, ‘it’s a grand opening. Let’s come see, and we’re right down the road,’” Lindsey Radack said. “We just ran into one of our previous students working, so that was very exciting.”
With their school just down the road, the group was excited about the proximity of the new grocer.
The store will be open daily from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., offering weekly events and sales that are available on their website.
