[citation needed] At one point, after a large addition to his quickly growing chain of stores, Rowan County North Carolina was shown 'per capita' to contain 'the highest number of millionaires' in the United States (all attributed to those initial and early investments).

His implementation of weekly (sales) flyers advertising the noticeably low-prices (as compared to other stores), in combination with literally 'plastering' nearly every square inch of each storefront with neon colored hand-lettered signage proved extremely effective.

The Food Lion name was adopted in 1983; as 'Food Town' expanded into Virginia, the chain encountered several stores called Foodtown in the Richmond area.

On December 12, 1982, Ketner announced the name change to "Food Lion," and by the end of March 1983, all stores had been rebranded.

[10] In November 1992, a critical PrimeTime Live report that showed unsanitary handling of meat and seafood hurt the chain as they attempted to enter new markets in the Northeast and Southwest.

The small, lackluster Food Lion stores were beginning to compete with national retail leaders, such as Albertsons, Kroger, Tom Thumb, and Jewel-Osco, all of which were already well-respected in the Southwest and which operated larger stores with more features, but the effects of the devastating ABC report could not be denied, and sales and revenue plummeted.

In the fiscal quarter that included the Thanksgiving holiday of 1992, Delhaize America reported company-wide same-store sales declines of 9.5%.

In the agreement, which at the time was the largest settlement ever from a private employer accused of violating the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the grocery chain agreed to ensure that all employees would be well-informed about their rights.

Additionally, the Labor Department said Food Lion top management provided assurances that no retaliatory action would be taken against employees who filed complaints about unpaid overtime or other potential FLSA violations.

[15] Throughout the mid-1990s, the company canceled leases for new stores and closed scores of its newly built outlets in recently established markets such as Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, and Oklahoma City.

[18] Struggling, Food Lion was forced to recede back to the East Coast, where it faced increasing competition from competitors with larger stores, better customer service, and more variety and amenities; these included regional winners such as Ingles, Harris Teeter, and Publix; newcomers such as specialty retailer Whole Foods Market; and expanding national chains such as Kroger, Target, and Wal-Mart.

The first official remodel began in late 2014 to 76 of their stores in the greater Wilmington and Greenville, North Carolina markets.

The Raleigh market remodels were expected to be completed in stores on a rolling basis between April and October 2015.

[22][23] In July 2016, as part of the corporate merger between Delhaize and Ahold, Food Lion was required to divest 61 locations to a variety of competitors including Supervalu and Weis Markets in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia to satisfy the Federal Trade Commission's review of the two parent companies' merger.

On March 14, 2018, Supervalu announced that Food Lion was purchasing three Farm Fresh locations in Elizabeth City, North Carolina and Hampton and Virginia Beach, Virginia as part of a larger deal to close down the Farm Fresh brand.

[32] On October 6, 2021, Food Lion announced the release of Mountain Dew Uproar, a berry-kiwi flavored version of the drink, as a limited-time collaboration with PepsiCo.

[36] On March 14, 2011, Delhaize announced that all Bloom supermarkets in North and South Carolina would close or be converted to the Food Lion banner.

Stores also used alternative display and stocking techniques such as cut cases on shelves, and using pallets and dump bins to reduce costs.

[39] In January 2012, Delhaize announced that it would close six Bottom Dollar stores and convert 22 others to Food Lion supermarkets as part of a restructuring.

[40][41] In August 2014, it was reported that Delhaize was putting the entire portfolio of Bottom Dollar Food locations up for sale.

The chain's history can trace back to 1972, when its namesake founder Reid Boylston opened his first store in Barnwell, South Carolina.

Delhaize America stores use common private brands called Home 360, Nature's Promise, CHA-CHING, and Taste of Inspirations.

In the unused footage, two undercover producers are seen trying to encourage violations of company policy; however, employees resisted and correctly followed sanitary practices.

[51] However, the appellate court upheld the finding that the producers involved breached their duty of loyalty as employees to Food Lion, and had trespassed, awarding a nominal $2 fine.

The meat cutter was a Jehovah's Witness minister who was required to attend religious services and meetings on those days.