Food Lion recently unveiled substantial renovations to one local store to create what they say is an easier shopping experience.

The initiative is part of the new theme, “Easy, Fresh, Affordable…You Can Count on Food Lion Every Day,” according to a Food Lion press release. The chain-wide changes have come directly as a result of customer input, said Reggie Beamon, store manager for the Washington Food Lion located on John Small Ave. Thirty-one stores in the greater Wilmington area have undergone the changes, and now, 45 stores in the greater Greenville, Jacksonville and New Bern areas have joined that list, according to the release.

“We listened to our customers,” Beamon said. “We reimagined how grocery shopping should be through the eyes of a customer and listened to them and exactly what they wanted was to be able to get in and out really, really, quickly, find what they were looking for and have friendly associates checking them out.”

The new features of the chain’s store layout include new signage, painting, décor and floor tile. Signage on each aisle is now designed for customers to be able to find items easier, enabling them to get out faster, Beamon said. All of this was done while the store remained open.

Another important aspect of the renovations is an increase in the amount and availability of items. Food Lion has added thousands on new items and an assortment of products, which includes a Gluten Free section and a wide selection of quality fresh meats and produce.

Beamon said the store now has a 12-foot section that has been formulated to include all gluten-free products, with the exception of fresh meats and produce that are naturally gluten-free.

“It’s a growing market,” Beamon said. “Over the course of the last three years, I’ve seen a spike in requests for gluten-free products. A lot of folks are coming to shop smarter and gluten-free is a lot healthier.”

Beamon said a new beef section, featuring a variety of vacuum-sealed meats, which have a longer shelf life, is now available, giving shoppers a better selection and variety of beef each day. The meat itself is packaged within five minutes of being cut, making it fresher once it gets to the shelf, and the packaging is also easy to open, leak-proof and freezer-ready.

“When a customer gets this, it’s more fresh when they get it to the house than in the past,” Beamon said.

Knowing that customers want to get in and out of the store as quickly as possible, the company has made checkout faster with improved technology, placed larger display screens so customers can see items and prices as they’re scanned and boosted service by adding associates to its front to bag groceries for customers. The company has also made unpacking groceries easier by bagging refrigerated items in blue bags and regular items in white bags.

“We’ve added extra associates on the front, with additional registers being open at peak times so customers can get out as fast as possible,” Beamon said. “We’re really running good times with that.”

Changes have also been made to the company’s deli department, Beamon said. There are now dinner deals for each day of the week, which include availability of an assortment of side items and are designed to accommodate a family of four for $10. The meals are offered from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. each day. Also available are a wider variety of grab-and-go items and pre-sliced deli meats and cheeses, which eliminate wait times in the deli department. In front of the deli counter, baskets of packaged meats and cheeses are available for customers to look through and choose from.

“If you’re a busy parent on-the-go, you can run in, run out, grab dinner, you can add your sides, fast check-out, and you’re ready to go,” said Erin DeWaters, manager of external communications for Delhaize America.

On Nov. 12 at 7:45 a.m., a ribbon cutting ceremony will be held in front of the Washington location at John Small Ave. to celebrate the new changes. Mayor Mac Hodges, as well as a Beaufort County commissioner, will be present at the ceremony where Food Lion will present a donation to Eagles Wings. The donation is consistent with the company’s focus on eliminating hunger in local communities and is part of a donation from Food Lion to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina, DeWaters said.

DeWaters said, starting Nov. 12 and lasting through Nov. 15, the company will give away $10 gift cards to its first 50 customers at each of the 45 locations.