Dobson Mayor Ricky Draughn cuts the ribbon held by Monica and Carolina Herrera as the rest of the Food Lion staff stands at the door.

New international
foods a nice addition

By Phil Goble Jr.
phil@surrymessenger.com

The building is the same, but the business has been through quite a change.

On Wednesday, Food Lion in Dobson held a grand re-opening for its customers and the community.
What they found was more than 1,500 new international items in the 21,000-square foot store. There were new and redone fixtures and a new center aisle with many of the new dry goods.
The store now features cactus leaves in its fresh fruits and vegetables section along with more peppers than you can count and a variety of other items.
“About any kind of pepper you need, we have in this store,” district merchandising specialist Rondale Ratcliff said Tuesday. “We’re carrying a line of rabbit and goat, a little different cuts of meat. Everything is authentic. We have a whole new line of frozen food.”
The items are geared toward the Hispanic population, a large and growing segment of the Dobson area.
The store design was originally tested in Raleigh and, so far, about a dozen Food Lion stores have been changed, including one in Yadkinville and another in Winston-Salem.
On Wednesday, Dobson was one of a half-dozen stores to roll out the new design.
“Whatever we’re missing in each store, we’ll definitely direct them to the nearest location,” said Mount Airy store manager Jerry Shumate, who was filling in for Dobson manager Kim Bowman, who was out Wednesday. “I think it (the store) is set up to serve everyone in the community, able to meet everyone’s needs. I think the variety is great.”
The deli and bakery sides have added features such as fresh-baked Bolillo bread and special cakes.
There is new cookware, several added items in the fresh-cut meat section — most things that can usually only be found in Hispanic-specialty stores.
And there is one big plus to the additions.
“We’re not losing any items customers are used to buying to do this,” Ratcliff said.
That’s right — all the same food offering, including special order items such as pigs for barbecues, will still be available. Officials spent the last four weeks reconfiguring the store to make room for the new items.
“I think once people know the quality and variety we have now, more people will come in,” Ratcliff said.
That was already starting.
A ribbon cutting with Mayor Ricky Draughn officially opened the store and customers were quickly filling the aisles taking in all the latest offerings.
Shumate was working hard to make sure each customer was helped — orders he got from Bowman.
“She’s proud of her store,” Shumate said. “She’s proud of her community.”