Food City Breaks Ground On New Cookeville Store

Cookeville’s newest supermarket, Food City, took the first step of construction Monday.

The ground breaking was held where the store will stand at the intersection of East 10th Street and Old Kentucky Road. President and CEO Steve Smith said he is excited to be a part of the growth of Cookeville.

“We’re proud to be locally owned and operated,” Smith said. “We are proud to be a family owned company, but we are also proud of our mission statement and that is to run the best store in town and that is what we are going to do when we come to Cookeville.”

Smith said the company is hopeful for a December 2021 opening date. Smith said the about 55,000 square foot building will bring up to 170 new jobs.

“We kinda do things a little bit different than some of our competitors,” Smith said. “We still have in-house butchers, and we have service meat and service seafood departments where people can get their steak cut. We got a sit down cafe where people can come and have a complete meal. We have a Starbucks with all the tvs and things that people can come and use their computers and relax. But also, we have a big variety and almost 55,000 square feet of modern grocery store and super market and some of the freshest produce around.”

Cookeville Mayor Ricky Shelton said Food City will be the first of many stores to fill the 14 some acre property. This project also includes the widening of 10th Street from Highway 111 to Old Kentucky Road.

“This development represents an opportunity for our community to improve traffic conditions along one of the most heavily used roads,” Shelton said. “Addressing a major area of need according to traffic studies and many Cookeville residents. By committing to long partnering and attacking this issue, you’ve proven your commitment to be a long standing influence on our community. It is exciting that we’re finally here to celebrate the groundbreaking.”

Food City has been a part of the community before Monday’s ground breaking. The company donated about $391,000 to the Cookeville-Putnam County Tornado Relief Fund last year. Putnam County Mayor Randy Porter said the commitment to the county was amazing.

“That donation pushed our tornado relief fund over 2.3 million,” Porter said. “That went directly to the tornado survivors and the family of the victims in a time of great need. Before the tornado and before this day, Steve, we knew we wanted you here. After that day, we knew we had to have you here.”

The company operates out of Virginia with 134 locations across Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia and soon to be Alabama. Food City operates as an ESOP firm, meaning the employees have stock in the company’s future and growth. Smith said about 17,000 employees take advantage of this and own about 13 percent of the company.