About Us – Our History

K-VA-T Food Stores, Inc., the corporate banner for the Food City supermarket chain, is an acronym for its original service area of Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee. The privately held, family-owned company has grown over the years by expansion, new store construction, and acquisitions. 

Having served their neighbors for over 100 years, the Food City banner dates back to 1918, with a store in Greeneville, TN.  K-VA-T Food Stores’ beginning came in 1955 when Jack C. Smith (founder), his father Curtis, cousin Ernest, and uncle Earl opened their first Piggly Wiggly in Grundy, VA. The company later acquired several other Piggly Wiggly locations in Southwest Virginia and Eastern Kentucky, followed by Quality Foods/Food City, White Stores, Winn Dixie and BI-LO stores in east Tennessee and north Georgia. Food City most recently acquired the Cooke’s/Fresh n’ Low family of stores in the greater Cleveland, TN area.

Today, the company spans five states, operating 18 locations in southeastern Kentucky, 28 in southwest Virginia, 98 in east Tennessee, 10 in north Georgia, and 4 in Alabama.  The 158-store chain includes 137 Food City locations (with 120 pharmacies and 123 fuel/convenience stores), 4 Super Dollar Food Center limited assortment stores, 4 wine & spirits stores and 12 Curt’s Ace Hardware stores. K-VA-T Foods also operates their own 1.2 million square-foot distribution center, located in Abingdon, VA, as well as Misty Mountain Spring Water, L.L.C. 11-12% of the company is owned by their associates through their employee profit-sharing plan. The company attributes their continued success to their talented team of associates and their dedication to their customers and the communities they serve. 

Food City offers a wide variety of services and conveniences, ranging from in-store fresh baked goods, deli meats, cheeses, salads, hot foods, and large café seating areas to Floral Boutiques, staffed with trained designers seven days per week. Full-service meat and seafood departments offer pre-marinated/seasoned products and a complete selection of top-quality all-natural meats, including Certified Angus Beef. In-house butchers hand cut steaks, chops, and roasts to order. Expanded grocery, frozen food, produce and health & beauty care departments go well beyond the normal fare, with a huge selection of gourmet, international and hard-to-find items.  The Farm to Food City partnership with local growers provides their customers fresh-from-the-field fruits and vegetables, many of which are delivered the same day they’re picked. The company purchases nearly $5,000,000 in locally grown produce annually.

Food City pharmacies are staffed with highly trained professionals, and a number of locations offer the added convenience of drive-thru service. Their Gas N’ Go fuel centers offer competitive prices on top quality fuel and diesel. A number of stores include national or local branch banks, offering ATM’s and a full range of financial services. The company also offers the added convenience of on-line shopping with curbside pick-up in many locations. Orders are filled by professional shoppers and loaded into the vehicle upon arrival. Food City Home Delivery powered by Instacart is available at most locations, providing shoppers with the flexibility of same-day delivery to their door. Food City’s partnership with DoorDash offers on demand grocery delivery in numerous stores, as well as on demand delivery of fresh floral arrangements in participating localities. A number of stores also include a Starbucks café, offering a wide assortment of blended hot and cold coffees and beverages, as well as an assortment of tasty breakfast sandwiches and pastries. 

The company offers a full line of money saving private label products, including Food Club, Food City Fresh, Full Circle Market, Wide Awake Coffee Co., Tippy Toes, Harvest Club, Paws Happy Life, Evolve, Over the Top, Nostimo, Crav’n, CharKing, Misty Mountain, Flock’s Finest, b-lieve, Simply Done, TopCare, Culinary Tours, That’s Smart, Pure Harmony, and more. Food City also carries a line of exclusive regional brand products, including Kern’s Bread, Kay’s Ice Cream, Lay Meats, Terry’s Snack Foods, and Moore’s Potato Chips. 

The company supports a number of non-profit organizations and community events throughout their market area. Food City’s School Bucks Program has donated more than $22,900,000 in much needed equipment to over a thousand area schools. Their annual Charity Golf Outing has raised more than $16.56 million to benefit area charitable organizations. Their annual Race Against Hunger campaign provides over $500,000 in local hunger relief each year, in addition to their Friends & Pets in Need campaign, which raises nearly $400,000 annually. Their Paralyzed Veterans of America partnership has raised over $4.1 million to benefit paralyzed veterans. The company also raises over $500,000 annually in support of Breakthrough T1D (formerly Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation), over $2.1 million in support for Hurricane Helene flood relief efforts, and supports many other organizations, including United Way, The American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, Second Harvest Food Bank, Feeding Southwest Virginia, and countless others.

The Food City name is also synonymous with NASCAR racing through their title sponsorship of two of the sport’s most popular events - the spring Food City 500 and fall Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, TN. The second longest running sponsor in NASCAR motorsports, 2022 marked the 30th Anniversary of the company’s race sponsorships. Food City served as the presenting sponsor of the historic “Battle at Bristol” football game between the University of Tennessee and Virginia Tech. The company also serves as the Corporate Champion for the University of Tennessee Athletic Center with the naming rights of the Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center and is a major corporate partner for several other local athletic programs, including East Tennessee State University, Radford University, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and Emory and Henry.

“We’re proud to be locally owned and operated,” says Steven C. Smith, Food City President/CEO. “We’re extremely passionate about what we do, and we’re committed to providing our customers with exceptional service and top-quality products at the lowest possible price while continuing the mission our company was founded upon to “run the best store in town”.