Harris Teeter Closes Eastern Mecklenburg Store Amid Area Development, Offers Employee Transfers

A Harris Teeter location in eastern Mecklenburg County will shut its doors on April 17. Company officials made the call after weighing their options. The store sits where Margaret Wallace Road meets Idlewild Road. More than 100 employees lost their workplace. Workers got the news back in January, according to the company.

Harris Teeter is a Matthews-based grocery chain that Kroger owns. Five other stores operate in the Matthews-Mint Hill area.

The intersection has changed a lot. A Lidl grocery store opened across Margaret Wallace Road from the closing spot, and a 55-and-up apartment building went up on Idlewild Road. Officials greenlit a townhome community last summer that's still to come.

According to the Queen City News, associates can transfer to other locations if they want. The company plans to tell customers through signs in the store and e-VIC messages.

This closing shows how retail keeps shifting in the eastern part of the county. New homes and businesses have reshaped the area over the past few years, bringing fresh competition and changing what people need.

Workers have had months to get ready since January. The grocery chain hasn't said if it might open new stores elsewhere in the region.

Customers who shop there will need to pick a different store after mid-April. Five Harris Teeter stores remain in Matthews-Mint Hill for shoppers.