Bi-Lo to close Forest Drive store in October

The Bi-Lo grocery store on Forest Drive near the former Cardinal Newman High School will close in early October, the company announced Tuesday evening.

The store, at 4711 Forest Drive, is across from Bonefish Grill and McAlister’s Deli.

“While closing stores is never easy for any retailer, we have made the difficult decision to close our store at 4711-1 Forest Drive,” Calvin Rash, Bi-Lo’s Columbia district manager, said in a statement. The store is being closed “so we can reinvest in what matters most for our customers – providing the quality, service and value they have come to expect from us.”

Store employees are being encouraged to apply for any open positions in nearby Bi-Lo stores, Rash said. The company has about 11 other Columbia-area stores.

The closing is the latest in a series of changes in the Midlands’ grocery market. Others include:

▪ Piggly Wiggly announced plans in July to close its West Beltline Boulevard store.

▪ Kroger opened a Marketplace store in July on Killian Road.

▪ A Walmart Neighborhood Market opened in June in Cayce;

▪ Costco opened a warehouse retail center near Harbison in August.

▪ Sam’s Club opened at Village at Sandhill in July.

▪ LiDL, a European grocery chain, filed plans with the town of Lexington and Richland County to open three Midlands locations.

Bi-Lo also said it is closing a store on Meeting Street in Charleston.

This story was originally published August 30, 2016 at 7:08 PM with the headline "Bi-Lo to close Forest Drive store in October."