Lowcountry Grocers’ Piggly Wiggly Stores: Local Since Forever

By Lindsey Kueffner, Executive Director of CFIC

In early February I spent the day with Lowcountry Grocers owner Lynn Willard and Director of Operations Craig Kelly touring four of their fourteen South Carolina Piggly Wiggly stores.

We started off the day at the Florence store, managed by Marty Massey. Spend any time in Marty’s presence and you’ll quickly realize he knows EVERYONE who walks in the doors! Between Marty’s welcoming demeanor and the aisles named after local roads, the store truly brings to life the “Local Since Forever” tagline.

The Florence store is their most recently renovated store with new lighting and flooring, a fresh sushi counter front and center, and floral displays throughout the store. The store is also where Lynn got his start in the industry when he was 16 by bagging groceries.

After saying goodbye to Marty, we traveled to St. George and met store operator David Mauney for lunch at a nearby diner. The store boasts an impressive selection of fresh meat thanks to their in-house meat-cutter—something all of the Piggly Wiggly stores are known for!

From there, we made our way to the greater Charleston area, visiting store operator Michael Byrd at the Ladson location. Lowcountry Grocers purchased this store from Harvey’s and, in addition to a fresh sushi counter, a large selection of local products, and big Valentines Day displays, the store has a great selection of Piggly Wiggly paraphernalia: tee shirts, hats, koozies, beach toys—you name it.

Our last stop of the day was to visit store operator Freddie Broach at the Otranto store. A gorgeous Valentines Day floral display greeted customers upon entering the store along with fresh, made-to-order sushi, an impressive deli and produce section, and a vast assortment of wine.

It’s clear after touring the stores that each store operator takes tremendous ownership over their physical store but, more importantly, takes care of their employees and the communities they serve. Throughout the day, I was introduced to bakery managers, deli managers, produce managers, and meat cutters, all of whom had many, many years of experience under their belt at their particular store location, and are on a first-name basis with their customers.

It was a worthwhile trip that provided me with a lot of insight into the Lowcountry Grocers operations. I couldn’t help but focus on one particular thought as I recalled the people and experiences of the day: No matter how well-stocked a store is with local items, it will always be the people working in the store that makes it feel “Local Since Forever.”

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