Food Lions will be converted into Blooms in Fredericksburg, Manassas, Dale City, Herndon, Fairfax, and Leesburg, VA, as well as Gaithersburg, MD, and other areas. Locally based Food Lion, which is owned by the Delhaize Group, of Brussels, Belgium, is also opening seven Blooms in the Greenville, SC, area later this year.

Bloom stores offer a higher assortment of fresh foods and prepared meals than the Food Lion units. Aisles are wider, shelves are shorter and food products are grouped away from non-food items, among other cosmetic differences.

Delhaize operated 1,537 US supermarkets at the end of last year under the banners of Bloom, Food Lion, Hannaford, Kash n' Karry and others. The company plans to open 54 new units this year, including the Blooms in South Carolina, and close 19. It is also converting 48 Kash n' Karry units in the Tampa, FL area to Sweetbay Supermarket stores this year.