It’s been almost three years since Lidl bought the former Kelly’s Restaurant and Tavern in Nags Head, but it appears the grocery chain has abandoned any plans to open a new store on the Outer Banks.
The five-plus acre plot that includes the former Kelly’s Professional Center is listed for sale by a Charlotte-based retail property agent.
Lidl announced Tuesday it will add 50 new locations across the United States by the end of 2021.
That includes five new stores in Apex, Burlington, Charlotte and Wilmington, and seven in northern Virginia and Charlottesville.
However, the company will be closing stores in Havelock and Shelby, after shuttering their Kinston and Rockingham locations last year. Lidl operates a distribution center in Mebane.
Lidl appeared to be moving forward with construction of a 36,000 square foot store in Nags Head even before they closed on the purchase of the tracts in the 2300 block of South Croatan Highway from restaurateur Mike Kelly.
An initial proposal to use Lidl’s signature “glass-wall” layout was denied by the town.
An alternate design that would be more in-line with Nags Head’s preferred “coastal look” of new commercial buildings was eventually approved and the sale of the property was completed in December 2017.
But just a few months later, Lidl put a halt to its expansion plans.
Along with a management restructuring, the company also fine-tuned its U.S. promotional strategy to better match the shopping habits of American consumers, reported Supermarket News.
The company also adjusted to building smaller stores on leased sites, rather than own-and-build which is what Lidl was planning to do on the Outer Banks.
Nags Head Planning Director Michael Zehner said Tuesday that Lidl’s previous permit approvals have expired, so they would have to contact the town to go back through the review process.
The former restaurant site covering a little over four acres has a tax value of $3.1 million, according to Dare County tax records. The 36,500 square foot professional building location was valued at $912,200.
Lidl’s media relations department had not responded to an email requesting comment as of Tuesday afternoon.
