Weis Markets Inc. plans to convert 38 Food Lion supermarkets

Pennsylvania-based Weis Markets Inc. plans to convert 38 Food Lion supermarkets in three states, including Virginia, to Weis stores by the end of October.

The stores include 13 in Culpeper, Fredericksburg, Stafford and Spotsylvania. The other stores are in Maryland and Delaware.

Weist announced the purchase of the 38 stores in July. Financial details about the acquisition were not disclosed.

“Once the conversions are completed over the next two months, we will have nearly doubled our Maryland store count and expanded into Virginia and Delaware,” Kurt Schertle, Weis' chief operating officer, said in a statement.

Weis, which has its headquarters in Sunbury, Pa., plans to hire more than 2,000 current Food Lion employees to staff the converted stores.

The July acquisition was the company's second major deal this year. In August, it completed the conversion of five Mars Super Markets in Baltimore County, Md.

Once the conversions are complete, Weis will increase its number of stores by more than 25 percent, operating 204 in seven states: Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, New York, New Jersey, Delaware and West Virginia.

The Virginia Food Lion stores affected by the conversion are located at:

505 Meadowbrook Shopping Center, Culpeper
540 Culpeper Town Mall, Culpeper
905 Garrisonville Road, Stafford
2612 Jefferson Davis Highway, Stafford
282 Deacon Road, Fredericksburg
4153 Plank Road, Fredericksburg
515 Jefferson Davis Highway, Fredericksburg
736 Warrenton Road, Fredericksburg
10871 Tidewater Trail Fredericksburg
10611 Courthouse Road, Fredericksburg
10601 Spotsylvania Ave., Fredericksburg
7100 Salem Fields Blvd., Fredericksburg
9801 Courthouse Road, Spotsylvania