Edenton, NC. - Residents of Edenton North Carolina take a lot of pride in how their town looks. Tom White and Lisa Baker want to make sure their town keeps that title and fear an empty grocery store lot could hinder that.
"We would like Food Lion to answer one question for us: When you no longer occupy this space and operate it as a grocery store, will you will release it?" asks White.
Food Lion announced they're moving the only grocery store in town a mile down the road, but there appears to be a loophole in the store's current lease.
According to White who says he has a copy of the store's lease, the store has the option to extend that lease for up to 20 years.
White and Baker worry Food Lion will extend that lease and hold on to the property, leaving it vacant to prevent any other grocery stores from coming to town.
White says they've asked Food Lion what their plan is.
"They've told us they're not yet ready to announce a decision yet concerning their lease."
So White and Baker have taken to social media, creating a Facebook page dedicated to this issue. In the two weeks the page has been up, more than 400 people have followed it.
In a statement sent to NewsChannel 3, Food Lion says they are still in talks with local government about what they plan to do with the lot.
