Food City Names Three New Vice Presidents

Food City Names Three New Vice Presidents
Abingdon, VA. - Monday, Nov 22, 2021.

Food City recently promoted three of their long-time associates to the position of Vice President:  Steve Holloway, Vice President of Meat and Seafood Operations, Bucky Slagle, Vice President of Produce and Floral Operations, and David Haaf, Vice President of Food Service and Starbucks Operations.

“I have had the extreme pleasure of watching these guys grow both personally and professionally as they came up through the company ranks.  They’re dedicated to our customers, our associates, and the communities we serve.  We’re fortunate to have them serve as a part of our executive leadership team and I would like to personally thank them for their outstanding service and congratulate them on these well-deserved promotions,” said Steven C. Smith, Food City president and chief executive officer.

Steve Holloway began his grocery career at the young age of 16, working part-time for a Knoxville, TN based retail group. He later relocated to Murfreesboro, TN to attend Middle Tennessee State University and accepted a position in the meat department of a local supermarket. After completing his college education, Holloway returned to Knoxville and accepted a position as meat manager for White Stores.  In 1990, Food City acquired the White Store chain.  Holloway was later promoted to district meat trainer/supervisor.  He served in that capacity for ten years before being promoted to his most recent position of director of meat and seafood operations.  Holloway and his wife, Melissa are the proud parents of daughter, Courtney and son, Jarrod.  They currently reside in Kingsport, TN.

Bucky Slagle joined the Food City team in 1988, enrolling in the company’s assistant store manager training program.  He served as an assistant store manager for two years before being promoted to store manager, where he served for six years.  Slagle was promoted to district manager for Food City’s Knoxville division in 1998, responsible for the oversight of thirteen supermarkets.  In 2016, he was promoted to director of produce and floral operations, responsible for oversite of the operation of both departments company wide.  Slagle received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Emory and Henry College in Emory, VA.  He currently resides in Gray, TN with his lovely wife, Amiee.  They are the proud parents of two daughters, Aliee and Emilee.

Chef Haaf joined the Food City team in 2005, serving as corporate executive chef, responsible for a team of eight culinary trainers.  In 2008, he was promoted to director of food service, responsible for the oversight of food service operations, merchandising, and training, as well as their “full-service” catering company.   In 2017, Chef Haaf helped open the company’s first in-store Starbucks café which has now grown to 32 locations.  He is a Certified Chef de’ Cuisine of the American Culinary Federation and a graduate of the ACF accredited Culinary Arts Program at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, IA.  He has A.A.S. degrees with majors in Culinary Arts and Hospitality/Tourism Management from Kirkwood Community College and Trident Technical College in Charleston, SC. Chef Haaf performed his internship at Le Ti Ti de Paris, Arlington Heights, IL.  He has served as Sous Chef and Executive Chef for a number of world class hotels and dining establishments across the United States.  Chef Haaf took a four-year break from the hospitality industry to serve his country as a Corporal in the US Marine Corps from 1992 to 1996, serving abroad in Japan, Korea, Thailand, and Cuba before returning to Camp LeJeune, NC.  Chef Haaf currently resides in Gray, TN, with his lovely wife Mellaine and beautiful daughter, Asiana.

Pictured Above from Left to Right: 

Steve Holloway, Vice President of Meat and Seafood Operations

Bucky Slagle, Vice President of Produce and Floral Operations

David Haaf, Vice President of Food Service and Starbucks Operations

Headquartered in Abingdon, Virginia, K-VA-T Food Stores (Food City’s parent company) operates 138 retail outlets throughout southeast Kentucky, southwest Virginia, east Tennessee, north Georgia, and Alabama.