Food City recently announced that Brian Hemminger will assume the leadership role of district manager for 11 of their store locations spanning the City of Chattanooga and Hamilton and Rhea counties. A life-time grocer, Hemminger brings over 31 years of industry knowledge and experience to this key role. 

“Over the past year and a half, Brian has done an outstanding job assisting our company in integrating our new Cooke’s/Fresh ‘n Low stores into the Food City family, while serving as interim district manager when needed. He has always excelled in his roles of responsibility. Brian is a great leader and mentor who is always willing to take on a new challenge and I’m confident he will do an exceptional job leading his district. I would like to congratulate Brian on this well-deserved new role within our company,” said Steven C. Smith, Food City president and chief executive officer.

Hemminger began his grocery career in 1992, as a customer service manager for Red Food Stores, which was later acquired by BI-LO. He served in a number of roles for the retail supermarket chain, including assistant manager, co-perishable manager, store manager, regional general merchandise/health & beauty care sales manager, division grocery sales manager, district manager, and director of operations support. Hemminger also worked 3 years as a store team lead for a large mass market retailer and later relocated back to East Tennessee, accepting a position as director of merchandising for the Cooke’s family of stores in the Greater Chattanooga market area. He joined the Food City team in 2019 when the company acquired the chain, entering the company’s comprehensive Management Training Program. Hemminger served as store manager for Food City’s Dayton, TN location for 3 years before being promoted to the team’s special projects division. He promoted to his current role as district manager in 2023. In his new role, Hemminger will be responsible for the supervision of over 1,000 associates in 11 retail stores spanning Hamilton and Rhea counties and the City of Chattanooga, TN.

Hemminger served on BI-LO's Store Manager's Marketing Council. During his tenure with Cooke’s Food Store & Pharmacy, the location was named Progressive Grocer’s Independent Operator of the Year. He is a graduate of Dale Carnegie, Crestcom’s - Bullet Proof Manager program, and Discover U University. Hemminger is also a member of Centers for Excellence and served as an instructor for Food City’s Performance Skills for Effective Store Management training program. 

Hemminger is a graduate of Maryville College in Maryville, TN with a BA in Economics, where he played football for four years. He currently resides in Cleveland, TN with his lovely wife, Deanna. They are the proud parents of four children, Megan, Madison, Makenzie, and Bayleigh.

Headquartered in Abingdon, Virginia, K-VA-T Food Stores (Food City’s parent company) operates 152 retail outlets throughout southeast Kentucky, southwest Virginia, east Tennessee, north Georgia, and Alabama.