MUSCLE SHOALS — Three former Food World supermarkets in the Shoals have been converted into Belle Foods stores.

Bill White and his son, Jeff White, were in the Shoals on Wednesday to announce the openings, which include two Florence and one Muscle Shoals location.

The Florence stores are at 1804 Florence Blvd. and 990 Cox Creek Parkway. The Muscle Shoals store is at 3413 Woodward Ave.

Bill White said he and his son bought the remainder of the Food World chain in July. There are 57 Belle Foods stores in four Southeastern states, according to the company’s website, belle-foods.com.

“We’re a totally family business,” Bill White said. “You don’t see that often these days. We’re committed to the Florence area.”

The three stores have approximately 250 employees, he said.

The Florence Boulevard store has a unique feature for a supermarket: a supervised child-care area, store manager Don Rook said. He said the child-care workers are trained and have had background checks.

“It provides a very fun time for the children to have while parents can shop in peace,” Rook said.

The child-care area is for ages 3-10 and provides care for up to two hours while the customer shops, according to the company’s website states.

Rook reiterated the company is committed to the Shoals.

“We don’t just change the sign, we change the store,” he said. “We’ve lowered prices to make it much more competitive in the area.”

Bernie Delinski can be reached at 256-740-5739 or bernie.delinski@TimesDaily.com.