Lidl scraps plans for North Carolina stores; developer sues

A developer is reportedly suing German grocery store chain Lidl for pulling the plug on its plan to build stores in Wilmington, Charlotte and Cary, all in North Carolina. The news comes weeks after the town of Cary, N.C., learned that an IKEA store (furniture, kitchen appliances, home accessories) also wouldn’t be moving there.

According to the lawsuit, Lidl wrongfully terminated agreements and contracts for the three developments. Leon Capital Group in Wilmington, N.C., said it purchased land for Lidl to develop a Lidl-anchored retail center. The suit claims Lidl abruptly terminated the contract in November. The developer reportedly said Lidl has refused to pay the more than $430,000 for its share of site work and overall wants more than $1,000,000 in damages, according to a news brief on wwayt3.com, a Wilmington-based television station. Lidl's first North Carolina store opened in mid-June last of year in Kinston. Currently, there are Lidl stores in Raleigh, Wake Forest and Wilson, N.C.