Augusta Golf Show Conversation: Jay Bilas

Here's my Augusta Golf Show conversation with Jay Bilas

Jay Bilas is ESPN’s lead college basketball analyst.  Jay is a former professional basketball player and coach.  He played for and was an Assistant under Coach K at Duke.  Jay is a practicing attorney in Charlotte.

He loves the game of golf and has been playing it at a high level for many years.

For the last five or six years, he has been great about coming on the golf show at this time of year to talk about his year playing the game, and we also usually squeeze in a little college basketball talk.

Jay is back on the show this weekend for all of that.

Here’s the conversation I had with Jay Bilas from ESPN.

Grocery shopping is a part of being an adult. Some people stop at the store throughout the week, while others make a weekly trip, and still others go just once or twice a month. For me, it's a once-a-week experience, unless I happen to forget something on my list. And this past weekend, we decided to check out the new Lowes Foods in Aiken for our weekly trip.

The news of Lowes Foods in Aiken was announced last year, but they didn't officially open until Thursday, August 25th. The grocery store is part of a new shopping center in Aiken that was developed by McKnight Engler. It's located at the corner of Whiskey and Powderhouse Roads. The physical address is 2940 Whiskey Road, Aiken.

One interesting thing I learned when we were talking about checking out the new Lowes Foods in Aiken was that they are open every day from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. I found that out Sunday morning as I was checking to ensure they'd be open by the time we got there.

Of course, one thing that truly stands out about Lowes Foods is "The Beer Den". Shoppers can "sip-n-shop". You can enjoy beer by the glass as you do your grocery shopping. I didn't partake, simply because I'm not a beer drinker, but I thought this was an interesting feature. We also noticed they have a full walk-in cooler in the beer section of the store too. In addition to beer on tap, there's also The Boxcar Coffee Co. where you can get coffee to enjoy while you shop.

Throughout the store, there were a bunch of different sections featuring categories of items, like the Pick & Prep area where they have fresh fruits and vegatable. There was also a space specifically for cheese, which of course I had to check out. The Cakery was perhaps the most exciting to see, with its bright colors and candles.

Additionally, there was SausageWorks where they cut meats fresh for customers. And there was the Chicken Kitchen and Sammy's where you could get individual items or meals to eat there or get it to-go. They have a full salad bar too.

Overall, I love the fact that Lowes Foods in Aiken has a huge selection of products, with so many fresh food and local options. I also loved the small touches they include to highlight South Carolina and the Aiken area. The checkout lanes are each named after a street in Aiken!

For me, it was a little bit of sensory overload, simply because the store was pretty busy and they have so much to see. I am definitely interested in going back again. In fact, we talked about doing our regular grocery shopping there, even if it is a slightly longer drive from our house in North Augusta.

I'll be interested to see what it's like once the "newness" wears off. Maybe it won't be as busy as it was for us on Sunday. We did manage to find some great deals, especially on meat. You definitely want to get the Fresh Rewards card, because it saved us quite a bit. Actually, I think the receipt said we saved over $50! They also do a weekly ad with deals and have digital coupons, which you can clip and save in their app.

Check out some photos from our visit to Lowes Foods in Aiken below!

In 1954, Lowes Foods was a single grocery store located in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. Over the next few decades, the company experienced major growth before being acquired by Merchants Distributors, Inc. in 1984. From there, they continued growth and acquired even more stores across North and South Carolina. Currently, the company has 80 stores throughout the Carolinas.

Lowes Foods started with strong community connections and support and continues to carry that legacy in all of its stores. They work to bring in food from local farmers and vendors from the Carolinas. Also, the company is always working to make grocery shopping a better experience for all of its customers. Their goal is to break the mold from your standard supermarket experience, and continually look at research to find out what works and to help develop new concepts to set them apart.

The supermarket's motto is:

Learn more about Lowes Foods HERE.