(Washington, DC) – Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser and the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) joined leaders from Lidl to break ground on Lidl’s first store in Washington, DC located at Skyland Town Center. Lidl recently ranked a top 3 U.S. grocer by USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards and will be the first new supermarket to serve residents in Wards 7 and 8 in more than a decade. 

“Today, we celebrate a significant milestone that brings fresh, affordable, and healthy food to the residents of Ward 7,” said Mayor Bowser. “The new Lidl Food Market at Skyland demonstrates our commitment to delivering more grocery stores and food access points to neighborhoods East of the River. This grocery store has been a long time coming, and we are proud to be delivering for a community that has worked so hard to get to this groundbreaking.”

The Skyland project is a multi-year, multi-phase development, bringing retail and residential space to Ward 7. This project will add hundreds of jobs, bring in significant tax revenue for the District, and catalyze additional private development in the area. The groundbreaking of Lidl is a significant milestone for the Skyland project, and the store is scheduled to open by the end of this year. The store will create approximately 45 new jobs, with wages starting at $16.50 per hour. Lidl’s benefits include healthcare for all positions and 401K with a company match.

“Mayor Bowser remains committed to expanding food access points East of the River,” said Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development John Falcicchio. “Lidl’s first store in DC creates new jobs and opens access to fresh and affordable food for residents. Together, we will give all Washingtonians every opportunity to rise.” 

Lidl Food Market continues Mayor Bowser’s work to expand food access, create new employment opportunities, and stimulate economic development in neighborhoods East of the River. Most recently, the Mayor created a $58.6 million Food Access Fund and changed the Supermarket Tax Credit to focus eligibility on areas most in need of grocery stores, expand support to more fresh food retailers, and add community engagement requirements for grocers. Additional food access efforts include the grand opening of Good Food Markets in Ward 8 as well as the Nourish DC Fund created to provide flexible loans, catalytic grants, and technical assistance to emerging and existing locally owned small food businesses in the District.

“We thank Mayor Bowser and local leaders for their support and warm welcome to the District,” said Michal Lagunionek, President and CEO of Lidl US. “We are confident that DC residents will appreciate Lidl’s unique and high-quality approach to grocery, which allows shoppers to save money on our award-winning selection of fresh and high-quality products.  We look forward to building a great team at Skyland and opening our store once construction is completed later this year.

Lidl established its U.S. headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, in 2015 and today operates more than 20 stores nearby in Maryland and Virginia. Lidl offers an award-winning assortment of fresh, high quality products including produce, a fresh bakery, beef poultry and fish, as well as a wide array of non-food household products that drop in stores on a weekly basis. Lidl has been repeatedly recognized for its shopping experience. In back-to-back editions Food & Wine Magazine ranked Lidl in its top 10 U.S. supermarket rankings.

“We have worked long and hard to bring more grocery stores to Ward 7 and elsewhere on the East End of the District,” said Ward 7 Councilmember Vincent C. Gray. “Lidl’s first store in the District, right here at the Skyland Town Center, will provide residents with more options and serve as a vital anchor to Skyland. The East End is a valuable market location for retail and hospitality providers, I am pleased that Lidl is investing in our community and leading the way.”

Skyland is a development project years in the making, providing vital housing and retail to Ward 7, with the intent of generating jobs, tax revenues, and additional economic investments throughout the area. This development project, spanning multiple years and phases, began construction in 2018 and is projected to be completed in 2026.