German Grocery Chain Plans First Bucks Co. Store

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — German grocery store chain Lidl plans to bring one of its discount grocery stores to Bristol Township. If it comes to fruition, the store could become the chain's first in Bucks County.

Bristol Township Council President Craig Bowen said Tuesday that the chain has submitted plans for a store at 7843 New Falls Rd. That is the site of the old Bell Telephone Company building.

"It is great for the township, great for the school district," Bowen said Tuesday. "It brings a lot of real estate dollars for the school district, brings jobs to the township and takes a dilapidated site and turns it into an awesome site."

Another Lidl store has been in the works in Warminster for the past few years. That location was first proposed in 2016 and plans have undergone several major changes since then.

The news out of Bristol comes as Lidl is rapidly expanding in the United States.

In August, the company announced plans to open 50 new stores by the end of 2021 in nine states, including Pennsylvania. That would bring the company to 150 stores in the United States.

The 50 announced in August included the Warminster location and stores in Clifton Heights, Lancaster and northeast Philadelphia, where a Lidl store on Roosevelt Boulevard held its grand opening on Dec. 2.

Lidl said at the time it would invest more than $500 million in the new stores and create about 2,000 new jobs once they are opened.

A spokesperson with Lidl US did not immediately return a message seeking comment for this story Tuesday afternoon.

Lidl operates more than 11,000 stores in 32 countries. It established its U.S. headquarters in Arlington County, VA, in 2015.

Currently, there are two buildings on the Bristol Township site, which is owned by Verizon. The main building would be demolished and the one to the left, as you're facing the site from the street, would remain as Verizon property, Bowen said.