Lidl Constructing U.S. Distribution Center

European discount grocery chain Lidl Siftung & Co. KG (Neckarsulm, Germany) broke ground on its first U.S. distribution center Friday. The site in Mebane, N.C., will also house the company’s first regional headquarters in the country.

The Triad Business Journal reports that while the company does not yet have any stores operating in the U.S., plans have been filed for stores in Raleigh, N.C., and other locations in North Carolina and Virginia.

While specific store plans have not been announced, Lidl hopes to have stores operational in the U.S. by 2018.