New Massage Envy; Harris Teeter protects turf

There's another Massage Envy Spa coming to the Charlotte area, as the relaxation salon plans to open a Matthews location this week.

It will be the spa's 14th location in or around Charlotte. The 3,300 square foot store will be in the Sycamore Commons shopping center, on Matthews Township Parkway.

“We are excited about our grand opening in Matthews and joining this great community,” said Gordon Thornton, owner of the franchise. The shop will open on June 22.

The business will offer a full range of services, including massages (from prenatal to geriatric ones), facials, aromatherapy and more.

And in supermarket news, if you've been following the Lowes Foods-Harris Teeter store swap, you might be wondering how much that transaction was driven by Harris Teeter's desire to protect its home market in Charlotte from an incursion by Florida-based Publix. One analyst is saying that was likely a big driver of the deal.

“In addition to bolstering its market share around Charlotte, this move also blocks Publix, which plans to open two units in northern South Carolina near Charlotte, from entering Charlotte via a strategic deal, at least in the near term,” said Andrew Wolf, of BB&T Capital Markets.