NEW YORK - Supervalu Inc. announced earlier this week that its discount grocer unit Save-A-Lot will expand in urban areas, filling gaps left after larger chains have moved to the suburbs, Bloomberg reports.

Roughly half of Save-A-Lot's stores will eventually be located in metropolitan areas, said Bill Shaner, president and CEO of Save-A-Lot.

Supervalu announced earlier this year that it would double the number of its Save-A-Lot locations in the next five years, tapping into "urban food deserts," as Shaner referred to the underserved population centers.

"Some of the urban markets have a dearth of supermarkets that are quality grocers delivering good, nourishing food at good prices," Shaner said. "We offer a good solution for that opportunity and we are very focused on that."

Shaner said that the company would likely expand into Washington, D.C., within several years, among other unnamed cities.

"We look for locations in neighborhoods, where people actually live, while other retailers are moving into the mega-shopping centers outside of town," Shaner said.

The grocery plans to increase the number of its stores to 5,000 from its current 1,188, though Shaner declined to provide a timeframe.

Typically, Save-A-Lot assumes and remodels existing store space rather than building new ones, with store sizes averaging 15,000 square feet.