After opening its first GreenWise organic supermarket in Georgia to much fanfare last June, Publix is closing that location—at the Sandy Plains MarketPlace—this weekend.
The last day of business will be Saturday for the East Cobb GreenWise store (3460 Sandy Plains Road).
A reader who went to the store Monday said he hadn’t seen an official notice until then, following a report last month in Tomorrow’s News Today, an Atlanta retail, restaurant and hospitality news site.
East Cobb News sent a message to GreenWise, which provided the following response:
“It has been GreenWise Market’s privilege to serve the Marietta community.
“As you can imagine, closing one of our stores is never an easy decision to make, and there are a number of factors considered when making that decision.
“Please know, all associates at this location will be offered to relocate to nearby Publix stores if they so desire. We sincerely apologize for any disappointment this may cause, but we thank you for welcoming us into your community.”
East Cobb News also has contacted Orkin and Associates, the shopping center owner, for comment.
The GreenWise store, with more than 25,000 square feet of space in a standalone building, has been the anchor for Sandy Plains Marketplace, which opened in late 2019 on the site of the former campus of Mountain View Elementary School.
The store’s opening, first announced in 2018, was delayed due to COVID-19.
This is the third GreenWise store to close recently, following decisions to shutter two locations in South Carolina in August.
There are nine GreenWise stores still operating—eight in Florida, the home base for Publix, and another near Birmingham, Ala.
Publix recently opened its seventh supermarket in East Cobb in the East Cobb Crossing Shopping Center, next to Dick’s Sporting Goods on Roswell Road at Johnson Ferry Road.
The first Publix store in Georgia opened just across the street from GreenWise at Highland Plaza Shopping Center, at Sandy Plains and Shallowford roads.
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I’m a vegan and was excited at the prospect of having a version of Publix that had lots of options for me. But instead the selections at the store were much the same as the regular Publix grocery items, but more limited due to the smaller footprint of the store. Many, many times I walked through the deli section hoping to pick up lunch and came out empty-handed.
They also promoted happy hours via email but I went twice and was the only person having a beer in the very nice indoor/outdoor seating area. They just didn’t market that space correctly. They could have promoted it a singles event or something—-after Covid it would have been a welcome way to bring people together. They could have served samples from the deli hot bar. They could have hired workers who didn’t raise their eyebrows and say “REALLY?” when I ordered round two. (I was waiting for other people to show up….I didn’t need all that bratty attitude about it.)
Except blocking that parcel from a competitor (Aldi, Lidl, Sprouts, etc.), I did not understand the purpose of a GreenWise across the street from a large Publix that carried GreenWise-labeled products.
They had better quality products and more organic options, Doug.
Hopefully a WholeFoods will take it place or Trader Joes.