What was announced earlier this year has become official: The Harry’s Marietta store is closing, and its last day of business is Wednesday, Oct. 4.
That’s because Whole Foods, which acquired Harrys in 2001 but allowed the farmers market concept to retain its name, is opening a new store in Kennesaw. That location opens on Friday, Oct. 6.
Harry’s was once the anchor of a shopping center at 70 Powers Ferry Road, at the intersection of Roswell Road, that opened in the 1990s, featuring Builders Square and Sports Authority stores and a Revco/CVS drug store. But after those businesses closed, Harry’s became the lone occupant of what was later named Harry’s Plaza.
Harry’s downsized its original space in Marietta following the opening of the East Cobb Whole Foods store at Merchants Walk in 2012.
Plans for the Harry’s relocation were in the works for months before Whole Foods recently became a wholly owned subsidiary of Amazon. The Studio Movie Grill, a Dallas-based company that operates big-screen cinemas with beer and restaurant fare, announced in January it would be redeveloping Harry’s Plaza.
Construction of the Studio Movie Grill is underway in the former Sports Authority spot, with a November opening tentatively scheduled.
Harry’s Plaza is in the vicinity of a larger, more gradual redevelopment of the Roswell Road corridor along Interstate 75. On the other side of the interstate, a new Waffle House has opened at Frey’s Gin Road and older commercial buildings in that area have been torn down.
All of this redevelopment is within the confines of the city of Marietta, which has been aiming to to revitalize certain portions of its eastern edge.