Publix GreenWise Market

Top East Cobb stories for 2018: Comings and goings in restaurants, businesses and development

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top East Cobb stories for 2018, Sprayberry Crossing
Citizens living near the Sprayberry Crossing Shopping Center demanded county officials do something about the property that has been blighted for years. (ECN file)

We’re starting off our compilation of top East Cobb stories for 2018 with a rundown of what opened and closed in the community this year, especially restaurants, other notable businesses and zoning and development matters.

These are based on reader trends as well as newsworthiness. As you can see, this was quite the year in East Cobb for these subjects, especially restaurants and some major zoning cases that could establish changing development trends.

Two major redevelopment projects in the Powers Ferry Road corridor were approved this year, and they’re slated to transform an area that’s being revived due in part to its proximity to SunTrust Park and The Battery Atlanta.

Those projects weren’t without their critics, concerned about high density and traffic that’s a growing issue elsewhere in East Cobb and beyond.

Citizens fed up with years of inaction over the run-down Sprayberry Crossing Shopping Center organized a community meeting that drew many county officials, but nothing has happened despite a court order.

Zoning and development

Ming's Asian Kitchen Opens, East Cobb restaurants
Ming’s Asian Kitchen, at Lower Roswell and Woodlawn, was among the newcomers to the East Cobb dining scene in 2018. (ECN file)

Restaurant news

Burger's Market closing
Vine-ripe tomatoes are among the popular produce items that have drawn customers to Burger’s Market since the 1970s. (ECN file)

Other business news

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Update: Publix Greenwise Market confirms East Cobb location

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After word got out in June about East Cobb being Publix GreenWise Market’s choice for its first Georgia location, the grocery chain has made it official. Publix GreenWise Market

The planned mixed-use center on the site of the former Mountain View Elementary School will be anchored by a 25,000-square foot GreenWise Market, which features organic and natural groceries and products.

It’s considered a competitor to Whole Foods and Sprouts, which have East Cobb locations in the Roswell-Johnson Ferry corridor.

The East Cobb store will be part of the first slate of GreenWise Market locations opening soon in the Southeast.

The first is coming next month in Tallahassee, with stores in the works and planned to open next year in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., Lakeland, Fla. (where Publix is based) and Boca Raton.

Publix isn’t saying for now when the East Cobb store is opening, but it also could be sometime in 2019.

All that Publix Senior Vice President of Retail Operations Kevin Murphy said in today’s announcement is that “we admire the diverse cultural landscape and deep history of the Atlanta area. We look forward to creating a unique experience for our Atlanta-area customers.”

The new 100,000-square-foot project at Sandy Plains Road and Shallowford Road, which hasn’t been named, is being developed by Fuqua Development of Atlanta, which is the developer of The Battery Atlanta and the Kennesaw Marketplace, which includes a Whole Foods store.

Other plans for Fuqua’s East Cobb complex on the former school site include restaurants, retail shops, a bank and a self-storage facility.

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Publix GreenWise Market to make Georgia debut in East Cobb

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Publix GreenWise Market

The first tenant in a new shopping center on the site of the former Mountain View Elementary School will be the first location in Georgia for the Publix GreenWise Market concept.

The Atlanta Business Chronicle reported that the store will have 25,000 square feet as the anchor of a 103,000-square foot development on 14 acres on Sandy Plains Road at Shallowford Road.

The still-to-be-named complex is being developed by East Cobb-based Brooks Chadwick Capital and Fuqua Development and will include “chef-driven” restaurants, retail and service shops and a self-storage facility.

Rezoning for the complex was approved by Cobb commissioners last fall, and they signed off on the self-storage building this spring despite complaints from nearby residents.

According to a report in ToNeTo Atlanta, which covers the metro retailing scene, Publix is rolling out its GreenWise Market organic foods concept in other Southern markets. They include Tallahassee, Boca Raton and the Charleston, S.C. area.

The East Cobb store will be right down the street from a Publix supermarket at the Highland Plaza Shopping Center. The ABC quoted an Atlanta real estate observer that:

“The target market for GreenWise is those areas that have a strong Publix presence already. GreenWise could function as a complementary destination for a core Publix location, helping to spread out customer density in their busiest markets.” 

GreenWise is eyeing a competitive East Cobb organic grocery market, with Whole Foods and Sprouts nearby, in the Johnson Ferry-Roswell area.

The Shallowford-Sandy Plains area also was a target of Lidl, a German-based supermarket chain, which wanted to locate a store on the site of the Park 12 Cobb movie theater on Gordy Parkway. But its zoning application was rejected by commissioners last fall following intense community opposition.

ToNeTo said the East Cobb Public GreenWise Market could open by next summer.

 

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Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!