Second Atlanta Supermarket For Underserved Residents Proposed

Atlanta’s continuing efforts to seed fresh grocery stores in city food deserts may soon take root in a second location.

Savi Provisions has applied with the city of Atlanta to add an Azalea Fresh Market store at 2080 Campbellton Road inside a former Super Giant grocery store in the Campbellton Plaza shopping center just west of the Fort McPherson redevelopment site. 

The project is a $1.2M build-out of nearly 17,500 SF of retail space, according to the application.

This would be the second municipal grocery store to come from a partnership between the city, Invest Atlanta, boutique grocer Savi Provisions and the Independent Grocers Alliance. The partnership was formed to develop grocery stores in neighborhoods where residents otherwise would lack options to buy fresh food. 

Savi Provisions seeks to build out the interior of the grocery store, which has been vacant since late 2024. The plans include a kitchen space and a coffee shop, according to the permit filed by Savi Provisions Chief Operating Officer Mike Fogarty.

The first Azalea Fresh Market location, at the Olympia Building at 25 Peachtree St. in Five Points, opened in September, serving more than 700 customers on its first day.

Mayor Andre Dickens announced the program with Savi Provisions in December 2024. Invest Atlanta approved $8.1M in grants, low-interest loans and other funding to facilitate the development of both stores. 

The 25 Peachtree location was arranged through a sublease with an existing tenant, Rough Draft Atlanta previously reported. The Campbellton Road location is under a sublease agreement with Invest Atlanta.

Savi Provisions is fully self-operated, and there is no revenue sharing with the city or other entities, Fogarty said.

“We’re a private business incentivized to operate a private business at these two locations,” Fogarty said. “It’s up to us, frankly, to make it work or not. It’s a high-risk endeavor.”

The Campbellton Road location is 3.5 miles east of a Kroger shopping center and a mile and a half north of a Wayfield Foods, both on Headland Drive. 

The Azalea Fresh Market in Five Points offers fresh produce, dairy, meats and pantry staples from local farmers and suppliers. The store also has prepared foods, including sushi, and a coffee shop.

The 25 Peachtree St. location has its challenges, including a lack of dedicated parking, but the store has experienced steady customer and sales growth since opening, Fogarty said. 

Walgreens shuttered a store at the same location last year, leading to outcry from local residents, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. 

Theft was an issue at the Walgreens location and has also been an issue at Azalea. The store has full-time security in the store, Fogarty said. 

“We do have a pretty good grasp on it. It’s in line with what we projected,” Fogarty said. “It isn’t overburdening the operation as of yet.”

Atlanta-based Savi Provisions was founded by CEO Paul Nair in 2009 as a gourmet boutique grocery chain. The grocer now has 20 stores across the Southeast, including at Star Metals District, The Battery Atlanta in Cobb County and Inman Park. 

A Savi Provisions location closed at the AMLI Lenox apartment complex off Lakeside Drive in Buckhead, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported late last month. Savi Provisions also backed out of plans in May to open a location atop a city-owned parking deck near Zoo Atlanta in Grant Park, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. 

Despite the closures, Fogarty said Savi Provisions plans to grow across the Southeast, but cautiously. The low-margin food industry is particularly sensitive to inflationary pressures, he said.

“I think we feel there is a path forward. We just have to be very careful about the site selection and some of the forces we face,” Fogarty said. 

He said the company hasn’t yet firmed up an opening date for the second Azalea location.