Tuesday, November 21, 2017

LIDL Looking For Lots of Lots in Local Communities

European grocer Lidl appears to be moving forward with at least three Atlanta area stores.  Lidl, pronounced "Leedle," will open new locations in Marietta (Austell), Mableton and Snellville next year, according to planning documents obtained by ToNeTo Atlanta.  All three stores were previously approved by their respective jurisdictions.   
Atlanta area Lidl stores should look like this 
The Marietta (Austell) store,  2651 Powder Springs Road, sits near the corner of Powder Springs Road and the East-West Connector.  Across the street from the planned Lidl store, also on Powder Springs Road, a former "Greenhouse" Kroger store is today occupied by a Goodwill, while a former Ingles Market, also on Powder Springs Road, was demolished years ago and today its vast lot is empty.  

In Mableton, Lidl plans to build at 4730 Floyd Roadnear the northwest corner of Floyd Road and White Boulevard.  The grocer was previously successful in having the 7.8 acre residential property rezoned for their commercial use.  The Mableton Lidl site is across the street from Floyd Middle School and just north of Mableton Crossing, anchored by Kroger, and Mableton Walk, anchored by Publix.  

Both the Marietta (Austell) and Mableton Lidl stores are located in Cobb county and both will be built on largely vacant lots.  

Lidl's Snellville store is planned for 3821 Stone Mountain Highway (U.S. 78) in Gwinnett county.  The grocery store would replace what was previously "Superior Motors," a pre-owned car dealership.  This past May, Kroger closed their store at Mountain View Village shopping center, also on U.S. 78, about a half mile from the Lidl site.  

Lidl's real estate verbiage on its website indicates that the grocer's ideal sites are a "minimum 3.5 acres [able to] to accommodate a 36,000 sq. ft. stand-alone store with minimum 150 dedicated car parking spaces." 

Planning documents indicate that all three of the aforementioned stores will be about 36,000 square feet. 

Lidl's first U.S. stores opened June 15th, and others have opened in small groups in the months since.  Thus far, the grocer's lone Georgia store which opened in September, is in Augusta at 1096 Alexander Drive, across from recently rebuilt Kroger.

Of the grocer's 45 stores open in the United States, all are on the east coast, with most in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, with single stores in New Jersey and Delaware.  

Lidl previously announced plans to open at least 50 locations in Georgia by 2018.  

While documents filed with at least one city in advance of getting their local stores approved indicated that the grocer planned to operate from 6 a.m. until midnight seven days a week, those plans seem to have changed.  Hours at the 45 stores the grocer has already opened domestically are 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week.

Lidl has either expressed interest in and or been involved in permitting proceedings in a number of other communities around metro Atlanta.  

In northeast Cobb, for instance, a potential third store in the county had been proposed to replace the Park 12 Cobb movie theater at 2925 Gordy Parkway near Shallowford Road in northeast Cobb.  With strong neighborhood opposition to the store and the traffic they said would it would create, the proposal was ultimately denied by the commission this past September.  A lawsuit by Lidl against Cobb commissioners and the county filed October 18 in Cobb County Superior Court alleges that commissioners’ decision against the company’s site plan was unconstitutional, as the proposed grocery store on the theater site would have been a permitted use on the commercial property and met all zoning criteria. It's not clear what the current status of the suit is, but local sources say they are prepared to fight it again if needed.  

Lidl has also been linked to potential stores in Grovetown (near Augusta), Newnan, Chamblee, Rome, Woodstock and east Coweta county, among others.  Stores planned for Canton and Gainesville were reportedly abandoned after the grocer's plans were not approved by their respective  planning departments.   

Two other Lidl stores, planned for City Center Crossing and North River shopping center, both on Roswell Road in Sandy Springs, were also withdrawn from consideration following significant community and city backlash.


 On its website, Atlanta-based Riverwood Properties shows a roughly 36,000 square foot Lidl as the anchor for its property Town Center at Celebration Village.  The property is located  on Peachtree Parkway just south of Mathis Airport Parkway in Forsyth County, in Suwanee.  


Another Lidl which local sources indicate is "close to reality" would be located at 3520 Sugarloaf Parkway near its intersection with Five Forks Trickum Road in Lawrenceville. The land on which the store would be built is already appropriately zoned, unlike the Snellville site which had to be rezoned for Lidl.  Both sites are in Gwinnett county.   

With U.S. headquarters in Arlington, Virginia and plans for a regional headquarters and distribution center in Cartersville, Lidl is setting the stage for what could be a significant presence in metro Atlanta.  

Have you been to a U.S. Lidl store? Do you think Lidl will find success in metro Atlanta and in the U.S. as a whole?  Where do you do the majority of your grocery shopping?

Please share your thoughts below

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have not been to a Lidl yet but know that they are nearly impossible to work with and demand the moon and stars. From what I have heard, their openings have been less than stellar and they are already pulling back on their grand plans to take over the US grocery market. They have lots of turnover in their real estate department too.

Anonymous said...

Shopped at Lidl when I was living in Italy. If you like Aldi's you'll like Lidl. Same idea.

Anonymous said...

Just went to a Lidl in Raleigh, NC. Definitely better than Aldi’s. I was impressed by the mix of no name and name brands as well as a full bakery and alcohol options.

Anonymous said...

Ditto to previous comments. Asked friends & family in NC their thoughts on Lidl and were not impressed. Their planned ATL locations are not convenient enough for me to even want to give them a try based on what I have heard so far.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/lidl-stores-gain-little-traction-so-far-in-u-s-1507460402

Anonymous said...

I'm excited about Lidl! Hope the open in East Cobb or close.

dal787 said...

I've been to locations in Stuttgart and Augusta. It's an upgrade to Aldi. Much larger stores that also include a bakery. Will be nice to have them actually in the city. It's small enough to be near Underground.

Anonymous said...

Well they had better hope that they start to gain in popularity. So far they’re struggling to gain a foot hold here but the one thing going for them is money to help in building the U.S Business. They’re basically a step up from Aldi but can’t hold a candle to the big boys like Publix and Kroger.

Anonymous said...

If they are struggling just out of the entry gate in a more sophisticated market like Raleigh NC then bets are they are going to back off on their aggressive plans - even if money might be cheap here in the US to build. Personally I don't care for Aldi, so even if they are a few steps above them that still does not give me enough incentive to give them a chance. ATL needs the likes of a Wegman's to push Kroger and Publix to do better. Sorry but Lidl only cuts into the Aldi niche of the grocery market.

Anonymous said...

https://www.retaildetail.eu/en/news/food/lidls-american-conquest-sluggish

Lidl US performance "frighteningly weak"

BTW the exterior stock photo makes a much grander appearance than the actual store

Anonymous said...

I wish Harris Teeter would come back to Atlanta but since Kroger owns them now I'm sure that won't happen. Damn you Kroger! Nasty stores! Wegman's is nice and would be a nice addition to the area. Love Publix but they could do better. Trader Joe's = Love. Sprouts is good. Whole foods = expensive = broke. I'd give Lidl a try ... Hope they are good.

Jeanne Cullen said...

We cannot wait! Loved in Europe when we lived there
Aldi will suffer when we have Lidl just down the street! Hurry up Sugarloaf store!!!

Jeanne Cullen said...

Cannot wait! Loved shopping there in Ireland.

Unknown said...

Lidl is the competition to Aldi. The Lidl stores seem to be bigger and nicer than in Germany. People who generally shop at Wholefoods, are not the customers you see at Lidl or Aldi. I do know someone who won't set foot into Aldi, but has her relative shop for her their specials. I for one have been waiting for a Lidl. My shopping will be done in both of those stores, groceries in this area are way too expensive, over priced.

Anonymous said...

I'm super excited that Lidl is coming to Atlanta. I love their selection and prices. Have been missing this store, since I left va and I'm sure it's going to do great here in Mableton and marietta. Come on LIDL

Anonymous said...

And Walmart. It has brought prices down like the basics..milk eggs etc...here in Raleigh we have an Aldi that sits in a Walmart plaza so to speak and they weren't able to drive Walmart prices down. But now with option of Lidl Aldi and Walmart. Walmart has now maintained their milk at $1.55 gal consistently for example..they can't compete with eggs at 95cents a doz...
But Lidl impressed with more organic products out the gate, whereas Aldi is doing a slow changeover...fresh baked breads and commercial slicer..
A cashier told me during orientation they learned that Lidl gets farm fresh products from local farmers. So they support NC farmers, have negotiated exclusively with them or portion. I would assume they would do the same for GA farmers and keep prices low. I like Lidl.

Unknown said...

Looking forward to Lidl in Lawrenceville. Shop at one of their stores in SC. I like the choices and prices!

Anonymous said...

I can't wait that Lidl will move to Atlanta, I do know Lidl from Europe , it's amazing !

Anonymous said...

We are Europeans and really like Lidl stores there. Hoping for one open in Lawreceville soon.

Anonymous said...

I can't wait!! - Hope that McDonough will get a store soon, but plan to drive to Snellville to shop there. I fell in love with Lidl my sister took me to none of the store in VA. So much better than Aldi!

Virginia said...

I think Lidl has decided not to build in Lawrenceville. Property where they were to build is now being rezoned for warehouses and office.

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