Wednesday, October 16, 2019

[EXCLUSIVE] Lidl Planning Stores in Brookhaven, Dunwoody, Peachtree Corners and East Cobb

German discount grocer Lidl is ramping up its delayed metro Atlanta expansion with plans for several new stores.  Renovation plans reviewed by ToNeTo Atlanta indicate that Lidl plans to open new stores in Brookhaven, Dunwoody and Peachtree Corners next year.  The stores, located at 2480 Briarcliff Road, 2480 Mount Vernon Road and  5270 Peachtree Parkway, would all open in place of former grocery stores.  
The former Earth Fare in Peachtree Corners 


In Brookhaven, Lidl plans to open in the onetime Loehmann's turned The Fresh Market, in Dunwoody, Lidl plans to open in a onetime Harris Teeter turned Sprouts Farmers Market while in Peachtree Corners they plan to open in the Bruno's turned Earth Fare.

The Fresh Market closed their store at Brighten Park last summer after about three years in business.  The company at the same time closed a store on Scenic Highway in Snellville which is reportedly still available.  The Brighten Park store is just under 25,000 square feet, according to a siteplan from property owner Regency Centers.  

Earth Fare closed their Peachtree Corners store [as well as their Emory Point location] last March after less than three years in business.  Sprouts Farmers Market closed its Dunwoody store this past December after about four and a half years in business.  Kroger, which purchased several Harris Teeter stores in Atlanta when the grocer exited the market in 2001, previously controlled the lease at Mount Vernon but no longer does.

The Dunwoody store, listed on the Mount Vernon shopping center's website as being just under 37,000 square feet, is actually closer to 34,000 square feet, due to a 2018 sublease to pet food store Hollywood Feed.  
The former Sprouts Farmers Market in Dunwoody
The Peachtree Corners store is considerably smaller, a mere 23,500 square feet, according to marketing materials from SRS Real Estate Partners who was handling the marketing of the space on behalf of Earth Fare.



ToNeTo Atlanta first reported August 2 that Emory University has leased the former Earth Fare at Emory Point for a new "Innovation Hub," the exact features of which the university has yet to announce.  
The Fresh Market at Brighten Park as it was open 
Lidl, which originally had strict plans to build freestanding, 36,000 square foot stores, has adopted a new, more nimble strategy in recent months .  The grocer seems far more willing now to adapt to available real estate and take on existing spaces in markets it wishes to penetrate.

Interestingly, Lidl rival Aldi had several years ago expressed interest in the now former Earth Fare space but backed out over "demographic concerns."  That said, Aldi did eventually open a store in the area in early 2017, when it took a roughly 17,400 square foot space in Peachtree Corners Marketplace on Peachtree Parkway, about two miles away.  Earlier this May, Aldi also closed a store on Jimmy Carter Boulevard in Norcross, their first closure in the state.  

Aldi, which entered America in 1976 and Georgia around 2002, currently has more than 50 stores in metro Atlanta and more than 1,600 nationwide.  

The grocer said in 2015 that it planned to have 50 stores open in Georgia by 2018. 

Earlier this year, Lidl opened stores in Snellville,  Marietta/Austell and Mableton, which joined the grocer's original Georgia store in Augusta, which opened in 2017.   After a slower than expected start, however, the company significantly reduced their pipeline, delaying some stores indefinitely and cancelling others entirely. 


In July, the Marietta City Council approved a new Lidl at 670 Whitlock Avenue in Marietta.  The new store, which would replace a vacant onetime A&P store, would also be 29,000 square feet and could open in 2020.   A Lidl store could also come to Duluth as part of Watkins Real Estate Group's planned Marketplace Village project along Peachtree Industrial Boulevard, adjacent to where Fuqua Development built their Sprouts Farmers Market-anchored Sugarloaf Marketplace in 2016.  The size and status of the potential Lidl at the Watkins project is unclear and attempts to get updates from the developer and grocer were unsuccessful.
A new more basic looking Lidl  
ToNeTo Atlanta reported August 7 that previously tabled stores at 3530 Sugarloaf Parkway in Lawrenceville in Gwinnett County and 2985 Peachtree Parkway in Suwanee in Forsyth County are now moving forward, according to local filings.  That said, they are moving forward smaller than originally proposed, with each expected to be about 29,000 square feet, down from the originally proposed 36,000 square feet, the size of other existing stores in Georgia.  Plans for others, including those proposed in Sandy Springs (2) and Rome, have been cancelled altogether. 

In September, ToNeTo Atlanta reported that Lidl is also planning to open a new store in Roswell in place of an aging shopping center on Holcomb Bridge Road.  The center, The Crossings at Roswell, is set on roughly four acres at the intersection of Holcomb Bridge and Old Roswell Roads, and was built in 1984 according to real estate site LoopNet.  Plans call for a complete demolition of the roughly 40,000 square foot center and for the new Lidl to be about 29,000 square feet, according to documents submitted to the City of  Roswell.


ToNeTo Atlanta is constantly in touch with various real estate sources and industry observers.  Rumors of the Brookhaven, Dunwoody and Peachtree Corners Lidl stores were first brought to us early this year but became more serious recently.  That said, one other store mentioned then, and referenced by us here, is also getting closer to fruition.  
Lidl's store on Stone Mountain Highway in Snellville

Multiple well placed sources this week told ToNeTo Atlanta that Lidl is "close" to getting a deal done at the current The Fresh Market in Woodlawn Square shopping center in East Cobb.  The Woodlawn Square space is just shy of 22,000 square feet, making it the smallest store the grocer is pursuing.  


Representatives from , Regency Centers, who own Brighten Park, Branch Properties who own Mount Vernon, SRS Real Estate Partners who are marking the Earth Fare in Peachtree Corners and Retail Planning Corporation, who own Woodlawn Square, all declined comment citing confidentiality and non disclosure agreements.  


Many industry observers fear a potentially imminent bankruptcy filing by The Fresh Market and see the grocer's attempts to assign their leases as a way for the company to reduce its obligations.  A message left with Lidl's local real estate manager went unresponded.  


Have you been to a Lidl store?  Are you excited about the planned openings of so many more Lidl stores?  What is one grocery product that you will drive a little extra to buy?


Please share your thoughts below  

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh cool, my hair salon is downstairs from that former Sprouts, so I could easily go up and check out Lidl after getting my hair done! Not bad at all!

Anonymous said...

This company has no idea what it is doing.
They will become just a failure to launch memory before too long.
Anyone sit around and think "what we really could use is another grocery store option?"

Greenwave said...

This is great news. I was hoping someone would fill the Druid Hills location.

Dunwoody Dad said...

So excited! I went to Lidl in Raleigh, NC, and was impressed by their selection of fresh organic produce, dairy, meats, European cheeses, baked goods, etc... The quality is great, prices are competitive, and you bag your own groceries (which I prefer). The Dunwoody Lidl will siphon a lot of business from the Orchard Park Kroger.

Anonymous said...

I'm still angry at the Sandy Springs City Council for running Lidl off. Lidl wanted to build a store just north of Abernathy on Roswell Road. This store would have been quite successful in this location and Sandy Springs residents have been cheated of a great store with high quality goods at discount prices.

Unknown said...

There is a perfect location in North Sandy Springs off Roswell Rd at Northridge where Kroger closed 3 years ago!

Anonymous said...

If sprouts couldn't make it work in the Dunwoody location, doubt if lidl can. People over there are loyal to that Kroger

Anonymous said...

Yes, actually. You’ll be shocked to hear this but you don’t speak for everyone.

Anonymous said...

Ever since that Northridge Kroger closed, the orchard park location has gotten ‘culturally enriched’ and has declined significantly on many fronts. Makes the most business sense to open any new grocery option in that Northridge location....been closed long enough!

Anonymous said...

Lidl and Aldi are low end and limited in their selection. Earth Fare and Fresh Market are disappearing from the ATL market. Wegman's is entering into NC. NC is home to Earthfare, Fresh Market, Lowes Foods and Harris Tetter. They are even hq to Food Lion. Now they are getting Wegmans!!!! ATL should not expect to see better grocers enter here if we are aren't shopping at better grocers and only patronizing lower end stores. Decent grocers are not interested in ATL.

Geterdone said...

Bring it! Kroger Dunwoody Club is pathetic for sometime now.

Geterdone said...

Bring it. Kroger Dunwoody Club Is pathetic.

Geterdone said...

Dunwoody Kroger is pathetic, bring on Lidl.

Anonymous said...

Bring it. The nearby Kroger stinks.

Anonymous said...

Could you be more negative? You must be from the North!
Can't wait for Lidl! It's an awesome store!

Georgia Peach said...

Orchard Park Kroger is fine but ANY store can do with competition! I've heard from someone who shopped at the Lidl in Augusta that it was a good grocer. I like Aldi well enough! Sprouts not so much. I love Trader Joe's! Atlanta has Publix so we have nothing to complain about.

Anonymous said...

Aldi is a lower end niche store. Lidl is just a newer version of the same. Lidl will end up like Aldi and they will lose worshippers when they start dropping your favorites from their stores. Agree with @ 3:03 as why are better larger grocers not interested in expanding to the ATL market?

Anonymous said...

I CANT WAIT!!! I have been to the one in Greenville and LOVE it. Prices are amazing and quality of food great. Goodbye Orchard Park Kroger...not my favorite store in.

Anonymous said...

I am BEYOND excited about lidl coming down the road from us in Dunwoody! I’m from Germany originally so I’m so excited for some yummy baked goods! Their Fresh roles and pretzels are amazing!! I drive an hour round trip to a lidl in Snellville so I’m happy to have one in walking distance! They should consider opening one on the Eastside in Athens, Ga! Would be a perfect location!

Anonymous said...

So WHEN is the new Lidl in Brighten Park opening?

No one seems to know.

Anonymous said...

Lol i would rather buy 100 percent guaranteed product from lidl than some famous brand with an iffy warranty.

I know i am getting the lowest price. Got nothing to lose!

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