Thursday, January 26, 2023

[OPENING ALERT] Indian Grocer to Make Highly Anticipated Debut

Patel Brothers, an Indian oriented grocery store and market, will celebrate the grand opening of its third Atlanta area location today, January 26, in Kennsaw.  ToNeTo Atlanta exclusively reported on the planned opening more than a year ago at which time the store was expected to open this past fall.  It's unclear what led to the delay but based on questions and comments we've fielded from readers, it's clear that the community is eager for the store to open.

The new store, which is not far from Town Center at Cobb in Kennesaw, is located in a large building that was years ago home to Rec Warehouse, a retailer of pools and billiards.  The building (2646 George Busbee Parkway) is about 22,000 square feet and was as of 2019 slated to become a new location of locally owned Souq International Markets, a Middle East-focused grocer, but those plans never came to fruition.     

Promotional materials distributed promoting the Kennesaw opening indicate the company plans to also open new stores in Flowery Branch/Buford and Douglasville later this year.  

Hanover Park, Illinois-based Patel Brothers currently operates 54 stores throughout 19 states including the company's original Atlanta area store on Church Street in Decatur.  The center in which the Decatur store is located in a former Kroger is named for it: Patel Plaza.  The company opened a second area store in Suwanee in 2019, where it occupies a 35,000 square foot space in a then newly constructed center just off Peachtree Parkway in south Forsyth County.     

Patel Brothers started in 1974 as a small 800 square foot neighborhood shop in Chicago opened by two brothers, Mafat and Tulsi Patel.  At the time, the Patels were recent immigrants from India, and had trouble finding the ingredients they craved from back home. Their shop sold the kinds of items you couldn’t get at your average grocery store like fresh spices, lentils, and chickpea flour — all imported from India.  Today, Patel Brothers sells anything from fresh-made roti (an Indian flat bread) to assorted produce, meats and packaged goods.    

While Kroger, Publix, Walmart and Whole Foods Market fight each other for business, Patel Brothers, Nam Dae Mun, H mart, Talpa Supermercados and others have each carved out niches by catering to specific ethnic groups and their preferred foods.    

Have you ever been to Patel Brothers?  Where do you shop for ethnic grocery items?  What is your favorite Indian food?  

Please share your thoughts below.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I have been shopping at the Patel Brothers Decatur store for years. If you haven't been, go! They have wonderful foods you can't find elsewhere. The stores are especially great for vegetarians.

Anonymous said...

Do we know where in Flowery Branch/ Buford is the Patel brothers expected to open?

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