[EXCLUSIVE] New Grocery Lease Has Been Signed at Interlock

It's been more than six months since our report on the uncertainty of a previously planned Publix at Phase 2 of The Interlock in West Midtown.  Several sources with knowledge of the situation now tell ToNeTo Atlanta that a lease was recently executed with Lidl, one of the two grocers we named in our report as likely contenders.  

Lidl - rhymes with needle - is a German-based discount grocer similar to Aldi.  The company opened its first Georgia store in late 2017 in Augusta and entered the Atlanta market in 2018.  In the years since, the grocer has grown to 17 stores in the state.  The company previously closed locations in Dunwoody (February 2023) and Sandy Springs (July 2022) but has several more stores in the pipeline.

Although not the previously announced Publix and not a "typical" grocer, the planned arrival of Lidl in the burgeoning Westside should nonetheless be welcome news to nearby families and students at Georgia Tech who are currently without a discount grocer of any kind.

Lidl will be joined in the project by several restaurants including FIVE GUYS, Kura Sushi, Wagyu House, a new-to-market hot pot eatery, Starbucks, and Pinky Promise champagne bar, as well as GoodVets, Salon Lofts, and City Nail Bar, among other tenants.  

In addition to the Interlock store, Lidl is planning to open several other new locations in the greater metro Atlanta area in the years to come including those planned for Cumming, Woodstock, Marietta, 270 Ponce de Leon Avenue near Ponce City Market, and Norcross, among others.      

The company in 2022 "went vertical" on their roughly 900,000 square foot, $100 million distribution center in Covington.  The project, first announced in 2017, was originally to be constructed in Cartersville, but was switched to Covington in early 2020.  No doubt delayed by supply chain issues, the project was as of last summer on track to open in late 2023 or early 2024, but its opening has been delayed again and it's not totally clear when it will open.  

All of the aforementioned openings, save for Interlock, are for stores where Lidl purchased the property and therefore controls to a large degree when they will open.  The delayed opening of the distribution center is having ripple effects on store openings, but will reportedly not impact the Interlock opening, as Lidl's lease likely included stipulations mandating how long the grocer has to open.  

Representatives from both Lidl and SJC Ventures indicated they had no comment on the status of a potential lease at the project.  Real estate sources tell ToNeTo Atlanta that the new Interlock Lidl should open in late 2024 or early 2025.  

Are you pleased to hear that Lidl is coming to Phase 2 of The Interlock? Have you ever been to a Lidl?  What is your favorite grocer?  

Please share your thoughts below.