[EXCLUSIVE] Tim Hortons Finds New Home For Next Metro Atlanta Location

A former CVS Pharmacy in Johns Creek is being converted into several new businesses.  The former pharmacy and drugstore, located at 10710 State Bridge Road at East Morton Road, reportedly closed in late 2022 and has been marketed for lease for more than a year.  As many as five new businesses are planned for the former pharmacy with leases already signed with two.

Tim Hortons and Ruby, a new veterinary urgent care business, will occupy about 40 percent of the overall project.  The former pharmacy is today being marketed as the "Shops at State Bridge."    

Tim Hortons, the popular Canadian donut and coffee shop that entered the Atlanta market in 2023, had previously sought to open a new freestanding shop on vacant land near the upcoming cafe, but its proposal was panned by neighbors.  Instead, Tim Hortons will occupy an endcap of the former pharmacy with room for a drive-thru, but one that must be submitted for approval to the City of Johns Creek, according to a source familiar with the process.  

The new Johns Creek location would seem to be larger than the previously proposed 888 square foot drive-thru only unit, but the project's site plan does not specify its size.  Representatives from Reedy River Retail SVN Blackstream, the firm handling leasing of the project, were surprisingly secretive when we sought confirmation of the shop's size.   

Tims currently has Atlanta area locations in Midtown near Georgia Tech and in Columbus.  Other metro locations are planned for Jonesboro, Newnan, and Suwanee, among other areas.  

Ruby, which according to LinkedIn, was founded in Atlanta in 2022, will in Johns Creek be opening their first ever veterinary urgent care facility.  According to Ruby founder and CEO Jason Virdi, Ruby is "Building a future where pet parents have access to on-demand, personalized veterinary care that prioritizes their pets’ health and well-being. We're bridging the gap between primary and specialty/ER care."  

Ruby joins a crowded and growing market in veterinary urgent care with businesses UrgentVet, Veterinary Emergency Group (VEG), Thrive Pet Healthcare, and Blue Pearl Pet Hospital, among others, already operating in metro Atlanta.  

The roughly 10,000 square foot former CVS building, first built in 1998, sits on about 1.8 acres and was acquired in October 2022 by SNS Properties LLC, an affiliate of North Carolina-based SNS Investment Group.  The firm got its start in limited and select service hotel development but has in recent years diversified its portfolio to include other retail and restaurant developments and redevelopments, too.  The firm paid $2.15 million for the Johns Creek property which had just sold in December 2018 for $3.325 million.  

The three suites remaining, totaling roughly 5,900 square feet, include two "inline spaces" as well as one endcap space being marketed as a restaurant.  A source close to the project indicated that a quick-serve chicken wing chain has expressed interest in one of the remaining spaces.   

Given interest rates and elevated construction costs, converting buildings can be an appealing way for developers to make use of existing vacant space.  In addition to the former CVS in Johns Creek, Capital Growth Buchalter, another real estate firm, is marketing a former Walgreens at 6590 Sugarloaf Parkway in Lawrenceville for as many as six separate businesses including a potential endcap drive-thru coffee shop, according to company materials.  

Several other freestanding former pharmacy buildings around metro Atlanta are currently being eyed for renovation and redevelopment.

Are you excited about the planned opening of Tim Hortons in Johns Creek?  Have you been to either of the existing Georgia Tim Hortons?  What else would you like to see open as part of the "Shops at State Bridge"? 

Please share your thoughts below.