[EXCLUSIVE] Former Kennesaw Sears Sold to Surprising Local Store

Cobb County property records confirm that the former Sears at Town Center at Cobb (400 Ernest W. Barrett Parkway) has been sold.  The two-level store measures about 171,000 square feet across two levels and sits on about thirteen acres.  Sears occupied the space from February 1986 until its closure in August 2020.  

Namdaemun gate in South Korea 

Transformco, the company formed in January 2019 to buy the remaining assets of bankrupt retailer Sears Holdings Corp, sold the property March 4th, for $9 million, according to Cobb County records.  The new owner, "Ernest West Village LLC" has the same address as Norcross-based international grocer Nam Dae Mun Farmers Market.  

Established in Duluth in 2005, Nam Dae Mun has become an "ethnic [food] powerhouse" and today operates a total of eight farmers markets across the greater metro Atlanta area including two stores in Smyrna. 

According to the company's website, the market is named after the Namdaemun Market adjacent to the Namdaemun Gate in Seoul, South Korea.  

It's unlikely the grocer could make use of the entire former Sears: instead, it may plan to occupy a portion of the space and sublease the remaining space, or it could opt to redevelop the property and build a new store from scratch, something it has not done in the past.  

The LLC's name "Ernest West Village" suggests that they could be looking to complete a mini mixed-use development of some kind. If that's the case, they would likely need to negotiate a Reciprocal Easement Agreement (REA) with the mall's owner Kohan Retail Investment Group, and other stakeholders.   

In a mall, an REA is a contract between two or more parties, typically a developer and anchor tenants, that governs the development (or redevelopment) and operation of the mall, ensuring shared access to parking and adherence to policies for a cohesive project appearance.  

Kohan Retail Investment Group, which purchased the mall in 2023, saw Georgia Power cut power to the mall in late January over a significant unpaid bill and avoided foreclosure earlier this month when it settled $1 million in outstanding property tax bills with Cobb County.  

Following a rash of closures and consolidations including the February closure of Belk , Town Center is anchored by a JCPenney store and two Macy's stores: one clothing, the other a "furniture gallery."      

Nam Dae Mun is not new to backfilling former retail tenant spaces.  

Three of the company's existing locations occupy former Publix stores, including those on South Cobb Drive in Smyrna, Memorial Drive in Stone Mountain, and on South Norcross Tucker Road in Norcross.  The Morrow store, one of the company's largest, occupies a former Target, and measures about 100,000 square feet.    

The original Nam Dae Mun - 3825 Shackleford Road, just off I-85 in Duluth - occupies a roughly 82,000 square foot building built in 1991 for the short-lived grocer "Fresh Festival."  

2025 marks Nam Dae Mun's 20th anniversary, with the company planning a celebratory party at the Duluth store on Sunday, May 25th.  

Have you been to Nam Dae Mun?  Are you excited by the prospect of the store opening in Kennesaw?  What is your favorite local "farmers market?" 

Please share your thoughts below.