Invest Atlanta approved $8.1 million in funds to help Savi Provisions open two new shops in the city’s food deserts at a Dec. 19 board meeting.
The stores are part of a citywide effort to create accessible, affordable food in Atlanta — particularly in neighborhoods lacking nearby fresh food access. The provision shops will open in downtown Atlanta at a not-yet-determined location and at 2080 Campbellton Road.
Savi Provisions founder and chief executive officer Paul Nair said the company aims to open both locations by March 2025, though no formal date has been set. The locations will join 24 Savi Provisions storefronts across Atlanta and North Carolina.
The local franchise is best known for its gourmet markets with luxury groceries, which began in Inman Park in 2008. But Nair said the new stores are his way of “giving back” to underserved communities and will focus on feeding families at wallet-friendly rates.
“I can’t say this is a nonprofit, but we’re not looking at profitability,” Nair said.
They will run at about a two percent margin, meaning the corporation will take only a fraction of the profits. Both locations will also be run by corporate instead of being sold as franchises.
Low margins will keep the food affordable. Nair said the store prices would match Kroger’s and would cost less than Publix’s. The selection will also be tailored to community needs, with a focus on fresh produce and meats from local farms.
But why Savi Provisions and not a national chain? Economic Development Assistant Director Laurie Prickett said it’s been a years-long and unsuccessful effort to get major chains into underserved neighborhoods. The city has offered incentives but is told repeatedly “we can’t turn a profit.”
“We said that’s not good enough; the people of these neighborhoods cannot wait for what might be,” Prickett said.
The city instead opted to look for a municipal grocery store that could match the lower volume of a local shop and stay open long-term. Savi Provisions will also hire from within the neighborhood to generate jobs and train workers.
“We’ll be so proud of the store,” Independent Grocers Alliance CEO John Ross said. “It’ll be a model not just for how to do it in the city, but we can do three or four more of these that are modeled for other cities.”
Savi Provisions partnered with the Savannah College of Art and Design to work on the building concepts while keeping “an Atlanta feel.” Atlanta Mayor and Invest Atlanta Board Chair Andre Dickens said it’s all about making the business reflect the community.
“We want you to be successful so that these things can stay in our community,” Dickens said.
The new stores are part of ongoing city initiatives to promote food accessibility. In October, Atlanta officials approved $500,000 in grants for a new community food center and a $750,000 grant to redevelop the historic Yellow Store in the English Avenue community into a grocery store. The city also put aside $775,000 to remodel the Sweet Auburn Municipal Market and $300,000 for a grocery store in Edgewood.
In total, the city has spent millions of dollars on increasing food accessibility in Atlanta by the end of 2025. Mayor Dickens said they’re not done, though.
“We know they need customers, so when you’re in the area, order from them,” Dicken said. “Go there and build a relationship with these people so that we can keep them in business, so that they thrive.”
$8.5 million is a ton of money for only building 2 stores..and it’s still going to keep prices high enough to make 2% which is not a bad margin in the grocery store business. Seems very fishy to me…
Invest Atlanta has been known for some time for fishy expenditure$ for things that sound like good causes . Like Piedmont Park / Botanical Garden / Beltline public property “swaps” . Poof . maybe it’s Grand Jury peek a boo time
2080 Campbellton Rd. is the location of the long established Campbellton Plaza shopping center. Recently there was a grocery here called “Super Giant Foods”.
Guess it must have closed. Perhaps if it had received millions of dollars in philanthropic funding it could have made a go of it.
Not sure how “wallet friendly” a chain known for ‘gourmet markets’ and ‘luxury groceries’ will be…guess it remains to be seen.
By the way…there is a large Wayfields grocery about a mile south of this location in the Headland -Delowe shopping center situated on a Marta bus route .
(route 81)
And not too much further to the west is a large Kroger across from Greenbrier Mall. (Marta buses run this distance several times each day.)
Over the years I have frequently patronized both of these grocery stores. But I had to make the effort to get to them.
Wayfield has a Whole Food type store in College Park near Virginia Ave called Fresh Market (or something close to that). Located on Main Street