Azalea Fresh Market, the city-backed grocery store that opened in downtown Atlanta as the neighborhood’s first full-service grocer in nearly two decades, is building a second location at Campbellton Plaza on Campbellton Road in Southwest Atlanta, with a 16,000-square-foot store expected to open in fall 2026.
Key Takeaways
- The second Azalea Fresh Market is under construction at Campbellton Plaza in Southwest Atlanta, just west of Fort McPherson, in a community that has faced longstanding barriers to fresh food access.
- The new store is 16,000 square feet and was 30% complete as of June 2026, with interior concrete slab and underground utilities finished and framing, loading dock updates, and facade renovations underway.
- Invest Atlanta projects the Campbellton Road location will serve more than 1,700 residents per month and generate $2 million in annual economic impact.
- The downtown location has surpassed 150,000 customers since opening in late August 2025, establishing proof of concept for the municipal grocery model.
- Funding includes $6 million in Campbellton Tax Allocation District grants administered through Invest Atlanta.
- The model has drawn national attention, including from New York City, where Mayor Zohran Mamdani campaigned on city-owned grocery stores and contacted Atlanta officials about the approach.
The Downtown Location Established Proof of Concept in Less Than a Year
When Azalea Fresh Market opened in the historic Olympia Building in downtown Atlanta in late August 2025, the store filled a gap that had persisted since 2005. For nearly 20 years, downtown Atlanta residents had no full-service grocery store within walking distance. The area was classified as a food desert by city officials, with residents relying on smaller markets, convenience stores, or long trips to buy fresh produce, dairy, and meat.
The store’s performance since opening has removed much of the uncertainty that surrounded the municipal grocery model when the City of Atlanta and Invest Atlanta first proposed it. More than 150,000 customers have visited the downtown location, a throughput rate that exceeds the 5,500 monthly visitors city officials initially projected. Azalea Fresh Market founder and CEO Paul Nair, who also leads Savi Provisions, the private operator running the store under a sublease agreement with Invest Atlanta, said the volume has validated the core thesis: that underserved neighborhoods will support a well-stocked, professionally operated grocery store when one is made available to them.
The downtown store spans two levels inside the Olympia Building at Woodruff Park. The ground floor carries fresh produce, dairy, meats, and pantry staples, with a focus on sourcing from local farmers and Georgia-based suppliers. The upper level features prepared food, hand-rolled sushi from Atlanta’s High Roller Sushi, and an in-store coffee shop operated by Dope Coffee, a locally owned brand. The design and branding were developed collaboratively between Invest Atlanta, the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, Savi Provisions, creative agency Cohere, and more than 60 students from the Savannah College of Art and Design’s Atlanta campus.
The Campbellton Road Store Targets a Corridor with Scarce Fresh Food Options
The second Azalea Fresh Market location is taking shape at 2080 Campbellton Road SW, within the Campbellton Plaza shopping center in Southwest Atlanta. The corridor sits just west of Fort McPherson, in a part of the city where fresh food options have been described by Invest Atlanta as historically limited. The former Super Giant space at the plaza is being converted into the 16,000-square-foot store.
Construction was 30% complete as of June 2026, according to a City of Atlanta press release. Interior concrete slab work and underground utility installation had been finished, with framing, loading dock updates, and facade renovations scheduled for the weeks that followed. The store is on track for a fall 2026 opening.
Invest Atlanta President and CEO Dr. Eloisa Klementich described the Campbellton Road location as more than a retail project. “Campbellton Road is more than a commercial corridor,” Klementich said in a statement. “It’s a vital connection for residents, families, and small businesses. This market is expected to serve more than 1,700 residents each month while generating a projected $2 million in annual economic impact.” The smaller footprint and lower monthly projection compared to the downtown store reflect the different density and traffic patterns of the Southwest Atlanta neighborhood, but the underlying model is the same: public funding builds the infrastructure, a private operator runs the business, and the community gets a grocery store that the private market alone had not delivered.
How the Municipal Grocery Model Works
The structure behind Azalea Fresh Market is distinct from a traditional grocery store opening. The City of Atlanta and Invest Atlanta provide the capital investment, including construction, buildout, and lease support. Savi Provisions operates the store as a private business under a sublease with Invest Atlanta, handling day-to-day management, staffing, inventory, and vendor relationships. The arrangement gives the city control over where grocery access is built without requiring the city to operate a retail business directly.
The initial funding package for the two-store initiative totaled $8.1 million, approved by the Invest Atlanta Board under Mayor Andre Dickens’s administration. The Campbellton Road store specifically draws on $6 million in Campbellton Tax Allocation District grants, a public financing mechanism that reinvests property tax revenue generated within a designated district back into development projects serving that district.
IGA, the international grocery alliance, has provided developmental and operational support for the Azalea Fresh Market brand. IGA CEO John Ross and the organization’s community development team have been involved in helping the stores establish supply chain efficiencies and operational standards that independent grocers in underserved markets typically lack access to without a network partner.
Food Access as Economic Development Strategy
Invest Atlanta has positioned the municipal grocery initiative within a broader four-pillar food access strategy that the agency unveiled in late 2025. The strategy includes attracting major supermarkets and grocery chains to underserved areas, expanding and improving existing corner and neighborhood markets, supporting innovative food access models like Azalea Fresh Market, and driving policy and systems change. The agency set a target of having 85% of Atlanta residents live within a half-mile of fresh, affordable food.
A public-facing Food Access Dashboard, built in partnership with Georgia Institute of Technology, now tracks the city’s progress against that goal. The dashboard gives residents and policymakers a transparent view of where gaps remain and where investment is closing them.
The Azalea Fresh Market model has also generated interest beyond Atlanta. Invest Atlanta officials confirmed that the concept drew attention from New York City, where Mayor Zohran Mamdani ran on a platform that included city-owned grocery stores as a strategy for keeping food prices down in underserved neighborhoods. Klementich called the downtown store the most popular story Invest Atlanta has ever released, a signal that the model is being watched by other municipalities weighing similar interventions in food access.
What the Campbellton Road Opening Will Test
The fall 2026 opening of the Campbellton Road location will test whether the Azalea Fresh Market model works outside the specific conditions of downtown Atlanta. The downtown store benefits from foot traffic generated by Woodruff Park, Georgia State University, and the concentration of office and residential development in the urban core. Campbellton Road has different dynamics: a lower-density residential area, car-dependent access patterns, and a commercial corridor that has seen uneven investment over the past decade.
If the Campbellton Road store meets its projected 1,700 monthly customers and $2 million annual economic impact, the model becomes more than a single-location success story. Invest Atlanta has indicated plans to continue expanding the Azalea Fresh Market footprint, and the agency has discussed consolidating distribution centers across locations to lower transportation costs and keep store prices competitive. The second store is the test case for whether that expansion plan holds up.
FAQs
Where Is the Second Azalea Fresh Market Located?
The second location is under construction at Campbellton Plaza, 2080 Campbellton Road SW in Southwest Atlanta, just west of Fort McPherson. The 16,000-square-foot store is expected to open in fall 2026.
Who Operates Azalea Fresh Market?
Savi Provisions operates both Azalea Fresh Market locations under a sublease agreement with Invest Atlanta. The City of Atlanta and Invest Atlanta fund the capital investment and buildout, while Savi Provisions handles day-to-day retail operations, staffing, and inventory.
How Is the Store Funded?
The two-store initiative received $8.1 million in funding approved by the Invest Atlanta Board. The Campbellton Road location draws specifically on $6 million in Campbellton Tax Allocation District grants, which reinvest local property tax revenue into development projects within the designated district.
How Many Customers Has the Downtown Location Served?
The downtown Azalea Fresh Market in the Olympia Building surpassed 150,000 customers within its first year of operation, exceeding the city’s initial projection of 5,500 visitors per month. The store carries fresh produce, dairy, meats, prepared food, and locally sourced products across two levels.
