The Great Atlanta & Publix Tea Company - Publix #720 - Atlanta, GA

 

 Publix #720 / Former A&P Food Market #008

West Paces Ferry

1250 W Paces Ferry Rd NW

Atlanta, GA 30327

I used to think the only interesting history Publix had was in Florida, but have since discovered a wealth of information about some of the chain's Georgia stores.  For those who don't know, Publix acquired 9 A&P stores (Publix stores #717 - #725) in the Atlanta Metro in 1999 to expand their footprint in the dense city landscape.  While some of these stores, including #720, were remodeled beyond recognition or torn down, there are still others, including Publix #725, which still operate out of an A&P-built store.

Courtesy Newspapers.com - The Atlanta Constitution - October 26, 1978

I've not been able to confirm the exact history of the current store, but A&P originally opened at this location in September 1959.  Due to the time period, I believe it would have been one of their Centennial Stores, some of which can still be found in the wild.  I read online where this store closed in 1999 when A&P formally withdrew from the Atlanta market and was one of the last Centennial Stores in the region to remain an A&P.  The same person also stated that Publix did a complete rebuild of the interior of this store, which would make sense based on how old the original store was.

Courtesy Newspapers.com - How the I-75 & W Paces Ferry intersection has changed over 40 years - June 1, 1998

Historically speaking, A&P built this store adjacent to the northern end of Atlanta's Northwest Expressway (now I-75) which was completed in 1957.  Change would come again when construction crews finished the next segment of interstate to Marietta in 1966, essentially bypassing this intersection for most travelers. Conversely, I guess this location still must do really well for Publix to want to keep it, and all of its quirks, so badly.  After all, West Paces Ferry is known for being one of the most expensive streets to live on in the city, and this store is a mere 2 miles from the Georgia Governor's Mansion.

While searching the newspaper archives, I also found that this A&P was one of the first vendors approved to sell scratch-off tickets for the Georgia Lottery.  In a June 24, 1993, article, a list of approved lottery vendors in the area was printed, preparing readers for where tickets could be purchased the next day (the first day of sales).

Based on my rough estimate, this store is close to 22,000 sq. ft., which makes it the smallest Publix I have been to.  Just for reference, South Beach's Wing Store is just over 23,000 sq. ft. and the new Publix at Perimeter Marketplace (which was built as a GreenWise Market) is just over 25,000 sq. ft.  Meanwhile, most stores Publix builds are approximately 45,000 sq. ft. while the biggest ones I have seen top out at 65,000 sq. ft.  With that bit of background, let's take a look at this odd store.

Foursquare - Publix #721 with CM 1.0

 Thanks to GeorgiaPubDude for sharing this photo with me.

The Store

I originally came to tour this store after seeing every picture on Google Maps depict it with Classy Market 2.5 (Invigorate).  While I was saddened to discover this store had been remodeled to Sienna at the tail end of 2019 (The permit was issued on November 18, 2019), just before Evergreen was rolled out as a remodel package, it was still an interesting layout to look at.

Something I find odd is how the Atlanta Division seemed to do some last-minute Sienna refresh remodels.  So far, I have seen 3 stores get a 2019 Sienna refresh using some non-standard stock photos.  These stores otherwise look the same as any other Sienna store, but it does make me wonder if a longtime employee became sour because some of their favorite stock photos were rejected in favor of the infamous green beans (swapped for celery), artichoke (swapped for oranges), and apple (swapped for a P logo).  With this store being the exception, the other two refreshes I have seen had Classy Market 3.0 for years prior to the 2019 refresh, so I wonder why Publix would bother swapping out some stock photos at the tail end of a decor package.  Regardless, this store had two new stock photos which I had not previously seen anywhere else: fire & ice.  I have since seen those pictures in a handful of late-Sienna stores, but I'd say they are fairly rare.

As you walk inside this store, you immediately find yourself in the produce department (the front door is located below the yellow section of wall).  This is very odd for a Publix, since they tend to put the produce in one of the back corners of their older stores, or at least a little bit further from the door.  I would have to imagine Publix inherited a large portion of A&P's layout, even if they gutted the store.

This shot really shows how crowded the front end of this store was.  Half of the produce department basically blocks the customer service counter.

Another interesting thing I noticed about this store is how it received a unique terrazzo treatment.  I've only seen two-toned terrazzo in Publix stores as new as the 1980's, but this floor would have been installed in 1999 or 2000.

Aisle 1 was home to the deli, bakery, seafood, and wine departments, as typical with Publix's first-gen 28M stores from the same era.

Peeking out from the back of aisle 4, we see the burning charcoal stock photo that I mentioned before.  Since this store was so small, it was hard to get a good view of the whole thing.  It still confuses me how I have only seen this particular graphic in one other store — I guess that means Sienna does have a few rare quirks!

Looking back toward aisle 1, we see the small meat section and a corner of the charcoal picture. 

For how small this store was, it is surprising how much of aisle 6 they dedicated to pet foods and supplies.  Cleaning products took up the front half of the aisle.

Looking toward the back left corner of the store, we see part of the dairy department and the signs for aisles 7 & 8.

The remainder of dairy and frozen foods take up aisle 8.  This is also where we are introduced to two more stock photos.

While I have seen the eggs countless times before, I have only been to one other store where I have seen this ice picture used.   I also find it funny that due to this store's size, half of the ice picture isn't even over the freezers, but instead over the eggs!

Our last perspective is the floral department at the front end of aisle 8.  I'm not sure why they decided to add the curved wall here, but I feel like this store was too small to really appreciate any affects from it other than claustrophobia.  I also feel like flowers are something they could have omitted from this location.  At least Publix didn't try to cram a pharmacy in here too!

Aerial Views

Below, you can get an idea of how constrained Publix was to fit a store into this shopping center.  For reference, the large road on the left edge of the first two pictures is I-75, and the road just to the right of that is US 41 / Northside Parkway.  Just off of the frame to the north marks where the Northwest Express Way ended at US 41 between 1957 and 1966. 

Google Earth - A&P #8 - January 1993

Google Earth - Publix #720 - April 2002

Google Earth - Publix #720 - October 2021

And that will conclude my coverage of an oddly small Publix.  Contrary to my Saturday posts on The Sing Oil Blog, I'll try to schedule my future MFR posts for Wednesdays.  Check back in a couple of weeks to see which store I decide to cover next!  Also, be sure to catch Part II of When Publix Waves Goodbye this Saturday on The Sing Oil Blog.

- The Sing Oil Blogger