Savi Provisions CEO Paul Nair, alongside Invest Atlanta, IGA and the mayor’s office, is gearing up to open the second location of mission-driven grocery store Azalea Fresh Market in southwest Atlanta at 2080 Campbellton Road SW. The 16,000-square-foot store is expected to open in mid-October, Nair told What Now Atlanta.
Azalea Fresh Market offers a different approach to the grocery market industry, focusing on access and affordability for fresh food rather than solely on profits. It launched with its first location in Downtown Atlanta in September of last year. A June press release from the City of Atlanta shared that Azalea Fresh Market has now served more than 150,000 customers since opening.
“This is an absolute need,” Nair said. “There are several areas that are designated food deserts. That is what we and Invest Atlanta and the mayor’s office are trying to address: how can make sure people have access to fresh food at affordable prices? That’s exactly what the inspiration is. This is our attempt to address this.”
The new market will feature fresh groceries as well as limited food service and an on-site coffee shop. The Campbellton Road store is designed to cater to a residential demographic, offering a slightly different footprint compared to the Downtown location.
“Our plea to the community is to take ownership of the location,” Nair said. “We can’t do this without the community’s help. We hope to be there for years and years to come.”
While Nair and the team are focused on getting these two stores running smoothly, they are looking toward ways to help in food deserts across the country, either by getting involved directly or offering a working model for grocery stores that provide affordable access to fresh groceries for community members.
“We want to make sure that these stores open and operate successfully and can become self-sustainable in a couple of years,” Nair said. “That’s our goal. From there on, we have inquiries from several cities in different states that are looking at how to make this model work.”
