The renovation and expansion of the Kroger at Embry Village on Chamblee Tucker Road is reportedly still happening, but is unfortunately delayed again. The project was first announced in early 2016, with plans to start work that fall. A number of other Kroger expansions and new stores were delayed or cancelled in the months since, then leading many to speculate that the Embry Village store renovation would suffer a similar fate.
ToNeTo Atlanta has been the only Atlanta media outlet keeping residents informed on the project's progress and most recently reported this past fall that Kroger planned to start work in "January 2019." January came and went, and still no visible work has started.
Contacted for comment this past week, Felix Turner, Kroger's Corporate Affairs Manager for the Atlanta division, said of the Embry Village store:
"We are still in the process of obtaining a building permits. Once those are secured, we'll begin groundbreaking." Turner declined to provide a possible updated timeline.
Perhaps at this point, under new leadership [Tim Brown replaced longtime Atlanta division president Bruce Lucia last fall], Kroger is taking a more "under promise, over deliver" approach to the media.
For what it's worth, Kroger has been talking of "obtaining building permits"since 2016.
It's also worth noting that the website for Embry Village, a center owned by large national REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) Kimco Realty, continues to provide conflicting information as to the eventual size of the store.
The website states: "Embry Village is under redevelopment to expand Kroger to 120,000 square feet for a new Marketplace concept store. "
The site-plan for the store, however, (also on the website) indicates the enlarged Kroger will only be 102,877 square feet, still a significant jump from their current roughly 57,000 square foot store, but not large enough to be categorized as a Marketplace store according to multiple Kroger sources.
Glynn Jenkins, former Public Relations Director for Kroger’s Atlanta Division told ToNeTo Atlanta in 2016 that the store would be a 113,000 square foot Marketplace store. Now, Mr. Turner is painting a far more vague picture, indicating to us in November "At this point the plan is for a Marketplace store. That is subject to change as the project progresses."
Despite Kroger's delays, build your own pizzeria Your Pie recently opened in the center, as did quick-serve burger eatery Wayback Burger.
Are you surprised to see the new Kroger store continue to be delayed? Have you tried either of the new restaurants in Embry Village? What other tenants would you like to see open in Embry Village?
Please share your thoughts below.