The day finally came. The Sam’s Club at Fischer Crossings held it’s ribbon cutting at 8 a.m. Thursday and opened its doors to shoppers at 8:30 a.m. The retailer is the first to open at the expansive Fischer Crossings retail development permitted for nearly 800,000 square feet of commercial space. The 136,000 square-foot Sam’s Club is located on the northwest corner of Ga. Highway 34 and Fischer Road.
The ribbon cutting Thursday morning was attended by the Coweta County and Fayette County chambers of commerce, elected officials and a large number of shoppers ready to make their way through the aisles. Country music artist Randy Houser sang the national anthem and later performed several acoustic songs and signed autographs from 8:30-10 a.m.
Houser was followed by an appearance from fitness expert Denise Austin from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. Also at the club for the grand opening from 1-3 p.m. was Atlanta Falcons linebacker Curtis Lofton and team mascot Freddie Falcon.
And last week, Sam’s Club announced that chef, celebrity restauranteur and Emmy award-winning television host Wolfgang Puck would entertain shoppers and sign autographs today from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m.
Sam’s also announced that nationally recognized cheese sculptor Sarah Kaufman, “The Cheeses Lady,” will be at the store Jan. 27-29 from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. to carve 500 pounds of Wisconsin cheddar cheese into football helmets, local team mascots, footballs, goal posts and more.
Prior to the opening, hundreds of residents from Coweta and Fayette counties attended a Jan. 20 pre-opening “Evening of Fresh Fare” event.
The invitation-only pre-opening event Jan. 20 was designed for area business leaders to learn about the fresh food items available at Sam’s Club and how the retailer can help others save money with their entertaining budgets, said company spokesperson Kristy Reed.
Commenting on the hundreds attending the event Sam’s Club manager Darrell Arnold said the club wanted to specifically reach out to area hotels, caterers, restaurants, local charities, media outlets and other businesses that frequently entertain in order to pass along fresh ideas on how to be most efficient with their entertaining dollars.
That reach was significant, with nearly 600 people attending the pre-opening event. Some of those attending included elected officials from across Fayette and Coweta counties.
The Fischer Crossings Sam’s Club also supports area non-profit organizations. Sam’s Club showed its support to nine non-profits and agencies from Coweta and Fayette counties by giving back to the community right from the start, said Reed.
In recognition of the Jan. 27 grand opening, club associates presented $25,000 in donations to charitable organizations in Coweta and Fayette counties. The grant recipients include the Community Welcome House, Corral (Coweta Organization for Riding Rehabilitation and Learning), Coweta County 4-H, Coweta County Fire Department, Coweta County Food Pantry, Coweta County Sheriff’s Office, Metro Atlanta Boys & Girls Club (Newnan–Coweta County Boys & Girls Club), Newnan–Coweta Cadet Flight (Civil Air Patrol) and the Peachtree City Fire Department.
The 136,000 square-foot mega-store, the company’s largest in the Southeast, employs 200 people.
Sam’s Club is the first retailer to open in the large Fischer Crossings commercial development. The next to open will be NCG Cinemas, located a quarter-mile away along Ga. Highway 54 in the easternmost portion of the development.
As approved, the entire Fischer Crossings development property extends from the north side of Ga. Highway 54 just across the Fayette County line, continues on the north side past where Ga. Highway 34 intersects with Fischer Road. Fischer Crossings is also approved to include a large area on the southwest corner of Fischer Road and Hwy. 34.
All said, Fischer Crossings is currently permitted for approximately 800,000 square feet of retail space.
