Over 600 shoppers lined up in the rain before sunrise Monday morning to celebrate the long-awaited grand opening of Trader Joe’s in Peachtree City—the first location on the south side of metro Atlanta. The line extended around The Avenue from Trader Joe’s on the end as far down the complex as the Korean BBQ restaurant and Sephora, before they opened at 9 a.m. And the line stayed long for at least an hour. 

Early excitement before dawn

By 5:30 a.m., Thelma Lowery of Sharpsburg had already arrived to claim her spot as the first customer in line. “I arrived in the parking lot about 5:30 and then I saw that there wasn’t anybody here, so I went and got a Starbucks first, and then I got back about quarter to six,” Lowery said. “I come from California, and I didn’t want to travel an hour to go buy my groceries up in Atlanta. So I was just excited about this.”

At a quarter after seven, Adrienne Robinson and her friends joined the growing crowd. “We’ve been here since 7:15 this morning, with my girlfriends and I, and we brought coffee, and we were number 20, 21, and 22 in the lineup,” she said. “It was so much fun, most fun I’ve had in a long time. Everybody was in a great mood. Everybody’s super hyped. Trader Joe’s is here. And you know what? I don’t care about the parking—I don’t care about any of it. I’m just really happy Trader Joe’s is in Peachtree City.”

The first customer out of the store was Bill Bizjak, who bought his wife a bouquet of flowers, along with his bag of groceries. 

Planning for the biggest opening yet

City and store leaders worked for weeks to ensure the event ran smoothly. Mayor Kim Learnard said the coordination began well before the store opened its doors. “Our city manager had a Teams meeting, and he included 25 people from all related parties to Trader Joe’s—Trader Joe’s representatives, The Avenue representatives, GDOT, police, [and] fire,” Learnard said. “He addressed everything in advance, from traffic control to number of people who would be allowed in the store at a given time. I’m so proud of our staff for managing this big event.”

Learnard added that the new store fits perfectly with Peachtree City’s community spirit. “Trader Joe’s is its unique brand,” she said. “Anybody who’s ever been in a Trader Joe’s feels like they were welcomed like family… and likewise, I want Peachtree City to know that we welcome Trader Joe’s as family.”

Besides Mayor Learnard, the entire Peachtree City Council came to the ribbon cutting, including an ecstatic Trader Joe’s fan, Councilwoman Laura Johnson, who proudly showed off her two bags of groceries after shopping, saying she was pleased she wouldn’t have to drive into Atlanta anymore. 

Crowd control and safety

Peachtree City Fire Marshal Trent Jenkins said the department worked closely with store management to manage capacity throughout the morning. “Your occupant load for the business is 168, meaning that you can have 168 total people in the building at one time—that’s employees and customers,” Jenkins said. “When I arrived here around 9:20 to take over for the fire chief that was here initially, there was about 475 people that were in here. So what we did is we instituted an eight-for-two. For every eight people that came out, we would let two in. Now we’ve got it down to a four-to-two… and then we’ll do that for a while until we get the number to where we want it.”

Jenkins said visitors remained patient and cooperative despite the wait. “We had staff here, fire department staff on scene, so everything was safe, everybody was behaving, and everybody was being kind and courteous,” he said. “There hasn’t been an issue with us limiting people coming in.” Jenkins indicated that his team would be on site as long as there was a crowd.

Other than the crowds and the rain, the only thing that marred the event was one protester with an amplification system and a sign saying, “Drop Perdue’s Petaluma Poultry,” who interrupted Store Manager Reggie Jones during his remarks before the ribbon was cut. A local law enforcement officer moved her out of the way. 

A community milestone

Fayette County Development Authority President Niki Vanderslice said the new store fulfilled a long-standing local wish. “This is the number one requested business to locate in Fayette County,” Vanderslice said. “As you know, we do large industrial at the FCDA, not retail, but we’re excited that it’s here.”

Vanderslice didn’t leave empty-handed. “I got cranberry raisin crisps, some apple cider because we need it today with a little bit of rain and cool weather, turkey pot pie for lunch, and pineapple salsa,” she said with a laugh.

Avenue businesses celebrate new neighbors

Kelly Lawrence, Marketing Manager for The Avenue Peachtree City, said the addition brings new energy to the shopping center. “We’re so excited for them to be here,” Lawrence said. “We’re excited to just have them on The Avenue, be part of our family out here, and I know the community is just as excited as we are. We want to be good stewards to Peachtree City, and I think this is one step towards that.”

Addressing traffic and parking concerns, Lawrence said, “We continue to be partners with the city on all of that. We’ve got our fantastic law enforcement out here helping to direct traffic, and we’ll continue to monitor the situation.”

Lawrence added that The Avenue hopes to serve as the city’s informal hub. “Peachtree City doesn’t have a downtown, and we’d like to feel like downtown,” she said.

A store and a story decades in the making

Store Captain Reggie Jones said the opening exceeded expectations. “This is crazy,” Jones said. “Over 500 people were in line this morning. It’s surreal. We got the store ready in less than a month, and October 27, 2025—Peachtree City got their first Trader Joe’s, the first one on the south side.”

He added thanks for the turnout. “Shout out to all the people that came out in the rain this morning to come to the grand opening… and shout out to my crew who got the store together. It’s amazing.”

The Trader Joe’s regional manager, over three states including Georgia, said that this was the biggest opening of a store that he had seen in his 25 years with the company. To help with the grand opening, Trader Joe’s store managers came in from as far as Birmingham to assist. 

A boost for local commerce

Peachtree City Council Member Clint Holland summed up the mood at the ribbon cutting. “This is fantastic,” Holland said. “There’s got to be 200-plus people waiting in line in the rain to get in. They are so excited. Everybody’s giving high fives. It’s about time this is open. This is going to be good for the city. This is going to be good for The Avenue, and this is going to be good for all commercial businesses in the area.”

As customers left with flowers, seasonal snacks, and smiling selfies, one early shopper with her cart chockful of goodies, captured the sentiment shared by many: “Even though it’s raining,” Adrienne Robinson said, “it’s a lot of fun today.”