Kroger officials project a March 1999 opening for the

company's newest south metro store at Ga. Highway 85 and Ramah Road

in Fayetteville.

Brad Wood with Kroger's real estate division says that the

company is "very excited about having another store, for the

south side of Fayetteville." The 55,696-square-foot grocery store will

have a video-media center, health foods, service meat and

seafood, delicatessen, bakery, floral and "all the other departments

shoppers expect at Kroger," Wood added. Wood said the

28-acre shopping center represents "probably the largest tract of land

we've built on so far."

The company recently opened a store at Spivey Crossing

on Hudson Bridge Road in Henry County. Wood said that

Kroger's Banks Crossing store on the north side of Fayetteville between

Hwy. 85 and Ga. Highway 314 will remain open.

"It wouldn't make sense," he said, "to close a successful

store on the north side of town just because one is opening on

the south side. The congestion in the middle of town is just too

much. This way shoppers on both sides of Fayetteville have a nice

Kroger to go to."

Developers for the shopping center on south Hwy. 85 say

the large complex will include service-oriented businesses and

possibly office space. Jim Ezell, executive vice president of

Retail Planning Corp. of Marietta, noted that "two nice restaurants" will

be in the "end caps" at the Kroger Center. Los Toribios, a local

Mexican restaurant chain, already is signed, he said, and

negotiations are ongoing with another restaurant for the locations which

include "outside patio dining."

Total shopping center area is 93,000 square feet including

the Kroger store, Ezell said. "Out parcels" may be sold for office

buildings, gas stations, video stores, or other uses, he added.

"We want to work with some local businesses too," Ezell

said, "to locate in the center. It's not just the chains we want, but

to give an opportunity for Fayetteville business people to

move here." The company can be reached at 770-956-8383.

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