The last

year in Fayette's business community can best be

described as transitional.

Transitional

in the respect that one of the county's older retailers,

A&P Foods, abandoned Peachtree City, while red clay

was dug out to make room for more new businesses to call

the county home.

Although

A&P decided to completely move out of the Atlanta

market, the grocery wars continued unabated in Fayette

County. A new Kroger, featuring a media center, opened in

March on south Ga. Highway 85.

Other

features at the new 56,000-sq. ft. store include a

business copy center, a full floral department and a meal

replacement center.

Meanwhile,

Winn-Dixie replaced its older store in the Fayetteville

Corners shopping center in Fayetteville with a new

state-of-the-art, 62,000-sq. ft. store at County Line

Road in January.

The store

is the company's largest design and includes a fruit bar,

bakery and Fisherman's Wharf Seafood, which offers fresh

seafood and Maine lobster.

The grocery

wars should further heat up early next year when Harris

Teeter moves into the A&P location in Peachtree City.

Harris Teeter has sprinkled upscale metro stores

throughout the Atlanta region and the Peachtree City

store is the company's first foray on the south side.

While the

grocery wars dominated many of the headlines early in the

year, other retailers also looked to Fayette for new

stores.

At

Fayette's largest shopping center, the Fayette Pavilion,

work began on phase three of the large power center.

Phase three

will occupy 50 acres on the Ga. Highway 314 side of the

center and feature Belk, Kohl's and Joanne Fabrics.

Across the

street at Pine Trail Road, the Fayetteville City Council

gave the approval for a shopping center that will include

a Barnes and Noble bookstore, along with a Linens `N

Things store.

Just south

of the Pavilion, grading work began for an Applebee's

restaurant and a super Eckerd pharmacy.

The other

major project in Fayetteville that's underway is a Lowe's

superstore, next to the Banks Crossing shopping center.

New banking

options also dominated the early year headlines. In

April, longtime Fayette County banker Gary McGaha

announced that Southern Community Bank would open in

early 2000 at 525 north Jeff Davis Drive. When he made

the announcement, McGaha said the time was right to open

a new bank.

"A

small community bank can give better service. All

decision making powers will be handled by local

people," he said.

Just a few

weeks later, former Fayette County Bank executive Pat

Shepherd announced the Bank of Georgia would open for

business in early 2000 in Peachtree City.

Shepard,

along with proposed managers Rick Duncan and Mickey

Godwin, has vowed to bring community banking