Macon Georgia area History (Kroger)

[Edric Floyd]

Macon Georgia Grocery history as I know so far. And it is a long and detailed history.

Over the past 50 years, the primary chains to operate in the Macon/Warner Robins area were: Piggly Wiggly, Winn-Dixie, Kroger, Food Lion, A&P, Colonial/Big Star, FoodMax and Red Apple. Long time independent (neighborhood) groceries include Bateman & Wade, Rocky Creek Foods, C&J and Macon Food Fair.

Newer chains include Publix, Save-a-lot and 7 (count them...SEVEN) Wal-Mart Supercenters. and Southern Family Markets operating under the names "Southern Family Market" and "Piggly Wiggly".

I should count that there are two Ingles stores just outside and North of Macon and two Harvey's stores south of Macon.

KROGER HISTORY IN CENTRAL GEORGIA

I don't have all of the information on this, but this is part of the Atlanta division of Kroger. It has been in the Macon area as far back as the late 1950's. Kroger dominated the Macon area and opened the Warner Robins and Dublin locations in the 1980's. The Perry location in the early 1990s and the Milledgeville location was purchased from BI-Lo in the late 1990's. They never had as many store locations as Piggly Wiggly but ALL Krogers have been 24 hour stores for years and 4 locations have Kroger fuel centers.

LOCATIONS:

MACON
1000 block of third street (1950's) Now plumbing supply store
900 block of Pio Nono Avenue-Cherokee Shopping Center (1950's) Closed in 1970's

700 block of Pio Nono Avenue-Built on site of former cotton mill in 1997, the first supermarket in the neighborhood since the older Kroger closed 20 years earler. This location is not named "Citi Center" but has several businesses inside including a COX EXPO cable TV store and formerly had a Macon Police sub-station. It is also once has what was considered to be the first "coffee house" in Macon. The coffee stand inside the store was a hit but only lasted a few years. It is now Kroger's "Meals on the Go" fresh cooked entree's and part of the Kroger Deli.

Neighbors opposed having such a large store but Kroger appeased them by building a well landscaped entrance and the building is hidden from the main roadway. Also streets into the affluent Stanislaus Square neighborhood were blocked to prevent traffic from using their streets as a cut through. Neighbors recently opposed Kroger adding a Fuel center to this location and Kroger pulled the proposal.

Pio Nono Avenue and Eisenhower Parkway, next to K-Mart (1970's), Kroger relocated to new "greehouse" store a few miles west in early 1980's. Property is now an Office Depot

Eisenhower Crossing Shopping Center (1980's), A "greenhouse" store once had a bank and a cafe', closed in 2001 when Kroger relocated to new shopping center 2 miles west.

Presidential Parkway (2001) The newest Kroger in Central Georgia is part of a massive shopping complex that includes Target, Best Buy and Home Depot. This is also the first Kroger Fuel Center (gas station) in the area.

Hartley Bridge Road (1995) Was built to serve a growing South Bibb county and was the second supermarket in the area,(the first was a Food Lion one year earlier). This location had a bank until 2004 and opened a Fuel Center that year.

Zebulon Road (1995) Opened the same day as the Hartley Bridge Road location in South Bibb County. The Zebulon road location serves as the first supermarket to come to a growing and very affluent NorthWEST Bibb County area. This store opened with a Chick Fil-A inside which was later a Popeyes chicken and now is part of the Kroger deli. It is the only Kroger in the area to still have a bank inside, A Bank of America branch. It was to replace a 1980's store a couple miles east just inside Macon city limits, but both stores remain open today. The Zebulon road store was the begining of heavy retail growth in the area that now includes a Walmart Supercenter. It was long rumored that Kroger contributed to local residents opposition to the building of the Wal-Mart Supercenter. It took years before the county planning and zoning approved the construction of the WalMart which opened in 2004

The Walmart opened with a Murphy USA fuel center and Kroger faced opposition to building a fuel center of their own. Two banks opposed to having a gas station in between them. But Kroger won and built an attractive looking Fuel Center in 2005

Forsyth Road-Weslyan shopping center (1980's) this store may have been one of the "replacements" for the old Kroger on Pio Nono Avenue or the former small Downtown locations. This store has a lot of tradition. It's most famous employee was a man named Joe Wade aka: "Kroger Joe" who started working at a Macon Kroger store in the 1960s. He worked at several locations and at the Forsyth road store since it opened. He retired a couple years ago after 40 years. The store threw a huge party at the store for his retirement. This store was to be replaced by the Zebulon Road store in 1995 but area residents and nearby Weslyan College showed their support for keeping this store open. The Forsyth Road store once had a bank and a cafe'.

North Avenue, Baconsfield shopping Center. (1980's) this store is a greenhouse location and once had a bank and a cafe'. The Cafe' was briefly a Popeye's chicken. This location is the closest to downtown and was a replacement for the smaller former Downtown locations.

Riverside Drive (1970's) Former Kroger location closed in 1985 and relocated to new shopping center with K-Mart. Building now housed by Gold's Gym and Tuesday Morning

Tom Hill Senior Blvd (1985) Greenhouse style built in shopping center with K-mart. has been remodoled inside several times, once had a bank and a cafe. One of Macon's busiest locations.

WARNER ROBINS GEORGIA
The first Kroger was opened on Russell Parkway in 1981. a greenhouse style store that is smaller than the Macon stores and once had a bank branch inside. This store remains busy despite its size, lack of a fuel center and competition from Publix next door, and Food Lion down the street. A Piggly Wiggly AND a Piggly Wiggly-turned-Foodmax both closed as competitors of this store.As of march 2006, this store has an upscale Wal-mart supercenter to compete with, so it remains to be seen as to what Kroger will do with this location.

Kroger Centerville/Warner Robins, GA-Watson Blvd across from Galleria Mall opened in 1999 as the second Kroger in the city limits of Warner Robins. Again, not as large as the new stores being built in Macon at the time but a store that was welcomed in a growing area of Houston County Georgia (Pronounced HOUSE-TON, not prounounced like the city in Texas)
This store opened a Fuel Center in 2005. Its Walmart Supercenter down the street does not have a fuel center.

Kroger Perry Georgia, built in the early 1990's in a shopping center with a K-Mart. The K-Mart was closed in the first round of the bankruptcy closings. But this store still thrives even with a Wal-mart Supercenter built directly across the street.

Kroger Milledgeville, Ga, former BI-Lo location, became Kroger in late 1990's and retains the original Bi-Lo archeticture. This was an early 1990's Bi-Lo locaiton in a shopping center.

Kroger Dublin, GA, Original Location was built in late 1970's at Claxton Dairy Rd and Hillcrest Parkway. Relocated 1 mile south on Hillcrest Pkwy in Summer of 2005 with Fuel center.

[noseriously]

I think the Dublin store was originally an M&M Foods out of Savannah. Kroger bought the chain in the late 80's.

[Edric Floyd]

The former Kroger location in Dublin does have a much different design than other Krogers from the era. A simular design in Albany (on Westover Blvd) is now a Gold's Gym. (Kroger pulled out of Albany years ago)

I have only heard about M&M from this site. Thanks for the additions.

[krogerclerk]

'.

North Avenue, Baconsfield shopping Center. (1980's) this store is a greenhouse location and once had a bank and a cafe'. The Cafe' was briefly a Popeye's chicken. This location is the closest to downtown and was a replacement for the smaller former Downtown locations.

The Emery Highway location was the predecesor to this store and opened in the early 70's as Macon's first Kroger Superstore. Zayre was the other major anchor in this shopping center. It replaced an old downtown location.

[krogerclerk]

Kroger Milledgeville, Ga, former BI-Lo location, became Kroger in late 1990's and retains the original Bi-Lo archeticture. This was an early 1990's Bi-Lo locaiton in a shopping center.

The Milledgeville location was constructed in the early 90's as a Food Lion and soon was sold to BiLo when Food Lion closed many stores in recently expanded marketes(leaving Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma completely)
after the scandel over redating and repackaging out of date meats on Dateline. BiLo was in an older location, possibly an old Colonial/Big Star prior to this and the store was expanded and remodeled extensively.

[EDEW]

The Kroger on 2495, (later 2471) Pio no no avenue was actually opened in 1963 with the kmart plaza. This K-mart never had a K-mart foods, Both of Kmart foods normal partners in Georgia already had stores in Westgate Mall when it opened in 61. Kroger opened in the original space reserved for Kmart Foods, Then in 74 built a 27, 104 sq ft store in the the superstore format; as well as a small annex of shops being added, Right next door to the old space. It relocated in early 84 to the parkway village (eisenhower) location. from 1985-1991, Piggly wiggly southern operated a store here also. It didn’t have a drug store nearby, Revco was in another center close by. And either it or superX we’re the only superstore drug partners.