The breakneck redevelopment of Memorial Drive east of downtown Atlanta is officially set to continue in a noticeable way next month.

European grocery chain Lidl announced today it will open its first store on Atlanta’s eastside with a grand opening celebration August 17, following roughly a year and ½ of construction and protracted "finishing touches" preparations.

Located on Memorial Drive where the Parkview neighborhood meets Kirkwood, the 30,000-square-foot store is the latest in a dozen Lidl locations to sprout across metro Atlanta. Lidl officials said today they’ve invested about $12 million in the new store, which is creating 40 jobs with starting pay at $15 per hour and healthcare for all part and full-time employees.  

Officials with the Germany-based company had previously said the Memorial Drive Lidl (pronounced “lee-dl”) would open sometime in the first half of 2022. (In June, they bumped the expected opening to this coming fall.) The reasons for delays haven’t been specified. 

The Lidl store's finished exterior, parking, and plantings, as seen in early April. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Atlantans who’ve been itching to shop Lidl can participate in a ribbon-cutting at 7:40 a.m. August 17 and “be able to take advantage of get-them-while-you-can grand opening special offers,” according to a media announcement today. The first 100 Lidl customers in line will score gift cards ranging from $5 to $100.

Lidl is also donating $1 to the Atlanta Community Food Bank throughout the grand opening period (Wednesday to Sunday) for every new “myLidl” member who signs up and logs Memorial Drive as their home store, officials said.  

The grocer that touts its ability to offer “high-quality, award-winning products at unbelievably low prices" won’t have much competition for several miles in the Memorial Drive corridor.

The broader Parkview Station shopping center on Memorial Drive counts AutoZone, gym Liv Fitness, and the all-girls Ivy Prep Academy at Kirkwood as tenants. Lidl’s corner site was previously home to a fire-damaged, former Pizza Hut that had been shuttered for several years.

The former Pizza Hut, the parking lot's lone occupant, as seen in March 2021. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

What to expect from Memorial Drive's Lidl bakery, according to previously released photos. Courtesy of Lidl

Lidl’s arrival continues dramatic changes to Memorial Drive stretching for miles east of downtown, where well over a billion dollars in investment has produced large-scale, mixed-use developments and new communities on formerly empty or underused lots.

In the past two years, Lidl has opened metro Atlanta outposts from Marietta to Suwanee and a new ITP store in Brookhaven, at a shopping center near the intersection of Briarcliff and North Druid Hills roads.

When DeKalb County officials approved Lidl’s Memorial Drive project in early 2020, they praised its lower-cost options in an area without another large grocer closer than a Publix in East Lake, two miles away. That praise continued this week.

“We’re excited to welcome Lidl to District 3, bringing much needed jobs and expanded food choices to our community,” Dekalb County Commissioner Larry Johnson said in the announcement. “This has truly been a community and economic development collaboration.”

Located at 1855 Memorial Drive SE, the Parkview Lidl will operate daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.

• Where Kirkwood meets Edgewood, huge swath of land hits market (Urbanize Atlanta)