Across Atlanta, former shipping containers have been reborn as single-family dwellings, and, soon, temporary homeless housing.
According to Invest Atlanta, the repurposing trend is set to include pint-sized grocery store locations, too.
Invest Atlanta, the city’s economic development arm, recently announced its board has approved a grant to help fund two new container-built grocery stores from Nourish + Bloom Market, a concept by husband-wife duo Jamie Michael Hemmings and Jilea Hemmings considered the world’s first Black-owned autonomous grocery store.
Earlier this month, Invest Atlanta’s board green-lighted an Economic Opportunity Fund Food Access Grant for up to $600,000 to help Nourish + Bloom’s container stores come together.
Nourish + Bloom; via Invest Atlanta
Nourish + Bloom; via Invest Atlanta
The first contactless Nourish + Bloom location opened in early 2022 at Trilith’s town center, offering “frictionless shopping with no checkout lines” where customers can use smart phone apps to select hot and cold items and pay for them 24/7.
The shipping-container grocers are planned near the BeltLine-adjacent Pittsburgh Yards jobs hub south of downtown and a site along Campbellton Road. Renderings indicate at least one location will include a cafe-like setting on the roof. [UPDATE: 12:43 p.m. Oct. 2: A project rep sends the following clarification: "The shipping-container grocer near the BeltLine is planned for a site along the Southside Trail near Pittsburgh Yards as part of the Atlanta BeltLine’s Smart Cities initiative."]
Nourish + Bloom; via Invest Atlanta
Example of the cafe-style rooftop arrangement. Nourish + Bloom; via Invest Atlanta
We’ve reached out to Nourish + Bloom for more details on where the Campbellton Road store will be located, and for a timeline of when both stores might open. We’ll update this story with any additional details that come.
Atlanta Beltline leadership made headlines last month by closing on the purchase of 13.7 acres of vacant land next to Pittsburgh Yards. That site will be used to build affordable housing, job centers, and more affordable commercial opportunities along the eventual 22-mile loop, officials said at the time.
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