City-backed market called roaring success; 2nd location coming

Turns out downtown Atlanta was hungry for a fresh market after all. 

Following its grand opening in late August at downtown’s historic Olympia Building, the city-backed Azalea Fresh Market concept has logged more than 150,000 customers—a count that city officials say exceeds expectations. 

The success of downtown’s Azalea Fresh Market is now spawning a second location, as part of a continued effort to address food deserts around Atlanta where access to affordable, fresh groceries is challenged, officials announced today. 

Downtown’s only full-service grocery store attracted national headlines as a unique public-private collaboration between upscale market Savi Provisions, the Independent Grocers Alliance, economic development agency Invest Atlanta, and Mayor Andre Dickens' office. 

The market has since become an “essential resource” for Georgia State University students and downtown residents and office workers—and a scalable model for addressing food-access issues, per a city announcement today. 

Average daily revenue at the downtown market has increased nearly 20 percent since it opened, showing sustained growth. One in five dollars spent at the downtown location—or five times the industry average—is going toward grab-and-go items, prepared foods, café offerings, and sushi, illustrating that customers are relying on the market for quick lunches and family dinners, per city officials. 

Market leaders are crediting partnerships with Georgia-based vendors—Westside Community Market, Alon’s Bakery, Arden’s Garden, and Anthony Murano among them—with helping creating a quality grocery option that’s open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. 

Topped with an iconic, circular Coca-Cola sign, the two-story Olympia Building underwent a total renovation, finished in 2016, that restored its Art Deco appeal and marked a considerable investment by Walgreens. 

Walgreens shuttered its downtown location in spring 2024 as part of a national wave of closures, leaving such a void for downtown dwellers a grassroots petition was launched in hopes of keeping Walgreens open. Azalea Fresh Market opened at the 25 Peachtree St. building about a year and 1/2 later. 

The next Azalea Fresh Market location is under construction at the Campbellton Plaza shopping center along Campbellton Road in Southwest Atlanta, just west of Fort McPherson, where fresh food options have become scarce, per city officials. 

That 16,000-square-foot store is 30 percent complete now, with opening scheduled for this fall.

“The next [market] location will increase buying power, customer service, and economies of scale,” Paul Nair, Savi Provisions’ creator and Azalea Fresh founder and CEO, said in a statement. “This growth allows us to deepen our commitment to solving food-access issues while continuing to support Georgia vendors and local communities.”

“The opening of Azalea Fresh Market locations in [downtown] and Campbellton represents an opportunity for residents who have long faced barriers to healthy, affordable food,” added Dickens in a statement. “The momentum we’re building is creating healthier neighborhoods, strengthening local economies, and ensuring that all Atlantans have access to the resources they need.”

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