By Thanksgiving, Columbia County shoppers will have more places to buy their turkeys.
Four grocery stores are in various stages of construction in the county -- a Walmart Supercenter, two Food Lions and a Publix.
Walmart will anchor The Gateway shopping center at Lewiston Road and Interstate 20, near Grovetown.
The 156,000-square-foot store is scheduled to open at 8 a.m. Oct. 28 after a ribbon-cutting ceremony, said the store manager, Dale Wooten.
Columbia County's third Walmart will possess all the amenities of a Supercenter, which includes a full-service grocery department, he said.
"It's just a one-stop shop," Mr. Wooten said. "You can get everything you need in a Walmart store now."
The store, however, will not accommodate a tire and lube center.
The new Walmart is near Fort Gordon and Grovetown, which are fast-growing areas, Mr. Wooten said.
"I think that with the access to the interstate there and that location, it just kind of worked out," he said. "It's just going to be a convenient location."
The store will employee 288 people when it opens, and Mr. Wooten said he likely will increase his work force to 300 during the holidays.
Next to the Walmart in The Gateway likely will be a restaurant and a gas station, said Matt Mills, vice president of Blanchard and Calhoun Commercial, the developer for the project.
"We have some contracts out on some outparcels, but we're not able to disclose them," Mr. Mills said. "We have several sales pending."
Blanchard and Calhoun Commer-cial also is behind the construction of Food Lion-anchored shopping centers in Grovetown and Martinez.
Both stores are to open Oct. 21, Mr. Mills said.
"We're finishing some paving improvements at both centers," he said. "We'll begin landscaping one of the centers (at Hereford Farm and Columbia roads) the first of next week and at Furys Ferry (Road) in about three weeks."
The openings will give Food Lion 14 area stores. Another Columbia County Food Lion opened last year on Belair Road. It, too, was part of a Blanchard and Calhoun Commercial development.
They will cover 35,000 square feet each and be part of a village concept created by Blanchard and Calhoun.
The Village at Furys Ferry and The Village at Hereford Farm are being shopped to other potential retailers and restaurateurs, Mr. Mills said.
"We have a high-end Asian restaurant going into the Furys Ferry location," he said. "We've got another Asian restaurant going into the Hereford Farm Road location. We're real close with a pizza franchise on Furys Ferry Road."
Mr. Mills said he is uncomfortable with disclosing the names of the businesses until the deals are concluded.
F&M Bank became the first active business in The Village at Furys Ferry when it opened last month.
Though he has no immediate plans to create another grocery store-anchored development in Columbia County, Mr. Mills said he believes the area could support another.
"We'd like to get another one going," he said. "If there is a need for a grocery store, we'd love to fill it with one of our village concepts."
In the Evans area, a shopping center anchored by a Publix is in the works at the entrance to Riverwood Plantation.
Construction on Riverwood Town Center started in February and might conclude by November, county Development Services Director Richard Harmon has said.
The 46,500-square-foot supermarket is part of a 15-acre retail development at Washington Road and William Few Parkway.
Representatives from Crosland LLC, a developer of the project, announced in June that a Great Clips, Sky Nails, White House Cleaners and Woody's Spirits will be constructed at the development.
The businesses are expected to open by January.
A CVS pharmacy also will occupy the development's front corner lot.
Columbia County Planning Manager Nayna Mistry said she believes the developments anchored by Walmart and Publix are well-suited for their respective areas.
"There's obviously a lot of homes in those areas that don't have anything right now," she said.
Telephone messages left Wednesday and Thursday for the Charlotte, N.C., developers of Riverwood Town Center were not immediately returned.
Reach Donnie Fetter at (706) 868-1222, ext. 115, or donnie.fetter@augustachronicle.com.
The Augusta Chronicle ©2010 Morris Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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Seriously - a liquor store within the school district? Greenbrier schools are within a 1 mile range of the new Publix center in Evans.
Someone thinks this is a good idea?
We seem to have the same 5-6 grocery stores in this area - how about a Trader Joe's or Whole Foods or Harris Tetter?
What we really need is a grocery store like "Wegman's". It is the most awesome grocery store ever!
It looks like BI-LO is going the way of the dinosaur.
I just hope that the grounds on Columbia Rd Foodlion are cared for better that the grounds at the Foodlion in Grovetown. I actually spoke to the manager there one day about how bad the area was looking and he told me that Foodlion had someone on payroll to keep it clean. If I was them I would stop payment on those paychecks. So sad that we are finally getting all this growth and that the "gateway" to our city looks so rundown. Drive thru the entrance of N. Augusta and look how beautiful thier grounds are.
Matt Mills forgot to say that the pizza franchise going into the Furys Ferry strip mall would be a "high-end" pizza place.
how about some new grocery stores in town? the ones we have here are so run down.
What difference does it make if a liquor store is within a mile of a school zone. I have NEVER understood that. A restaurant that serves alcohol is not a problem however. Liquor is LEGAl....sometimes you have to scratch your head and wonder why some laws are even written. By the way, I hope I don't jinx em, but GO FALCONS...looking gooooood!!!!
Very happy to know the Gateway Walmart will open soon.
It would be nice to have some variety! Wegman's or some other store that would offer something different... not going to happen...
great, so we have a ghetto walmart, a neutral walmart a posh walmart and now a redneck walmart.
While I appreciate growth and development, the clear cut/practically no zoning method that CC is using is making Martinez/Evans/Grovetown look identical to Kennesaw/Marietta/Roswell. How sad.
I am over 70 years old and I have to show my ID to buy liquor. Every place in Columbia County does this overkill foolishness. No kid is going to be able to buy any thing at this liquor store. If they want liquor they will steal it from thier parents, or go to Richmond County to get it. The same place they get their drugs. Why do you dolts have you granny pants in a bunch over this liquor store at the Riverwood Town Center?
I do agree that the best grocery chain is Wegman's. I have lived all over the country and Wegman's is the best I have ever seen.
mommy715 take your posh as and move on
LOL at nowhine
Just what the area needs, more grocery stores and pharmacies as if there aren't enough already.
Asitisinaug, you forgot convience stores :)
harris teeter is big in N.C.; a great grocery chain, indeed.
we need more than just food stores and drug stores. our developer-builder-realtor people need more creativity, it seems.
I have no business being on that side of town, but hotdamn, you move out to the country, and you don't want to drive 20 minutes to the store? You want to live next to Washington Road? I can see it now, Hereford Farm Hooters, opening in 2012. Yeccch.
Can't wait for all the store...No matter what kind...Grocery stores are always in need just keep the prices to our level with this stupid econony...As a SENIOR don't see much to reach our income..we need good bargains and hope you all help us...The Government is not helping. so we hope our new stores will...I also hope to get a part time job to help my income..
Harris Teeter previously had a store on Walton Way extension, but decided to close it. They are headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., with stores in Maryland, Delaware, Virginia,D.C.,North Carolina,South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. Harris Teeter is a publicly held company and it's parent company's stock is traded on the NYSE. There is no reason they should not have stores in Augusta. Maybe some of the shopping center developers should pitch their next shopping center development to them. However, Wegman's is a regional grcery store chain, and is a privately held corporation, It does have stores as far south as Virginia. But the closest distribution center is in Pennsylvania, and with no other stores close to Augusta, it would be logistically impossible for Wegman's to have a profitable grocery store in Augusta. According to their website, Wegman's has ranked in the top 5 of Fortune's 100 best companies to work for for the last 11 years. It is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and owned by the Wegman family.
harris teeter was in town and apparently no one shopped there because it went out of business.
The new Publix in Evans is going to be great. But why did the developers have to cut down all the trees and make this great rural area look like concrete jungle. They could have left a buffer zone. The new landscaping looks ridiculous and badly planned. You don't have to see a grocery store from the road to know it's there do you?? Lets hope we get at least one nice restaurant there too, locally owned and run. No more fast food chains please.
Overburdened Taxpayer: Harris Teeter's closing had nothing to do with no one shopping there. The store did quite a good business, the decision to close the store was one made at corporate due to the market conditions in Augusta. At the time the market was saturated, and there was virtually no where to build a new grocery store or shopping center. So the reason had nothing to do with level of business at the store, but more of a logistical decision based on inability for expansion. Market conditions have changed over the last ten years with new shopping and residential housing, and some stores are taking advantage of it.
"You don't have to see a grocery store from the road to know it's there do you??"---Well, why do you think shopping centers cut down all the trees? If you are traveling down the interstate, don't you look to see if there is a visible gas station near the exit? Although you do make a good point, this is not Hilton Head!
the sale of alcohol is a loser for any county. National average is eight dollars of expense to the taxpayer for every dollar of income. God laughs at our fooliness. You can't win with sin.
Don't forget about the $12 baking hens at the big health food grocery store on Fury's Ferry. What a con job. I don't see how they ring you up with a straight face. Earth Fare I think? Been once. seen enough. No one will live any longer ....or less paying 40% more for groceries with a lot of suspect claims.... geez........
Nowhine........What rock do you live under? There are plenty of drugs in Columbia County to go around. Kids do not have to travel to Richmond county to get them. LOL!
I live in Charlotte, and Harris Teeter is getting its behind beat by the other stores. They are last out of all the grocery stores here, and their sales are declining. They are advertising fantastic prices on specials and then they run out by Friday morning. They are strapped for cash and they are frequently out of stock on many items. The only places that they are decent is in the rich areas.
manin themirror...I know there isn't a rat's chance that Wegman's would ever come south but gosh, what an awesome grocery shopping experience! The store's lighting isn't even like a traditonal grocery store. And the food selection is the best I have ever seen.