American Fare sights upscale shoppers from Atlanta, 'hot' Gwinnett County; location is everything - new American Fare hypermarket in Stone Mountain, Georgia

Discount Store News, Feb 20, 1989 by Arthur Markowitz

American Fare Sights Upscale Shoppers From Atlanta, `Hot' Gwinnett County

STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga -- American Fare pulled off a real estate coup in the location of its first hypermarket here in northeast De Kalb County.

The store is positioned to draw shoppers from adjacent Gwinnett County, the prime, fastest growing section of the Atlanta market, while the cost of the 33-acre site in De Kalb County is in line with those found in older, more mature sections of the area.

One competing retailer explained that the site's close proximity to Gwinnett County means upscale consumers living there can easily reach American Fare. At the same time, the store is readily accessible to more affluent people living in other parts of the Atlanta market who want to shop in a "Gwinnett store.'' ``It's a blockbuster location,'' he said.

The 244,000-square-foot store, which sits on a concrete slab encompassing five acres, is located just south of Stone Mountain Parkway, on Mountain Industrial Boulevard, and about five miles east of Interstate Highway 285, the Atlanta Beltway.

American Fare is about 18 miles from downtown Atlanta and less than five miles from the De Kalb/Gwinnett county border.

The natural funnel from Gwinnett County to American Fare is Stone Mountain Parkway and its extension, U.S. Route 78, while shoppers from other parts of the Atlanta market can reach the store from the Beltway and its interconnect with the Parkway.

Traffic studies found that over 2,000 cars flow pass the store daily, American Fare executives said.

The highway network leading to the store has led executives to expect weekly visits from shoppers living within a five-minute trip, bi-weekly shopping from consumers within a 10-minute drive and monthly away.