Published Wednesday, March 25, 2009

New grocery store opens in areas that have wanted more shopping choices

Editorial

Food Lion is the new grocery store kid on the block in Newnan, with two stores now open and a third store scheduled to open in Grantville later this year.

The first Newnan Food Lion opened two weeks ago near the intersection of U.S. 29 north and the Newnan Bypass. On Wednesday the second local Food Lion opened in Sargent at 2005 West Highway 16.

Food Lion likes to bill itself as a neighborhood grocery store. In each of its Coweta locations -- U.S. 29 North, Sargent and Grantville -- the store has made its neighbors happy. Residents in all three areas have long felt under served by grocery stores. These people have talked about the need for more grocery choices in their neighborhoods.

Now Food Lion has arrived, and early reports are that the stores' neighbors are turning out to shop in big numbers. Food Lion management at the U.S. 29/Bypass location has indicated delight in how shoppers have received the new store.

Now that these three locations have new grocery choices, we suspect people on the south side of downtown Newnan and those near the Interstate 85/Sharpsburg-McCollum Road area would welcome a new grocery store. Both areas have long wanted more grocery shopping opportunities in their neighborhoods.