Smyrna - Smyrna, GA

Smyrna

Sing Food Store

540 Concord Road Southeast

Smyrna, GA 30082

Scroll Down for the MTC Post on Kroger #451

Revised: May 13, 2023 | Original Publication: May 7, 2022

Editor's Note:  As time goes by, I occasionally hear from readers who have a connection to a particular location. Several months after I originally published this post, a former employee named Rick reached out to me via email to share some new info about this store.  Based on what I saw, I figured I should write up a full refresh to include all of his pictures and memories.  Additionally, I have since taken a few more photos of Kroger #451 following its remodel which I will share below.  If you've already seen this post before, make sure to check out the new "Background" section as well as the November 2022 update to the Kroger section.

After my brief diversion [in March 2022] covering several former Publix stores across Atlanta, I'm back to my regularly scheduled programming for The Sing Oil Blog!  Today, we will be covering a store which, for a change, I know a good bit about its past.  Even better, I actually have some never-before seen pictures of how this store looked back in the late-1960's and early-1970's to share, beginning with the one at the top of this post!  As usual, all of the unattributed pictures are from my collection, and provide us a rare look at some of Sing Oil Company's earliest convenience stores.

I love it when this blog allows me to tie personal connections into the various former Sing Stores located across the Southeast.  In today's background section, we will do just that thanks to some all of the information from one of the store's former employees.  Let's see what he remembers:

Former Powder Springs Road Sing in Marietta, GA

"In 1976, I was a gas station attendant. It was my first job, at the Marietta location. I earned $2.45/hr. I bought my first gallon of gas at that station for .45/gal. Larry McDougald was the store manager, Larry White was the station manager. Both were just great guys, all the way around.

We called the station house, 'the doghouse.' The gas pumps that were on that particular Island where the doghouse sat were full service, rain or shine, 90° or 20°.  I swear I nearly froze to death one night we were so busy pumping gas. It was too cold for anyone to get out and do their own. Gas tanks were huge and at 45 cents a gallon it took a while to fill those up. Me and my partner that night, Tony, were so cold we huddled up together with a space heater inside the doghouse, just to try to keep warm. 

Times were a lot different then. We had a floor safe inside that doghouse and back then you either paid with a credit card or cash. There was no such thing as a debit card. We would have thousands and thousands of dollars at the end of the day and we would sit out in that doghouse all by ourselves at night counting cash and then drop it into the floor safe and leave. We would sell about 300,000 gallons of gasoline every month at that location.

I was actually in the doghouse, listening to the radio the morning that Elvis Presley died in '77. The guy that worked in the store was a HUGE Elvis fan, he was only a year or two older than I, and he actually walked out to the doghouse, to see if I had heard. He had tears in his eyes.  I remember it was really foggy that morning and threatening rain. How's that for a memory?

Powder Springs road is now a four-lane with a center turn lane. Back then it was two lanes, with no turn lane. We never even felt threatened, but I wouldn't do it today For Love nor Money." 

Well, how's that for a story!  That anecdote may not relate to the Smyrna station, but it is still interesting to hear a firsthand perspective from somebody about the nearby Powder Springs Road store.  In addition to the text above, he also sent me several old photos of the Smyrna store – let's take a look!

Courtesy of Rick (Blog Contributor)

"The construction photos of the Smyrna location are from 1967. I worked there too, for a little while, mostly during the summers when I would be home from college. I have a lot of great memories there too."

Courtesy of Rick (Blog Contributor)

"The additional space . . . to the left of the building [the cinder block structure we see above] was actually added for the sole purpose of housing returnable soft drink bottles.  There were cases and cases of them always, stacked floor to ceiling.  Coca Cola & Pepsi bottles were worth 5¢ each, back in the mid-70s and they would tend to go missing at night."

This structure was demolished at some point in the late 1970's or early 1980's to allow for a full expansion of the store off to the left.  We'll see the modern photos below showing the newer addition blending in pretty seamlessly.

Courtesy of Rick (Blog Contributor)

What I find crazy about this photo, is that if you look closely, the two men working on the pump canopy are standing on ladders which are just situated on the beds of those two trucks!  I may or may not have used the tactic myself, but doing something like this on a modern construction site would most definitely be an OSHA violation!

Courtesy of Rick (Blog Contributor)

We'll take one last glance at the store while it was under construction before jumping ahead a few years.

Courtesy of Rick (Blog Contributor)

 Just take a look at that car in the foreground!  Is that a 1959 Impala?

"We never really had much of an issue at that location either until the gas shortages came, in the late 70s & early 80s. That store was located on Concord Road in Smyrna. I remember the line of cars waiting to get gas would be backed up at least a mile, in either direction. We had to use the police for traffic control. Again, back then it was two lanes and not four, as it is now. And when we ran out of gasoline with cars still backed out into the street it would occasionally turn ugly."

Courtesy of Rick (Blog Contributor)

Rick also sent me several other random photos from his days at Sing, which I figured I would include even if I don't know the full context.  This picture looks to have been taken just inside the front door.  You may remember that Sing used to place the cashier counters in the dead center of the store and I'm guessing the wine display and freezer may have been placed for shoppers to see when they entered the store.  I'm not entirely sure if the man in the photograph is Rick or if it is one of the store managers.

Courtesy of Rick (Blog Contributor)

Here we can see the pump islands and the "dog house" just as they would have looked from the front of the store.

Courtesy of Rick (Blog Contributor)

While I may never know why somebody took these two pictures through the front door, we can see a VW Bug with "Genuine Parts Co." written on the hood.  It looks like the parts company may have needed to find a reputable paint shop too.

Courtesy of Rick (Blog Contributor)

I also don't know the man in this photo, but it looks like his patch says his name is Steve.

Courtesy of Rick (Blog Contributor)

Finally, we see a man unloading some boxes from the Mrs. Kinser's Home Style Salads truck.

Courtesy of Rick (Blog Contributor)

"Most people wouldn't remember the insulated thermos cups (photo attached), from the earlier days, circa 1980 (I think). Most people think QT came up with them. I can prove that theory wrong. HA!!! I used to get my daily sugar high by filling it up at the Icee Machine. Banana flavor also made AMAZING daiquiris!"

It looks to me like Rick may have the larger version of insulated Sing cup because it seems like the proportions are different than my 16 oz variant.  Cool how he still has one in such good shape, and I bet a banana ICEE would make a good daiquiri!  I would guess that these cups were rolled out in the mid-1980's because Sing seemed to roll out the yellow and blue logo sometime between 1984 and 1986.

Courtesy of Rick (Blog Contributor)

As for this photo, Rick says he thinks it was the Powder Springs store; however, the building above doesn't seem to match my photo.  Regardless, this shot shows us a typical 1970's Sing Food Store on a gloomy winter day.

I personally love looking through these old pictures to get a glimpse of suburban design from the mid-Twentieth Century.  If I knew anything about cars, these pictures would probably be that much better!  Anyhow, I'm glad that Rick reached out and I hope you enjoyed this blast from the past!  Now, let's take a look at the photos from my collection.

I wanted to point out a few things that differ at this station as compared to the later Sing Stores from the 1970's.  The first of which are the road signs: this station received signs which were mounted to a single pole with Sing's circa 1964 logo.  While a revised version of this hardware would be revived in the early-to-mid 1980's, just before the release of Sing's ca. 1986 yellow logo, most stations during Sing's convenience store era received signs similar to this one.  Only the earliest of the Sing Stores featured the sign shown above, which were primarily installed at dealer-operated gasoline stations during the 1960's.  Furthermore, this store also received the large arced florescent light fixtures in the parking lot and an older-style canopy compared to stores (like Thomasville #5) which would open in the early 1970's.  The concrete footings for these old signs and fixtures often remain long after the original hardware was removed, but this station was lucky enough to still have both 1967 light arms gracefully standing over the parking lot until 2020.  You can check them out and see the remaining footings in the street views below.

Smyrna - around 1967
Shortly after station opening - View from Concord Road SE

This store opened its doors to the public late in 1967, making it one of Sing's original Stop 'N Shop stores (along with Tallahassee #3, Columbus #2, and LaGrange #1) and the first Sing Store in the Atlanta Metro.  Likewise, it also sported one of Sing's early backlit canopies, which would have probably been removed during a 1970's renovation.  It is so cool to see this store just after it opened, with its freshly laid asphalt parking lot and its shiny yellow ribbons floating in the breeze.  While the station doesn't look nearly as polished today, at least it still stands for us to tour!

Smyrna - around 1971
Shortly after a rainstorm - View from Concord Road SE

By the early 1970's, the asphalt didn't look nearly as pristine, and the yellow plastic convenience store branding had faded to a dreary beige color (or maybe it is just the stormy looking day doing that).  I also find it interesting how the price for regular gas seems to have decreased by 4¢ since the station's grand opening, unless "Super Regular" ended up being called "premium" in the end.  Regardless, I wish gas prices were still 30¢ a gallon!

Smyrna - around 1966
Aerial photograph taken for site evaluation - Looking southwest

This station also happens to be the only one in my collection where I have record of the site selection process.  We can see above an aerial photograph taken from a small aircraft of the area surrounding the intersection of Concord Road and North Cooper Lake Road, with the proposed site drawn in pen.  With Sing Oil Company being based out of South Georgia, I'm sure the site planners made a number of such trips to areas like Atlanta, Columbus, and LaGrange to decide which intersections were ripe for expansion.  While the degree to which this occurred is unknown, at least we get a little slice of this region's past before the store was built!

Smyrna - around 1966
Aerial photograph taken for site evaluation - Looking northeast

This store looks like it was planned for a largely residential neighborhood, a short distance away from the more commercialized South Cobb Drive.  The area seems to remain largely the same in that regard, with the only other adjacent businesses being a CVS (the CVS across the street closed in late-2022), a childcare center, a liquor store, and various medical offices.  Basically, no big-box retailers or supermarkets until you get to South Cobb Drive (which happens to have an interesting Food Depot, former A&P / Grand Union Big Star.  Market Report Media toured a similar store back in 2019 and provided some insight into the Food Depot's past).

For those who aren't familiar with the area, Smyrna is a suburb located to the Northwest of Atlanta.  The town is located just outside the I-285 perimeter, and is home to The Battery and Truist Park, the new home of the Atlanta Braves baseball team.  Smyrna also has two Nam Dae Mun locations (former Publix #580 and a former Winn-Dixie / Save Rite), but neither of them are quite as interesting as the former Publix #520 or #535 which we toured a few weeks ago.

With that being said, let's move on to the modern convenience store!

While they may be hard to see in my pictures above, I believe the black sconces mounted to the wall on either side of the windows are original to 1967.  They seem to match the style used on other stores and look like they are the same shape as what I see in the older pictures.  

We can also catch a better glimpse of the addition on the left side of the store; I would've thought that Sing built this during their mid-1980's delicatessen roll out, but aerial pictures seem to indicate it is older than that.  Maybe the store just needed more space for all of those Coke bottles!

A former Sing wouldn't be complete without the pair of air / vacuum lights!  These fixtures look like they were swapped out by Amoco at some point during the 1990's, but I believe the poles they are mounted on are original to Sing.

While nothing immediately stands out to me about this awning, there always is the possibility that it uses the 1967 structure (similar to Perry #1).  Everything that I see looks modern, however.  At least the placement seems to match where Sing would have positioned theirs.

 

I believe I took this picture to highlight the wood paneling in this old window frame: a telltale sign that Sing Oil Company was in the building!  The cashier counter is located just behind this wall in the store.

 

Stepping inside, I was greeted by a lot of mobile drink coolers and a customer looking directly at me.  I had to be quick with this shot!

Thanks to Blogger's annoying photo uploading patterns, we'll look at these photos in the reverse order of how I took them.  Oh well, you'll get the point!  Regardless, here we have a slightly severely obscured view of the cashier counter, cash ATM, and cryptocurrency ATM.  Maybe I should pay more attention to cryptocurrencies, but I feel like a 55-year-old convenience store would not be my choice location for making a purchase!  It also seems as if this store performs quite well with alcohol sales, judging by all of the signs on the exterior and all of the wine in this shot.  Furthermore, the only picture Google Maps has from the interior is this store is one of a cooler full of MD 20 20 and Wild Irish Rose.

While it is hard to tell from this photo, the wine rack we see here was also home to a stick of burning incense (if you zoom in, you can see some of the smoke rising to the right of one of the lights). While pickles and wine can create a mood, incense and wine truly enhance the sensual experience of this store!  I, however, find this addition to the store's ambiance to be a bit insensitive to those with allergies or asthma.

Since I have seen these floor tiles in other former Sing Stores, I'm inclined to believe that they are a remnant from the 1980's (or earlier).  Hopefully they don't contain asbestos . . .

I also think these cabinets look pretty vintage.  I have no idea if they are from Sing, but they look like they are old enough to be!

If you haven't noticed, this store was very crowded (with stuff, not people).  That being said, it was pretty hard to figure out what pieces of the layout were original to Sing Oil Company and what had been moved.  I also didn't want to hang out too long; otherwise, all of my clothes would have smelled like incense for days.  

I do feel confident that these Formica cabinets date back to Sing, but I'm not sure if they would have been located in this section of the store.  Most Sing Stores from this era would have placed their cash register here; on the other hand, based on the fact that the window closest to the register was covered with paneling makes me wonder if Sing left their register there.

Stepping back a bit further, we can see the entire length of the back of the store.  I do wonder how long it will take this store to sell the copious amounts of bottled water we see here!

These drink coolers look old enough to be original, but I don't believe I have seen Sing place them along this wall of the store.  Standing at the front door, these were located against the left wall of the store, in the addition.

Here we have a nice overview of the store from the back left corner.  I believe the addition space begins approximately where the fire alarm bell is mounted to the wall.

Now we'll take a look at the back left corner, from the front left corner.

Our last look will be from the front door, looking to the left down the front aisle of the store.  It still amazes me at how much product some of these stores have in them; this one was filled to the brim!

Now that we have seen the inside of this store, let's take a look at some aerial and street views before we dive into Kroger #451.

Street Views

Google Street View - January 2008

Smyrna Sing Store as a Citgo - Notice Sing's 1967 light post still being used 

 

Google Street View - July 2012

Smyrna Sing Store as a Citgo, again

Google Street View - March 2015

Smyrna Sing Store with the new Citgo livery

 Google Street View - January 2022

Smyrna Sing Store, how it looks today

Aerial Views

Historic Aerials - 1960
Future site of the Smyrna Sing Store

Historic Aerials - 1968
Newly built Smyrna Sing Store 

Historic Aerials - 1972
Smyrna Sing Store - Notice the small shed on the east side of the convenience store

Historic Aerials - 1981
Smyrna Sing Store with new addition on east side of building

Google Earth - October 2021
Former Smyrna Sing Store

GreenWise Market #1676 - Mountain Brook, AL

 

GreenWise Market #1676

Lane Park

1000 Jemison Lane

Mountain Brook, AL 35223

An Alabamian Anomaly

Update:  this store officially converted to Publix #1676 in June 2024

Hello, and welcome back to The Sing Oil Blog!  Today's post will bring us back to Birmingham, AL, and more specifically, the second most expensive zip code in the state (according to AL.com and Stacker).  As of February 2021, the average home value was $652,115, with many properties listed for upwards of $1 million.  Needless to say, it makes sense that Publix selected Mountain Brook for its third GreenWise Market 2.0.  

The City of Mountain Brook is an interesting area as it consists of three "villages": Crestline Village, English Village, and Mountain Brook Village, with the GreenWise residing in the latter.  The three small villages encapsulate the commercial districts of the primarily residential municipality, with most shoppers driving east toward the aforementioned Winn-Dixie to patronize traditional big-box stores such as Walmart, Home Depot, or Publix or west to the 280 corridor to visit Target, Fresh Market, or Whole Foods.

That being said, the GreenWise isn't devoid of competition.  There is a Piggly Wiggly located just down the road in Crestline Village that we may visit at a later date . . .

To most, this may just look like another Publix GreenWise Market, similar to Tallahassee's #1573 that we explored two weeks ago.  In order to learn what's so special about this place, we need to turn the clock back and see how Publix ended up in the European-inspired village.

Courtesy Dystopos (Flickr) - Western Supermarket #7 - September 15, 2007

The Birmingham News (Newspapers.com) - September 24, 1959

Let's circle back to 1959, when Western Super Markets opened their first store in Mountain Brook on September 26th.  A formal 10-day grand opening celebration for the Mountain Brook Shopping Center followed soon after on October 28, 1959, showcasing the new store which at the time featured "a 60-foot frozen food counter on both sides of the store," and "9,750 [square] feet of floor space."  That original store was located on the Western side of the plaza (what a perfect setup for one of my cheesy puns!); meanwhile, it was joined by a Colonial Store, Little Hardware, Utopia Cleaners, Woods Rexall, and Embry's Variety Store, with rumors that a 2-story department store would follow soon.

The adjacent Colonial Store, located on the East end of the shopping center, was the oldest building in the plaza.  It opened five years prior to the other businesses and was said to have expanded and remodeled from its original configuration by the time 1959 rolled around.

Speaking of the Colonial, it is also stated that "'One of our specialties,' said [Manager Bill] Gilstrap, 'is a complete line of party and Kosher foods.  Many of the party foods such as baby bees, grasshoppers and caterpillars come from foreign countries.'"  Hold up, am I reading this correctly; is this article implying that people held bug-eating parties in the late-1950's?

Regardless, the bug business must not have been that lucrative because if you think back to my last Birmingham post, Colonial Stores exited the market in 1964.  Winn-Dixie bought nine stores from the chain and rebranded them as Hill's Food Stores, a brand they had acquired several years earlier.  The article above states that the existing Mountain Brook Hill's was closed in favor of keeping the Colonial at 2717 Culver Road.   Winn-Dixie eventually converted the Colonial/Hill's to the WD brand and operated alongside the Western until 1972.  I'm still shocked at how many mid-20th Century grocery stores I've come across that operated right next to each other!

Birmingham Post-Herald (Newspapers.com) - November 14, 1973

I'm not exactly sure when the Winn-Dixie closed, but the 15th Western Super Market had taken over the old space by the time its November 14, 1973, grand opening came around.

Courtesy Western Markets (Archive.org)

Other than the addition of a vestibule and greenhouse, the front of the store basically looked the same as it did in 1973 up until the end.

Courtesy Western Markets (Archive.org)

Unless I get lucky with an old Foursquare or Yelp listing, it's typically a struggle to find pictures of a store that closed in 2016 or before (that seems to be when Google Maps photos really started to take off).  Thankfully, an archive of Western's website had a few photos from the inside of their second Mountain Brook Shopping Center store.  Here we can see the old produce aisle located along the right wall of the store.

Courtesy Western Markets (Archive.org)

Despite the fact that this store dated back to the 1950's, it looks like the interior underwent an extensive remodel at some point in the 21st Century.  The dark ceilings and brick accents remind me of the Hattiesburg Corner Market we toured last year.

Courtesy Western Markets (Archive.org)

It only makes sense for a store featuring a greenhouse on the front to have an extensive floral department!  Long before I got into my retail hobby, much less before I realized stores actually painted the walls, I visited this Western Market and remember them having impressive floral and wine departments.  It seems like they even had a florist and a sommelier on staff at this location.

@westernwineshop (Instagram) - November 13, 2013

@westernwineshop (Instagram) - November 22, 2013

The sommelier would explain why Western had an entire Instagram account (and mascot) dedicated to its Mountain Brook store's wine department.  Both of the photos above come from the circa 1973 store, and I'm shocked at how much alcohol they could fit inside a 20,000 sq ft space!  

Courtesy John Jeffcoat (Google Maps) - September 4, 2016

In comparison, Publix #720 is a similar size but hosts a much smaller wine department in favor of more room for standard groceries.

In October 2013, Western announced that they would vacate their existing store and join Mountain Brook's new Lane Park development as an anchor of the 28-acre mixed-use development.  In addition to the supermarket, the complex includes a boutique Grand Bohemian hotel, upscale apartments (which start at $2,233 a month for a one bedroom), and all sorts of specialty shopping and dining.

AL.com - Former Mountain Brook Shopping Center

Shortly following the announcement, Little Hardware decided to relocate to a new store in nearby English Village, while Smith's Variety moved to Crestline Village.  Both businesses had been in the complex for decades, with Little Hardware being one of the original 1959 tenants and Smith's presumably taking over the old Embry's space.  

Village Living Online - December 28, 2016

Western opted to terminate its lease which was set to expire in 2019 in favor of moving to a new store in phase one of the new development; however, Rite Aid decided they wanted to ride out the entire term of its lease which prevented developers from demolishing the west side of the shopping center for several years.

Courtesy Village Living - October 13, 2016

The new 28,300 sq ft store opened to lots of fanfare on October 13, 2016, which marked the beginning of the end for the previous 60-year-old store.

Courtesy L.D. Duffee (Google Maps) - January 14, 2017

The old supermarket was paid a visit by the wrecking ball in early 2017, while the Rite Aid managed to hold on for another year or so.

Well what are we waiting for, let's take a look inside the new Western!

Courtesy Village Living - October 13, 2016

The new store featured a whole host of fresh departments including an outpost for the local O'Henry's coffee company and fresh donuts from The Heavenly Donut Company.

Courtesy Village Living - October 13, 2016

The service departments were all located in the back right corner of the store and offered plenty of ready to eat options.

Courtesy Bham Now - November 23, 2016

Meanwhile, the back left corner was home to frozen foods (you can zoom in to see a photo of the circa 1959 store).

Courtesy Bham Now - November 23, 2016

Up front, we see the store's checkout lines and customer service counter off in the distance.

Courtesy Village Living - October 13, 2016

Meanwhile, wines were housed in a large alcove on the left side of the store (complete with a climate-controlled cellar).

Courtesy Tommy Daspit Photography

Even if you don't drink wine, this department was certainly a sight to behold.

Courtesy Village Living - October 13, 2016

(I wish the photographer had cleaned her camera lens before taking this shot.)

This store also featured a mezzanine level seating area above the registers . . .

Courtesy Village Living - October 13, 2016

. . . along with a fantastic view of the sales floor.

I found one more photo gallery with some very well framed shots of this store that were taken for Hoar Construction.  Had I not already added the pictures above, I probably would have opted to use those instead!

Unfortunately, this Western would only survive two-and-a-half years before it was announced that Publix would acquire two locations from the company. Western's remaining two stores would close several weeks later.

Publix reopened this store as a GreenWise Market on June 27, 2019, after remodeling the interior and changing out the signage.  The new store's offerings were also a departure from the Birmingham grocer's since GreenWise exclusively offered organic products.

Courtesy Bham Now - June 27, 2019

In a nutshell, area residents were mad when they could no longer drive down to their local supermarket and pick up a 12-pack of Diet Coke or a regular loaf of honey wheat bread.  I'm certain that sales suffered at the new store compared to the previous occupant, which eventually forced Publix to adapt the concept to include standard grocery items in addition to specialty & organic products.  Maybe this is why the Lakeland company initially neglected to add any obvious Publix branding to these stores, referring to them simply as "GreenWise Market".

Courtesy Bham Now - June 27, 2019

At some point during 2020 or 2021, Publix decided to change course and essentially morph the existing GreenWise stores into small, upscale Publixes.  Both concepts now offer most of the same products you would find in a regular supermarket; however, the former adds more prepared foods and a few extra organic products.  This reversal likely resulted from both Lucky's Market and Earth Fare, GreenWise's primary competition, going under at the beginning of 2020, which will bring us to the store we see today.

Now that we've had that history lesson, let's see what all Publix decided to do with the space.

From the outside, we can see the turret we see on the corner of the building that is home to Western's old wine cellar (with single bottles of wine costing more than what I spend on groceries in a month).

I guess I shouldn't criticize the photographer above too much because my shot here has some really bad lens flare.  I had a protector over my camera lens for a while until I eventually realized it made my photo quality suffer, which is likely the main culprit behind this artifact.

Jumping inside to another blurry photo, we can see all of the "Florida Local" orchids (despite the closest point in Florida being over three-hours away) along with some local Birmingham artwork.

Turning to the right, we see this store's stockpile of buggies (which again, are different than the Technibilts I typically see in Publix), along with an event calendar off in the distance.  Probably the most intriguing event is the weekly trivia held in the FINDS department.  I think I could kill some grocery store trivia!

 

Continuing into the store, we are greeted by the produce department – does this look a bit familiar?

Wow, I recognize the look of the grand aisle too!  Much to my surprise, Publix essentially walked into this store, removed any signage, painted the walls, and hung their décor over what was left.  I'd have to say that the GreenWise look blends in well with what Western originally used!  On the other hand, I do miss some of the warmer tones this Western used to feature.

If you pay close attention to the graphics used in the produce department, you can actually see the pattern of the faux bricks under GreenWise's vinyl stickers.  We can also see where Publix painted all of the round wooden accents grey. 

I was shocked when I realized how much of this space had been recycled from Western, which leads to some diversions from the way Publix typically organized GreenWise stores.  The first notable one is the POURS counter we see to the left.  This department directly replaced the old O'Henry's space and likewise only serves non-alcoholic beverages like coffee, tea, and açai (what a nice rhyme).

Turning 90° to the left, we see the grab-and-go drink cooler which is exactly where Western left it. 

Previously, Western's expansive floral department would have been located to my left, sandwiched between produce and the checkout lines.

Another departure from the norm is the fact that all of the department signs in this store are painted dark grey.  If you'll remember, Tallahassee used a light wood grain while Marietta used a silver color. 

In this shot, we can see this store's POURS on the left, followed by sliced meats and the Pub Sub EATS.

Over to the right is the pasta and pizza station, followed by the burrito and Asian bowl counter.  The CUTS meat and seafood counter can be seen off in the distance.

Poor me, pour me another round

Line 'em up and knock 'em down

Two more, let's go

Take a look at everything we saw befo'e

Don't want to think about it

Or even drink around it

Don't want to hit the Publix sandwich bar, can't eat without it

So make them olives strong, 'cause brother Western's gone

And if I'm ever gonna move on [to aisle 1]

I'ma need some bulk food action, 'cause I'm just in a healthy mood

They're probably riding off on a horse right now with someone new

As you know by now, I'm a sucker for some good word play, and I just love the double entendre in Morgan Wallen's "Whiskey Glasses". The song doesn't really relate to this store at all, but the line got stuck in my head as I was writing the descriptions for the POURS coffee bar above!

We also just sped through several other Western remnants, most notably the tile on the back wall featuring the GreenWise logo.  Likewise, I linked back to a photo I found where Western used that same tile to display graphics for its "Butcher Shoppe", followed by the historic Mountain Brook photo collage on the curved wall over the freezers.

Anyhow, the GreenWise features an extensive bulk foods department, complete with urns full of clover honey, liquid aminos, and raw blue agave.  The Sing Oil Sidekick informed me that liquid aminos are often used as a substitute for soy sauce for those with a gluten intolerance; meanwhile, blue agave is used as an organic vegan sweetener.

Jumping back to the front, we see the store's customer service counter, which I recall previously being home to Western's floral department.

I am surprised that the sign for aisle 3 doesn't appear to have a stock image like the others, as I believe it is supposed to show some colorful tortellini noodles.

We'll take one last look at the back right corner of the store before moving on.

It's hard to see the pickles in the sign for aisle 4, but this space appears to also be used for candy, bread, jelly, and fruit juice.  Obviously, Reese's and Capri-Sun aren't items you'd typically associate with a "green" supermarket . . .

Likewise, Coca-Cola is a previously-unavailable product that shoppers can now find on aisle 5.  Soft drinks appear to take up a lot of shelf space on this aisle, so I wonder what kind of products had to be cut back for the change.

We'll take a quick overview of the dairy department in the back left corner, but:

If you don't wanna see me . . .

. . . Did a full one-eighty, crazy

Thinkin' bout that curvy wall

Did the graphics change here? Maybe

But look at how they ended up

I'm all good already

So moved on, aisle seven

I'm not where you left me at all, so

If you don't wanna see me drinking in a GreenWise

. . .

If you wanna believe that anything could stop me

Don't show up, don't come out

Don't start caring about me now

Walk away, you know how

Don't start CARE[ing] about me now

Guess where we FIND ourselves now . . . the Western Wine World!  I personally think the wine crates Western used for displays looked classier than these cut open wine boxes; however . . .

It looks like Publix has just relegated some of them to storage in various spaces around the store.  Despite how I ended up framing this photo, I think my intent was to capture the advertisements for the cooking classes at Publix #1687.  Interesting how Publix is advertising a class at a different store 20 minutes down the traffic nightmare of Highway 280!

(For those who aren't familiar with the area, Birminghamians are always complaining about the traffic on 280, and all I've got to say is, "try driving on I-75.")

We can also see this store's tiny selection of periodicals located in front of Western's old customer service counter.

Jumping back into the FINDS wing, we see how Publix has maintained the massive wine and beer selection Western was known for.  GreenWise has also kept its own sommelier on staff, whom I believe may have originally worked for Western. 

This store did have a lot of local brews available; likewise, I think my intent with this shot was to showcase the variety of "local" price tags in this display.  While I've never seen the one stating "Local Product" before, the "Alabama Local" one at the top of the photo utilizes Publix's late-Sienna design language and the "Alabama Local" tags above and below the IPA cans use the newer Evergreen styling.

Once customers have selected their $230 bottle of Mercury Head or $350 bottle of Dunn Cabernet, they can chill it to the proper temperature in the machine we see here (despite the fact that both of the aforementioned wines are cabernets which should be consumed at room temperature).

Again, I don't think I noticed the several-hundred-dollar bottles of wine that ended up in this shot, I primarily saw the "Wines of the World" sign which hearkens back to branding Publix once used for the department in other stores.

Bellying up to the bar, we can see the beer tap handles that were custom made for GreenWise, along with a small sign encouraging customers to "SEE. SWIRL. SMELL. SIP. SWISH. SAVOR." (and more of those wine crates). These six verbs also serve as a helpful reminder of the proper process for a wine tasting.

Speaking of wine tasting, customers are allowed, if not encouraged, to grab a glass of their favorite vintage and peruse the rest of the store.  

One piece of travel that I enjoy is tasting different local craft beers, of which the GreenWise has plenty on tap.  It seems like I tried a Märzen, a München-style Oktoberfest beer, from Goat Island Brewing.

I also couldn't resist the urge to have my very own GreenWise-branded pint glass and growler.

Spinning around, we'll take in one last view of this section before we find our way out.

I'll just have to improvise with this archived GIF of mine since Publix unfortunately scrubbed GWM from GIPHY.

  

Courtesy Publix GreenWise via GIPHY

Cheers!

Okay, back to our tour.  Popping out of the FINDS nook, we see this store's small floral department and CARE health and beauty section.

This store's checkouts are located under the mezzanine level seating area, and Publix notably managed to reuse Western's old lane lights, just swapping out the script font text for some Josefin Sans numerals.

As for the checkouts themselves, I found it interesting that Publix wanted to make it very clear that GreenWise is now a "Part of Publix" on the credit card machines.  Quite the departure from the chain's 2019 intents.

That brings us to our next adventure: the Bacon Lovers Bash.  I had no clue I'd end up in the Tallahassee GreenWise on September 10th, but thought the sign here advertised a – unique – event.

Let's head upstairs to take a look at the mezzanine.

It's hard to tell from this shot, but my experience upstairs only added to how bizarre this store was.  Once stepping foot on the final stair, I was surrounded by none other than a hoard of high schoolers doing their homework.  I can confidently say this is the only place I've A). drank a beer inside a supermarket and B). seen teenagers just hanging out in a supermarket.

It seems to me like these two things reflect Publix's intents for the GreenWise chain concept, but Western's ultimately better execution with this store's design.  The fact that people want to spend more time in a store is something that retailers have been battling for decades, and it seems like this location may actually be winning.  After all, the more time people spend in a store (and the more alcohol they drink), the more stuff they will eventually buy. This concept is especially relevant in the age of online shopping and delivery.

Now, for what we've all been waiting for: the view(s).

This is probably my favorite picture from this entire photoset, but shoppers (or high schoolers) can take in this view of the produce department immediately as they are walking up the stairs.

I do like the contrast of the colored vegetables against the abyss of grey.

We then round the corner to take a look at the main sales floor . . .

Along with a shot toward CARE and FINDS.

Our last look inside the store is back downstairs toward the former Cadence Bank space.  I'm surprised Publix kept the bank in the first place, considering it is the only Cadence branch ever located within a Publix, but it looks like the bank likely had a deal signed with Western that Publix decided to maintain.  On the other hand, I'm not surprised that this branch closed on December 2, 2022, considering Publix has also eliminated the remaining Truist banks in its Atlanta-area stores.

That will wrap up our 'stour', so I'm curious to hear what y'all's thoughts are.  My friend Retail Retell mentioned "I thought it was really neat!  Expensive... but neat." 

While I didn't get the chance to actively compare prices, he brings up an interesting point.  I'm not sure how much like-for-like prices differ from a normal Publix – or Kroger – for that matter.  Obviously neither Publix nor Kroger typically carry $350 bottles of wine, but I would still be curious to compare prices for some of the regular items, like a pound of chicken or a head of lettuce, to other stores.

With that, let's take a look at some satellite imagery.

Aerial Views

I typically don't include descriptions of each aerial shot, but there are quite a few stages of this shopping center which are much easier to understand with a look from above:

Historic Aerials - 1947 - Future site of Mountain Brook Shopping Center

Historic Aerials - 1956 - Colonial Store and future site of Mountain Brook Shopping Center

By 1956, site work for the new shopping center had been completed on the north side of the newly constructed Mountain Brook Village (the heart of which being the five-point intersection at the bottom of the screenshot).  We can see the Colonial Store had already been completed on the East side of the plaza, and work was likely about to begin on the rest of the center.

Historic Aerials - 1970 - Mountain Brook Shopping Center, with Mountain Brook Village below

Jumping forward to 1970, we see that the entire shopping center had been completed and an addition had even been added to the right side of the old Colonial (which was operating as a Winn-Dixie at the time).  The original Western was located under the "RI" in the "HistoricAerials.com" watermark.

Google Earth - 2002 - Mountain Brook Shopping Center & Mountain Brook Village

By 2002, not much had changed in the shopping center except for an addition to the rear of the "new" Western.

Google Earth - October 2016 - Old and New Western Market locations in Mountain Brook

Jumping to 2016, we can see that the new store is ready to welcome shoppers while the old location is awaiting its demise.

Google Earth - April 2018 - Western Market at Lane Park and remaining Rite Aid store

Ironically, Western's original location in Mountain Brook Shopping Center outlived its second as we can see that side of the plaza still standing in 2018.  This wrinkle was due to Rite Aid's lease still being in effect as I mentioned before.

Google Earth - March 2022 - GreenWise Market and new development at Lane Park

By 2019, the entire shopping center had been demolished and work soon came underway for phase two of the Lane Park development.  We can see the new storefronts nearing completion in the March 2022 satellite view above.

Courtesy Western Supermarkets (Facebook) - February 28, 2019

That will conclude my coverage of Mountain Brook's GreenWestern Market, but make sure to check back in two weeks to see where I end up next!

Happy Trails,

- The Sing Oil Blogger

P.S. My apologies for getting Dua Lipa stuck in your head. 

Update (May 20, 2023): Publix has officially confirmed that it is discontinuing the use the GreenWise Market name for stores and all eight current outlets will eventually be converted into standard Publix stores.   This doesn't come as much of a surprise considering how many planned GreenWise Market locations have since opened as miniature Publix stores.  I suppose it is only a matter of time before the Mountain Brook store becomes Evergrayed.