Thursday, July 07, 2011

Harris Teeter closing store at Golden Gate Shopping Center in Greensboro

Greensboro's Golden Gate Shopping Center is one unique development. It is one of the few shopping centers in the state (if not the country) to be anchored by two full-service grocery stores. One of those stores, Harris Teeter, announced today that they are closing before the end of the month. That store opened as an A&P in 1960, later becoming a Bestway and eventually a Harris Teeter store in 1988. This is their oldest store that is still in operation in town, and has been for well over 20 years.
Harris Teeter's store prior to its current remodel (Bargerconstruction.com)
Harris Teeter's closure of this location will leave virtually no Harris Teeter on the east side of Greensboro. In the past few years they have shuttered other nearby locations such as their store at Executive Square, which originally began as a Kroger, and their store on Summit Avenue at Bessemer, which is now a Compare Foods Market. The Golden Gate store's square footage, approximately 30,000 square feet, and its inability to expand (typical Harris Teeter stores run on average about 48,000 square feet these days) is cited as a reason for this store's closure.
The other grocery store in the shopping center is a Food Lion that opened as a Kroger in 1960. This store is roughly the same size as the Harris Teeter, just over 30,000 square feet, and it will become the sole grocery anchor of the center.
Golden Gate shopping center is one of the closest shopping centers to downtown, and the two stores have been able to compete because its location straddles a line between a middle class area and a very high income area.

3 comments:

J.T. said...

The 1988 remodel was typical horrible 80's architecture...I felt my eyes burn looking at it. The current design is not much better, but it looks softer. I wish they could have done it up 50's style.

Anonymous said...

Any word on what might move into the empty space?

Grocerying said...

@Anonymous, no word yet, when we hear something it will be posted here.