Vine City Walmart reopens in Atlanta after fires

ATLANTA — The Walmart in Atlanta’s historic Vine City community has officially reopened after an 18-month closure due to a fire.

In May 2022, the store was forced to close its doors after a fire broke out inside the building. It partially reopened the next day and crews were able to make repairs to fully reopen the store.

However, another intentional fire was started just before Christmas 2022, forcing the former Walmart Supercenter to close its doors for much longer.

RELATED: Community Members React to Vine City Walmart Reopening After Being Fired Twice

Walmart held its grand reopening as a 75,000-square-foot neighborhood market store on Wednesday.

The retail store offers fresh produce, grocery and pharmacy services. Officials said the store also has an Atlanta police landing station, intended to deter crime and provide customers with a sense of security.

The store located at 825 MLK Jr. Dr. NW is a lifeline to thousands of people in the Vine City community. For many community members, the store was the only convenient place to purchase prescriptions and other necessities.

Many customers told 11Alive they went to the Cascade Walmart to get prescriptions and groceries while the Vine City location was closed. However, this became increasingly difficult as many customers said they did not have transportation to get there.

“I had to move away from home. To another Walmart miles away, maybe five to 10 miles away,” said one customer, Mary.

The new Neighborhood Market store also sits on the edge of the Atlanta University Center, making it a resource for students at any school who might not be able to shop for groceries.

Although the U.S. Department of Agriculture does not classify Vine City as a food desert, locals say it absolutely is.

“We didn’t have a place to buy our fresh produce, our people, our goods and all that. And the pharmacy is the most important one,” said another customer, Joy Barnes.

Walmart officials said the pharmacy has been expanded to include more refrigerators, prescriptions and a full-service deli.

“What they’ve done with this store is wonderful. It’s wonderful,” Barnes added.

Walmart also said it wanted to “invest more in the community” and presented the following donations on opening day:

• Atlanta Community Food Bank ($2,000)
• HOPE Atlanta ($2,000)
• Warrior GMR Foundation ($2,500)
• Bearstrong, Inc. ($2,000)
• HI Atlanta ($2,000)
• Hands on Atlanta ($2,000)