FreshTake, the new supermarket conceived by 28-year-old industrialist Jackson Mitchell, held its groundbreaking ceremony Friday morning at its slated location at 2907 Washington Road, the former site of Whole Foods.
Jackson is a fourth-generation scion of the Mitchell Grocery family, based in Albertville, Ala., and the CEO of Jackson Mitchell Holdings, which owns Jonesville, Ga.-based Little Giant Farmers Market chain.
Several members of the family, including Jackson’s father David Mitchell, president of Mitchell Grocery Corp., and sister Sarah Mitchell Wagner, of Mitchell Marketing Solutions, welcomed a host of attendees that included representatives from Little Giant.
The FreshTake concept, Wagner said, is the culmination of some 15 years of brainstorming ideas for the “ideal grocery store,” since her brother’s days as a student at Auburn University.
“He spent most of his spare time in college in his apartment with a pencil and a blueprint where he worked on the design for his perfect grocery store concept, which is now about to begin construction in this building behind us,” said Wagner, citing the history of the family business, from their great-grandfather starting a “humble produce stand” all the way to Jackson bagging groceries in the family stores as a teen.
“It’s been a lot of fun to watch this dream kind of unfold for Jackson,” she said.
The elaborate concept for the store includes several fresh food shops serving everything from sushi to sandwiches, a barbecue/steakhouse restaurant, a beer and wine bar and a Starbucks, alongside a traditional grocery store and a second-floor mezzanine.
“The name is a hybrid name… it’s a double meaning,” Jackson Mitchell said. “You can take fresh away from the store, [and] it’s also a fresh take on supermarkets.”
Mitchell noted that the following week, renovations on the space will begin on the 12,000-square foot space, with the market slated to open in summer of 2024.
Augusta will be the first location at which Mitchell will launch the FreshTake concept, a decision to which he attributes the city’s population, calling it a “very dense market.”
“We think that, mixed with our expanded offerings, and creating a destination, will really make it a successful concept,” he said. “So we’re thrilled, even more so than when we started, just meeting people within the community and being able to provide these services. We’re excited to be part of it.”
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
