New QuikTrip Opening on Clairmont Road Near I-85
Decatur Metro | January 4, 2012Tomorrow’s News Today reports that the IGA up near I-85 has closed and that QuikTrip will be building a new gas station in the space…
Now, with IGA closed, Tulsa, Oklahoma-based QuikTrip plans to open a new convenience store and gas station on the land in place of the IGA store, adjacent parking lot and a small, undeveloped parcel behind the center. It’s my understanding that the IGA portion of the aging shopping center will be demolished and that the other businesses like the pharmacy and dry cleaners will remain open. I would love to see the entire center get a facelift, but I’m told that is not a sure thing at this point.
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I suppose they can both co-exist as they’re serving major surface roads that lead to I-85, but that will be extremely close to the QT at Briarcliff & N. Druid.
It’s only close if you’re going in that direction anyway. Otherwise, it may as well be a million miles away.
Have you been to the QT at Briarcliff and N Druid lately? It is complete madness! I wish every corner with a rotting grocery or gas station would get replaced with a QT….they’d do quite well.
i’d prefer racetrac!
racetrac also has mini marshmellows for the hot chocolate!!!!!!1
Alas Racetrac does not accept Amex which means my 3% cash back won’t happen.
Testing a theory I’ve had for about 20 years: people who are from here tend to shorten “North Druid Hills Road” to “Druid Hills,” and people who are not from here are more likely to call it “North Druid.” Anybody else have “evidence” either way?
Hahaha interesting thought. I’ve been here for 5 years and always lived near Toco Hills and always called it North Druid because that’s what I heard everyone else say. When I first got here I said I lived off Druid Hills but people gave me a weird look and then realized I meant North Druid.
by the way, SB… the correct name is actually Toco Hill. No “s” on Hill, even though long time residents like me still refer to that area as such.
I’m from here and referenced it as “N. Druid” in my first post.
I’m from here and for 50 years I’ve called it “North Druid Hills,” much like I say “West Peachtree” or “South Cobb Drive.” “Druid Hills” is that area vaguely bounded by Fernbank, Ponce, Emory, and Briarcliff.
42 Years in VA Highlands and Decatur…. always “North Druid……”
If you’ve been there 42 years you should know that you lived in Virginia-Highland. No plural. The neighborhood is named for the intersection.
Yeah – I have fallen slave to the misnomer over the years. You are absolutely correct.
It is funny to me that nobody I grew up there seemed to care when people called it “The Highlands” or “Virginia-Highlands”, but nowadays folks are very sensitive to it. Of course most people I grew up with live in Decatur now if they are still in town.
Hey, does anyone know if it’s Toco Hill or Toco Hills?
It’s “Hills”, Fats…we used to live there…
It’s Hill.
“Hill” is correct. Only one hill there. I believe the shopping center name has “Toco Hill” on it somewhere.
Uh oh. I called it Toco Hills when I first got to Atlanta and then I was informed that it was Hill, not Hills, so I studiously worked on correcting my reflex. Now I say Toco Hill automatically. Isn’t that what the big marquee says? Or is the marquee wrong and I retrained myself for nothing?
See our thread@ Virginia-Highland above… One of my first jobs was at Toco Hill Movie Theater.
Also, is it TO-co, with a long “O”? Or does it sound like “taco”? The way everyone here pronounces “Ponce de Leon” has caused me to question everything.
rhymes with loco
Yep. I recently saw some crazy neighbors of mine eating at the Chipotle Grill at Toco Hill. That’s right, loco locals lunching on tasty Toco tacos.
Agree with STG, unless you’re my mother who says “Too-co Hills”. But she also says taa-co and paa-sta as though the first a was pronounced like the short a in “cat”. (Have I mentioned that she is visiting?)
While we’re on this kick, is it DeKalb, Dekalb, or De Kalb? I’ve seen all three in very official places. I believe the State of Georgia uses DeKalb but it could be wrong too.
I was taught DeKalb in school.
“…DeKalb was named for Baron Johan Von DeKalb, a French general and friend of Lafayette, who was given the rank of Major General in Washington’s army.” I say we should spell it like the good Baron did!
NDH!
When I traveled north last summer I found a number of very large filling station/convenience stores offering seriously fresh food. QT is opening a number of extra-large establishments as part of this trend. Maybe the new station will be part of that.
In the northeast and upper midwest, many convenience stores were evolutions of local ‘dairy stores’ – often extensions of local or regional dairy farms. As they grew, they added produce and necessities to their dairy offerings, and eventually came to reflect what we see today. The south and west, with lower densities, don’t have that tradition, but skipped directly to the 7-11 style c-stores we know today without the interim steps. That’s why so many stores from the north and midwest were (and are) known for fresh foods, and not just gas and cigarettes. And that’s why they were so well positioned for the growth of mini-produce stands and fresh meal-replacements. (Or so I heard once in a bar…)
Oh pooh. In my youth, the local gas stations or country store were also produce stands, bread stores, dairy stands, etc. One near my old home was also the local moonshine delivery system.
Petroleum and lettuce…yum!
In Europe, you can get liquor, petrol, delicious bread, fresh fruits and veggies, serious chocolate and a good magazine all at the same small gas station. In Atlanta, it’s hard to find delicious bread anywhere.
That area gets pretty congested around rush hour. Hope the QT doesn’t add to that much.
I loved the simplicity of the name “Ed’s IGA”. None of this Higgledy Piggledy Winn Dixie Trader Joe’s Whole Foods fancy stuff or Spanish/English confusion of “Ingles” or pseudo-socialism of Publix. Just “Ed’s”. I’ll miss driving by Ed’s. Does anyone name their children “Ed” anymore?
I love it when I’m in moderation. I have to guess what sent me there. The use of the word “socialism”? “Dixie”? “Ed”? “Trader Joe’s”? Or I didn’t pay my 2012 DM dues yet?
Oh, thank goodness. That grocery store was SO GROSS. And QT has crushed ice! Yay! Crunch, crunch!
Anyone know why there aren’t 7-11s in GA?
Who cares? I want my Wawa!
Several years ago a client and I had had air travel nightmares for 10 hrs and were driving through the PA countryside in the cold, dark, late-night of winter. She suggested stopping at a Wawa, and I thought either she had begun speaking in tongues or I was hallucinating. We had a sort of “who’s on first” conversation in which I tried to get her to tell me the real name, so I’d be able to recognize the sign.
Wawa’s have good hot dogs
I LOVE a WaWa hoagie!!
The old ones — before they got all fancified. Did you see recent NYT article on them? Or maybe it was the New Yorker — very interesting! They are a powerhouse.
Wawa Rocks! I grew up in the NE with 7/11 and Slurpees, but the Wawa’s were always the best. Great deli, donuts, decent coffee and Philly soft pretzels. I stop there more than I should when I visit my mom.
At risk of causing another Eastern PA-Western PA battle… Sheetz (based out of Altoona) CRUSHES Wawa! If you’ve never had a Sheetz MTO, you’re missing out. They would definitely do well here and it’s one of the very few things I miss about the North.
except, of course, wegmans, right??
There was until the late 80s or early 90s. I believe another gas company (perhaps Shell) bought all of the local franchises and re-branded them.
I don’t know how IGA even stayed open. Everything about it was a health code violation. I am pleased to hear that QT is taking it’s place. For gas stations, QT maintains it’s grounds, service, and product!!
I don’t know how IGA even stayed open. Everything about it was a health code violation. I am pleased to hear that QT is taking it’s place. For gas pstations, QT maintains it’s grounds, service, and product!!
that Chevron across the street that finally got their pumps replaced must be pissed!
I stopped in the IGA one time…………never to return……………the smell was overwhelming. Like ripe road-kill. Buh. Bye.
After seeing the comments above about Ed’s IGA, I guess the name was better than the insides. I don’t think I ever went in. For awhile there was a giant cow in that parking lot and my son liked that. There also was an Ed’s Meat Market somewhere nearby too, wasn’t there? Maybe in Oak Grove area? My parents liked that one.
The Chevron across the street has their gas priced 20 cents above the Atlanta average, so yeah they will probably be pissed, but they deserve to get screwed.
Since I’m a grump today anyway, I’ll go ahead and whine about how I will have to pass both this new QT and the new Walmart on my commute home from work.
I really to find a job closer to home.
Though I really am glad to hear it. I like QT – and that IGA was a mess.