By JOHN THOMPSON

Staff Writer

Fayette county's newest entry in the grocery wars will be unveiled Thursday as the Kroger Towne Center in south Fayetteville opens its doors for business.

The 56,000-square-foot store is similar in design to the Kroger at Kedron in Peachtree City, said store manager Gene Edens.

Customers at the new store on Ga. Highway 85 across from GTO's will find a variety of departments to make their shopping trip complete. One of the new additions to Kroger stores is the media center which makes its debut at Towne Center, he said.

The media center features a room filled with magazines for customers to browse and buy. The room has a parquet floor and features several tables and chairs for customers to use.

Other features of the new store include:

• A business copy center to aid the needs of business folks who need quick copies and other business needs.

• A full floral department featuring flowers and plants from around the country.

• A Brass Hanger dry cleaning service for customers to drop off and pick up their laundry.

• An expanded meal replacement area for time strapped customers to pick up completely prepared fresh meals.

• A planning and nutrition center to help customers sort through the complexity of planning healthy meals.

• A NationsBank branch office.

  Edens said he hopes residents will consider this their hometown store and said the store will also offer the new U Scan system that allows customers to scan their own groceries.

  The new Kroger debuts in a growing market that Edens believe is able to support the new stores that are being built in the county.

  "It's a super competitive market. Winn Dixie just opened a store at the Clayton County line, but it draws a lot of shoppers from Fayette County," he said.

  The new store should draw a lot of customers from the southern part of the county who have found it increasingly difficult to get to the Kroger store in the northern part of the county.

  "Anyone who drives through Fayetteville knows how bad the traffic has gotten and this will allow easy access to residents on this side of town," he said.

  The store opens for business Thursday at 7 a.m. A ribbon cutting is set for 9 a.m. as Kroger is officially welcomed into the county.

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