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 there are plans to include a position for Atlanta police.

The store located at 825 MLK Jr. Dr. NW is a lifeline to thousands of people in the Vine City community.

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.

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

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.

Walmart 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)