Augusta's first Parker's Kitchen convenience store plans to invest $225 million to build a total of 25 stores and create 625 jobs in the Augusta area.
Ahead of the official opening of Parker's Kitchen 110 at 3661 Mike Padgett Hwy., CEO Greg Parker sent a message Thursday to the other two convenience stores at the intersection of Mike Padgett Highway and Tobacco Road.
“Opening a store like this is saying to your competitors out there, 'You better try harder,'” Parker said before the ceremonial ribbon-cutting. If they're not, “it's time to move on,” he said.
The new store has been open for about three weeks.
Someone's in the kitchen:New convenience stores focus on freshly prepared foods
Parker's focuses on serving hot, freshly prepared meals and grab-and-go food. The kitchen is known for its Lowcountry-style architecture, bright gas station lighting, and immaculately clean restrooms.
While all customers are welcome, Parkers benchmarks its service against one particular criterion: working mothers.
“She is our brand filter through which we view everything we do, and working moms know it,” Parker said. “You are the most time-pressed, most discerning, most demanding of our customers. You want safety, you want bright lighting, you want clean restrooms. You want good customer service. You want quality food. You want to have something you want to take your family to.”
The Augusta Chronicle first reported in 2023 that the company plans to build a Parker's Kitchen at the entrance to Riverwood Plantation, at the intersection of Washington Road and William Few Parkway in Columbia County.
Another kitchen opened in North Augusta on June 12, and another is under construction in Grovetown, with yet another planned for the site of the former Popeyes restaurant at the corner of Windsor Springs Road and Tobacco Road.
The Augusta Commission voted in September 2023 to rezone 3645 Wheeler St. to allow for another Parker's Kitchen to be built at the busy intersection that serves as the main entrance to Doctors Hospital.
