A Kroger supermarket on Peachtree Road in Brookhaven got the OK from the City Council at its Sept. 26 meeting to open a bar at its store similar to ones throughout metro Atlanta.
The go-ahead came as part of the council’s approval to overhaul the city’s alcohol ordinance that now includes a provision to allow grocery stores to sell beer and wine for consumption on premises. The concept is similar to a Kroger on Glenwood Avenue in Atlanta, according to Kroger representatives who spoke to council during its work session.
The most controversial part of the ordinance — the hours — was not voted on as part of the ordinance approved Wednesday. That section was pulled from the code at the request of Mayor John Ernst and the council will consider it at the Oct. 10 meeting.
City staff has been working and debating on a complete rewrite of the alcohol ordinance for months. The amendments made to allow for grocery stores to sell beer and wine by the drink were negotiated late Monday and until the final minutes before the Tuesday vote to hash out final details.
Kroger recently approached the city about obtaining a permit to allow for the consumption of alcohol on its premises at 3871 Peachtree Road and the city realized the issue was not addressed in its current rewrite, leading to the last-minute amendments.
No timeline for the bar concept was revealed. The Kroger representatives did say the beer sold at its other similar stores are local IPAs.