Love Local: Savi Provisions is a Destination Market on a Historic Street Corner
You’ll find fine wines, beer, deli sandwiches, charcuterie and much more at this Peachtree Street retailer.
Published: 06/22/22
Savi Midtown owners Jay and Arpita Patel.
BY ELLIE HENSLEY
Whether you’re looking to host a fancy wine and cheese party, grab a sandwich during the work week, or stock up on gourmet pet supplies, look no further than Savi Midtown, the corner market on a historically significant block in the heart of Midtown.
Arpita Patel, franchisee owner of Savi Midtown, describes Savi as a “mini Whole Foods.”
“It has most of the things a New York-style upscale market would have,” she said. “International and domestic wines, craft beers, a good selection of organic foods, high end Boar’s Head meats on our sandwiches.”
Read more about what sets Savi apart from other grocers.
Open to Serve the Community
Arpita and her husband Jay Patel moved to Atlanta from Nashville to run the Midtown location of Savi in early 2020. Previously, she had never been self-employed, working primarily in financing and marketing for Bank of America and then U.S. Bank.
“My husband and I have never worked together before this, but eventually we figured out what to do and what not to do,” Patel said. “I will say it’s been a little bit of a struggle, especially with this whole pandemic thing.”
The Patels were able to avoid layoffs throughout the pandemic, though they did have a few staffers leave due to their own comfort levels. They’ve grappled with supply chain issues as many others have, and have watched with sadness as a few of their favorite vendors have been forced to close.
“We made sure that we stayed open to serve the community throughout the pandemic, given that we’re in the middle of the neighborhood,” Patel said. “Everybody has understood the things that are happening. So far it’s been climbing the hill, getting [knocked] down, climbing it again. But so far, knock on wood, I’m happy that we have survived.”
Savi Midtown is one of more than a dozen locations of the market brand all over the city. Paul Nair founded the gourmet market chain in 2009. While Nair still owns the franchise, his focus reportedly now is on launching an upscale gas station concept called Upop.
New Additions Coming to Block
Although certain things at Savi remain the same from location to location, franchise owners do customize their menus and inventories to fit their area of town. Patel said she sees a healthy mix of residents and office workers, but the average age of customer at Savi Midtown is between 30 and 40. One popular menu offering is Jittery Joe’s coffee, which customers can enjoy to-go or sip upstairs in Savi’s small seating area.
“One of our specialties would be our deli sandwiches,” she said. “You will not find all the Savis carrying the same kind of sandwiches. Over here in Midtown, we do have good foot traffic with breakfast and lunch, especially when our offices are open. So we do have a bigger menu, and we try to give more options with breakfast.”
Top: Image of Savi Midtown in 2018; bottom: Image of Jeanne's Dress Shop, which anchored Commercial Row in the 1970s.
Savi Midtown is located at the corner of Peachtree Street and Peachtree Place on Commercial Row, a single-story brick building originally constructed in 1923. The shop is located in the space once occupied by a dress shop. Now the building, and the Margaret Mitchell House next door, are owned by the Atlanta History Center.
Savi Midtown plans to unveil an automated wine dispensing machine soon.
Did Someone Say “Automated Wine Dispensing Machine?”
In the coming months, the block will welcome a new mini-plaza, Commercial Row Commons, which will provide lighting, landscaping and seating to be enjoyed by the public as well as customers of Savi and its neighbor, Cafe Agora. Patel plans to schedule wine tastings when construction is completed on the new public plaza. She also is open to hosting special interest groups like book clubs, where she soon plans to unveil a wine machine that can dispense select wines by the glass and half-glass automatically.
“I want people to know of Savi as a one-stop-shop kind of place,” she said. “You can get everything over here.”
