Someone's in the Kitchen: New Augusta convenience store emphasizes freshly made food

Augusta's first Parker's Kitchen officially opened Wednesday, and there'll be plenty more where that came from.

The new 24-hour convenience store and fuel stop, with an emphasis on freshly prepared food, is at 3661 Mike Padgett Hwy., where Mike Padgett meets Tobacco Road. That's just off Interstate 520's Exit 9.

"The entire Parker’s Kitchen menu is handcrafted on-site from the freshest ingredients by local chefs who take pride in cooking for the communities where they live and work," the company said in a statement Tuesday.

The Savannah-based company operates 87 retail stores in Georgia and South Carolina and plans to double the number of stores across the Southeast in the next four years, Parker's said.

Three for the show:Plan could put three convenience stores at busy Columbia County intersection

Another Parker's Kitchen nearing completion at 5747 Jefferson Davis Hwy. in North Augusta is expected to open June 12.

In 2023, Parker's approached Columbia County officials to build a Parker's Kitchen at the entrance to Riverwood Plantation. Daniel Ben-Yisrael, who manages real estate for Parker’s Kitchen, told commissioners at the time that the company wants to build 15 to 20 stores in the Augusta area over "the next five to six years."

Each new-to-industry Parker's provides 25 to 30 jobs for local residents, and employs 75 to 85 contractors to build each new store in the metro Augusta area, according to the company.