Posted on Oct 3, 2003

A new Bruno's under construction off Mt. Meigs Road will have a drive-through pharmacy. -- Karen S. Doerr, Advertiser The developer of the new Chantilly Corners shopping center expects its new Bruno's anchor store to open next month. The center is on the southwest corner of the intersection of Chantilly Parkway and EastChase Parkway, east of the EastChase development. Signage is up for Bruno's, and interior work is under way on the 53,000-square-foot store that will include a Vincent's Market and a pharmacy with a drive-through window. "This will be their premiere presentation. It will be, in my opinion, the nicest grocery store in the city, bar none," said LeRoy McEntire, developer of the Chantilly Corners project. Bruno's is accepting employment applications for the new store at the site and at other Bruno's stores in the area. William Beckford, customer service manager at the Bruno's on Bell Road, said, "It is a brand-new thing and not a replacement of any other Bruno's in town." The Birmingham-based grocery chain is owned by Ahold, an international firm based in The Netherlands. "Bruno's will have a huge wine selection, seafood and fresh vegetables," McEntire said. Bruno's shopper Catherine Anderson lives across town from the Bruno's on Perry Hill Road, but shops there because her daughter lives near it. "I like walking in and seeing the arrangement of their flowers and the section with the fruits and vegetables. I love their prices, and their meats. The store is clean and I can find what I want. On my side of town, I don't find everything that I need. My husband worked security while the new store was under construction, and he said it will be a great store," Anderson said. A hearing is set for 7 p.m. Oct. 21 for Bruno's request for on- and off-premise beer and wine sales for the new store. There will be 13 other smaller tenants in the 80,000 square foot Chantilly Corners development, McEntire said. They will include Worth Cleaners, Minnie Brown Road, on the western side of the property. Other tenants include a Head Start Hair Salon, Express Nails and Larry's Subs. McEntire says he hopes to sign a restaurant, a movie rental store and a tanning facility. McEntire said several factors led to selection of the location. "It has Interstate 85 visibility, frontage on Chantilly, which is also Alabama 110, and a U.S. 80 interchange is planned to hook that highway to EastChase Parkway," he said. "The factors that make it most attractive are access, visibility and a high, high growth rate. Probably between 1990 and 2000, that area grew by more than 50 percent," he said. McEntire said Helms Roark, the company that developed Country Club Center and leases and manages Plaza East, is developing the new project, including three outparcels. Gloria Lasseter, spokeswoman for Bruno's in Birmingham, said company officials are not ready to release details on the new store. McEntire said he could not estimate total employment at Chantilly Corners. The capital investment is "millions," he said