RaceTrac: East West Connector store opens in April

The 6,000-square-foot RaceTrac convenience store being constructed on East West Connector should be open for business in April, according to RaceTrac representatives.

The store will feature more than 4,000 retail and foodservice options, outdoor seating, free WiFi and a walk-in beer cave. A look at the site shows work on the building and the canopy, but RaceTrac representatives would not comment about what specifically remains to be constructed at the East West Connector store.

Officials from RaceTrac also declined to comment on the status of the Spring Road flagship store saying instead they were focusing on the openings of the East West Connector store and two other locations in Gainesville and Dawsonville.

Melleny Pritchett, city council member who represents Ward 1 where the proposed convenience store will be constructed, offered a project update at the Feb. 6 Smyrna city council meeting.

“I got a report today from RaceTrac Petroleum on Spring Road,” she said. “They have gone up for bids and they expect to see some earth moving in about 45 days. That was the report as today because I’ve been calling them. ‘Tell me what’s going.’ Because, they did tweak a few things. There was applying for the license after the Glade Road opening; minor things like electrical outlets and a couple of drainage issues. So we should be seeing something happen there.”

RaceTrac, which is headquartered just outside Smyrna on Cumberland Boulevard, said last year that the Spring Road store will be its flagship convenience store. The construction of the convenience store on Spring Road was met with opposition from some Smyrna residents.

In July 2011 city officials approved the rezoning of the proposed Spring Road site from general commercial to general commercial-conditional. At that time, RaceTrac representatives forecast that the convenience store would be open by the end of the year.