Parker’s Kitchen Officially Opens First Store in Aiken

Staff Report From Georgia CEO

Friday, March 22nd, 2024

Parker’s Kitchen – a nationally acclaimed convenience store company and food service leader that has been included on the Inc. 5000 list of the Fastest Growing Companies in America six times and honored by SC Biz as one of the Best Places to Work in South Carolina – recently opened its first store in Aiken, S.C. The new store at 140 Jefferson Davis Hwy. is the first of many retail locations planned for the Aiken, S.C. and Augusta, Ga. region. 

Strategically positioned at the intersection of Jefferson Davis Hwy. and Hitchcock Pkwy., the company’s newest store offers award-winning, Southern-style, made-from-scratch Parker’s Kitchen food for breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as a wide range of convenience items. Parker’s Kitchen currently operates 81 retail stores in Georgia and South Carolina and plans to double the number of stores in the next four years. 

Located near Aiken Regional Medical Centers, the first Parker’s Kitchen in Aiken serves fresh Southern-inspired food prepared from scratch on-site daily. The entire menu is handcrafted on-site from the freshest ingredients by Parker’s Kitchen chefs who take pride in cooking for the communities where they live and work. The new store also offers 16 fueling positions with unleaded, premium unleaded and ethanol-free fuel. 

“We’re absolutely thrilled to open our first Parker’s Kitchen location in Aiken and are deeply committed to being a great neighbor in every community where we operate stores,” said Parker’s Kitchen founder and CEO Greg Parker. “We think Aiken is an incredibly exciting market and have already received a very positive response about our newest store on Jefferson Davis Highway.” 

Parker’s Kitchen is currently expanding in concentric circles from the company’s headquarters in Savannah, Ga., including a westward expansion to Aiken, S.C and Augusta, Ga. The company is also planning to grow within its existing footprint and to expand into Myrtle Beach, S.C. and Jacksonville, Fla. over the next two years. 

The inviting store design in Aiken features signature Parker’s Kitchen Lowcountry-inspired architecture with a modern, contemporary glass-front façade, white brick, handsome bracketry and designer lighting. The Parker’s Kitchen store offers indoor dining as well as the cleanest bathrooms in the industry. 

Parker’s Kitchen features popular grab-and-go options as well as a hot bar serving breakfast, lunch and dinner daily and convenient electronic kiosk ordering. Popular items include never-frozen, antibiotic-free, double-breaded Southern Fried Chicken Tenders, signature mac ‘n’ cheese and potato logs. Additional highlights include the Parker’s Kitchen Spicy Chicken Tender Sandwich, freshly made salads, gourmet coffee, freshly brewed sweet tea, Fancy Lemonade, 28-degree beer and fountain drinks with Chewy Ice.

Parker’s Kitchen has a strong record of charitable giving to support education, expand access to healthcare, reduce childhood hunger and celebrate community heroes. The company has donated more than $30 million over the past eight years to local causes and is currently conducting a round-up campaign to support local injured veterans, with proceeds benefiting Wounded Warrior Project. Parker’s Kitchen matches 25% of all customer round-up donations to amplify the impact of customer giving. 

Parker’s Kitchen has been named the Convenience Store Chain of the Year by Convenience Store Decisions, which is the industry’s highest honor, and was recently voted the #4 Best Gas Station for Food and the #6 Best Gas Station Brand in America by USA TODAY readers. The company has also been honored by Food and Wine as one of America’s Best Convenience Stores and by Convenience Store News as the Convenience Foodservice Leader of the Year.

Since its founding in 1976, Parker’s has become a nationally acclaimed, award-winning company that raises the bar for what customers can expect from a convenience store. The Parker’s Rewards loyalty program, which includes more than 300,000 members, has saved customers more than $15 million to date. Parker’s employs more than 1,360 professionals throughout South Carolina and Georgia, and completes nearly a million transactions weekly.