Parker’s Kitchen Hosts Official Ribbon Cutting for First Convenience Store in Augusta

Staff Report From Georgia CEO

Monday, June 17th, 2024

Parker's Kitchen founder and CEO Greg Parker, center, and Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson, center right, officially cut the ribbon for the first Parker's Kitchen location in Augusta, Ga. on June 13.
Located at 3661 Mike Padgett Hwy., the new Augusta store offers award-winning, Southern-inspired food, high-quality fuel and much more.

Parker’s Kitchen – a nationally acclaimed convenience store company and food service leader that was recently honored as a USA TODAY Top Workplace for 2024 – hosted an official ribbon cutting on Thursday, June 13 at the first Parker’s Kitchen in Augusta, Ga. Local dignitaries in attendance included Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson, Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Sue Parr, and Columbia County Chamber President and CEO Russell Lahodny. 

Strategically positioned at the intersection of Mike Padgett Hwy. and Tobacco Rd., the company’s first Augusta, Ga. store offers award-winning, Southern-inspired food, high-quality fuel and much more. Located at 3661 Mike Padgett Hwy., the store has been popular with local residents, commuters and visitors since it first opened on May 22.

“Augusta is on the rise and is an exciting place to be,” said Parker’s Kitchen founder and CEO Greg Parker, who officially cut the ribbon at the company’s new store in Augusta, Ga. “We’re incredibly honored to be part of the community and have received an incredible response from customers in the Augusta area.”

The Augusta store features award-winning, Southern-style, made-from-scratch Parker’s Kitchen food for breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as indoor dining, popular grab-and-go food options and a hot bar with convenient electronic kiosk ordering. Popular items include fresh, never-frozen, antibiotic-free, hand-breaded Southern Fried Chicken Tenders, signature mac ‘n’ cheese, potato logs, the Parker’s Kitchen Spicy Chicken Tender Sandwich, freshly made salads and more. 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. 

Additional highlights include bean-to-cup gourmet coffee, freshly brewed sweet and unsweet tea, Fancy Lemonade, 28-degree beer and a wide range of fountain drinks with signature Parker’s Kitchen Chewy Ice. 

The inviting store design features signature Parker’s Kitchen Lowcountry-inspired architecture with a modern, contemporary glass-front façade, lime-washed brick, handsome bracketry, designer lighting and the cleanest bathrooms in the industry. The new store offers 19 fuel dispensers with regular, mid-grade, premium, diesel, ethanol-free, truck diesel and DEF fuel. 

Parker’s Kitchen currently operates 88 retail stores in Georgia and South Carolina and plans to double the number of stores across the Southeast in the next four years. The company is currently in the midst of a major expansion into new markets including Augusta, Ga.; Aiken, S.C.; Myrtle Beach, S.C. and Jacksonville, Fla. 

Every new-to-industry store provides 25 to 30 jobs for local residents, offering highly competitive salary and benefits packages. Parker’s Kitchen employs 75 to 85 contractors to build each new store in the metro Augusta area.

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 voted the #4 Best Gas Station for Food and the #6 Best Gas Station Brand in America by USA TODAY readers in 2023.

Known for its longstanding commitment to charitable giving, Parker’s Kitchen is one of the most generous companies in the convenience store industry and in the Southeast. The company has donated more than $30 million over the past eight years to local causes and is committed to supporting education, expanding access to healthcare, reducing childhood hunger and celebrating local heroes. 

Parker’s Kitchen 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. 

In addition, the Parker’s Fueling the Community charitable initiative donates a percentage of gas sold at all Parker’s Kitchen locations on the first Wednesday of each month to area schools. The company has donated more than $2 million to area schools across South Carolina and Georgia since the inception of the Fueling the Community program in 2011. 

Parker’s Kitchen stands apart as one of America’s most respected convenience store brands and is known for having the cleanest stores in the industry. Headquartered in Savannah, Ga., Parker’s Kitchen has enjoyed robust 20 to 24 percent annual growth every year for the past 25 years and has been featured six times on the prestigious Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in America. The company also offers an acclaimed Parker’s Rewards program, which saves customers time and money at the pump as well as in the store.

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 Kitchen employs 1,400 professionals throughout South Carolina and Georgia, and completes nearly a million transactions weekly.