Piggly Wiggly South Side Location is Part of Moore’s Childhood Vision

Roy Moore, center, with his business partners Cody McDaniel, left, and Kevin McDonald, right. The business men plan to open a Piggly Wiggly in the old location of Harvey’s Market on the south side of Tallahassee.
Photo courtesy of Roy Moore

By St. Clair Murraine
Outlook staff writer

Roy Moore didn’t decide to open a Piggly Wiggly grocery store in Tallahassee simply because a suitable location was available.

 
Putting the store in the old Harvey’s Market location on South Monroe is part of his vision to provide low-priced goods, he said. He learned early how it could be done, as a teenager working in a neighborhood store owned by his grandparents.

 
“I saw the need to buy products at the best price and offering it to the customers at the best price rather than having the highest mark-up,” Moore said.

 
That’s the concept that Moore has been using since he opened his first Piggly Wiggly store in Quincy nine years ago. It has become so popular that Tallahassee shoppers have made the 25-minute drive.

 
Moore first delved into the franchise grocery store business as an employee of Grand Union, an Atlanta-based company. He later spent a few years with IGA before branching out on his own under the Piggly Wiggly banner.

 
The South side store won’t be the only location for Tallahassee. Moore said he also plans to open a new 25,000 square foot Piggly Wiggly in a proposed retail center on Tharpe St.

 
While his recent announcement to open a store on the south side has drawn concern from some who question whether it would be a good fit, Moore said he’s seen enough encouraging signs. He plans to open the Tallahassee location in early January.

 
“I’ve been getting nothing but great comments,” he said. “They are excited about us coming and we are excited about coming. Everything is very positive.”
The south side location will be a “full-scale grocery store,” featuring a meat department, deli-bakery and a fresh produce department, Moore said.

 
Dianne Williams-Cox, a south side resident and candidate for Seat 8 in the legislature, said she expects the new store to help stimulate growth on the south side, as well as being an ideal place to shop.

 
“I am looking forward to being able to shop at Piggly Wiggly for fresh fruit and vegetables,” she said. “I have been able to find the same quality of items as other comparable stores. Mr. Roy Moore has always been a community-minded partner in our community. I am looking forward to him bringing some of that cooking to this side of town.”
The opening of a Piggly Wiggly will give the south side its third nationally-known grocery store. It will be located within walking distance of Save-A-Lot, just across Monroe Street in the Southside Plaza. A Winn Dixie grocery is located less than a mile away near the intersection of Monroe Street and Paul Russell Road.

 
“This is a great opportunity for the south side to have a very good grocery store on that side of town,” said Rev. R.B. Holmes, an advocate for development on the south side. “My grandparents shopped at Piggly Wiggly and I enjoyed the great food my grandparents cooked. Many of my cousins in South Georgia also patronize the stores.”
Holmes questioned critics’ comparison of Piggly Wiggly to more popular stores like Publix and Earth Fare.

 
“This grocery store will provide quality foods and produce to the citizens on the south side and others,” he said. “One of the owners, Mr. Roy Moore, is a good man that supports his community. For the record, I am going to shop at the Pig.”