FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Plans for a new Kinlaw’s Supermarket on Sapona Road are now under review by the City of Fayetteville, marking another step toward rebuilding the longtime family-owned grocery store destroyed by fire on October 19, 2024.
Kinlaw’s has served the Fayetteville community since 1979, becoming especially well known for its fresh meats, seafood, produce and other products that built a loyal local following over several decades. The 2024 fire destroyed the main supermarket and forced the business into a much smaller temporary operation while the Kinlaw family began working toward rebuilding.
Owner Tommy Kinlaw initially hoped to have the supermarket rebuilt and reopened by August 2025, but that timeline was delayed as the family worked through insurance settlement issues and the planning process involved with replacing the store.
The latest development provides one of the clearest signs yet that the rebuilding effort is moving forward. Site plans submitted for city review show a new supermarket of roughly 7,500 square feet proposed for the existing Kinlaw’s property on Sapona Road.
The location differs from an idea discussed shortly after the fire, when the family considered building the replacement supermarket across the street. The plans currently being reviewed instead place the new store on the original Kinlaw’s property, on the concrete pad between the temporary market and Kinlaw’s Welcome Grill.
New Plans Show Parking and Property Improvements
The proposed site layout includes 34 parking spaces dedicated to the supermarket, along with new trees and landscaping around the property.
City review is an important step, but it does not mean construction is ready to begin immediately. Commercial projects typically move through several layers of review involving issues such as parking, access, drainage, utilities, landscaping, zoning requirements and other development standards before work can begin.
No construction start date or reopening date has been announced, and the plans could still change as the review process continues.
For local residents, however, the filing offers a more concrete look at what the future Kinlaw’s property could become after more than a year of uncertainty following the fire.
The supermarket had been a familiar part of the Sapona Road area for decades, serving customers who often came specifically for its meat selections, seafood, produce and other products associated with the locally owned business.
Kinlaw’s Welcome Grill, which shares the property, briefly paused operations after the fire but later reopened and has continued serving breakfast and lunch. Its continued operation has kept one familiar part of the Kinlaw’s business open throughout the rebuilding process.
The staff at the Welcome Grill have also continued serving customers through a difficult period for the family business, helping maintain the connection between Kinlaw’s and the community while the supermarket remains closed.
Temporary Market Keeps Kinlaw’s Serving Customers
Kinlaw’s has also continued operating from a smaller temporary blue market on Sapona Road. Customers can place pickup orders for seafood, meat bundles, vegetables, Hogwash sauce and other products while waiting for the full supermarket to return.
The temporary operation is considerably smaller than the former store, but it has allowed the family to continue doing business instead of completely shutting down during what has become a lengthy rebuilding process.
For a family-owned business, recovering from a major fire can involve much more than replacing the physical structure. Insurance settlements, permitting, building design, construction costs, equipment replacement and maintaining employees and customers can all affect how quickly a business is able to reopen.
Kinlaw’s has now spent well over a year working through those challenges while continuing limited operations on the property.
The eventual return of the full supermarket would also restore a locally owned grocery option to an area where residents had shopped for generations. Independent supermarkets can play a different role from national grocery chains, particularly when customers develop long-term relationships with employees and regularly return for specialty products or services unique to that business.
That familiarity is part of why the rebuilding process has drawn continued interest from residents across Fayetteville.
The city review is still only one stage of the project. Construction approvals, final building plans, a potential groundbreaking and an eventual reopening date are among the next major developments residents will likely be watching.
Still, the new plans provide a tangible sign that Kinlaw’s continues working toward a full return to Sapona Road.
For a Fayetteville business that has served the community since 1979, the proposed new supermarket could mark the beginning of the next chapter after one of the most difficult periods in its history.
Kres Thomas
FayToday News
