AI-powered grocery store opens at Atlanta's Pittsburgh Yards to improve food access

A new AI-powered grocery store is opening at Pittsburgh Yards with a mission to make fresh food easier to access in southwest Atlanta.

Nourish + Bloom Market is celebrating the grand opening of its new container grocery store on Thursday. The project received a $600,000 food access grant from Invest Atlanta and is expected to serve more than 5,000 customers each month.

Co-founders Jilea and Jamie Hemmings said they created the business to improve access to healthy food while making grocery shopping faster and more convenient.

"My son was diagnosed with autism when he was 2, and we learned the importance of diet, and we wanted to make sure that it was always accessible, that whenever you needed something healthy, you can get it," Jilea Hemmings said.

The store uses artificial intelligence to allow customers to shop without a traditional checkout line. Shoppers download the Nourish + Bloom app, add a payment method, scan into the store, and select their items. Cameras track what customers take, allowing them to simply walk out when they're finished shopping.

"We've taken away all the friction around checkout," Hemmings said. "You can just literally get in and get out."

The Hemmings said the Pittsburgh Yards location is the first 24/7 AI-powered container grocery store in the country. They also say Nourish + Bloom is the first Black-owned autonomous grocery store company in the world.

"We are really showing in Atlanta what innovation looks like," Hemmings said.

The store offers fresh produce, everyday grocery staples, and single-serve items designed to serve a variety of dietary needs.

The couple said their goal is to expand access to healthy food in historically underserved communities while using technology to make grocery shopping more convenient.