Shurlington Plaza, 66 Years Later
Shurlington Plaza on November 24th, 1958.
In 1958, Shurlington Plaza would open to the public. Located in the Shurlington neighborhood, it had quick access to nearby houses in an area that was starting to pick up steam. Anchored by an A&P supermarket, the plaza also featured Claxton-Hill Pharmacy, Sno-White Laundry, Lera Keeble Beauty Salon and Genone's Barber Shop. A&P's history here is pretty strange. Ads for the store were featured in the newspaper until 1965, and the last evidence of the store was in 1972.
Speaking of 1972 - the shopping center had grown quite a bit in the past 24 years. A&P was still the main anchor, but new stores were added like Electronics of Macon, HobbyCraft, Hudson's, Lipson Fabrics, Man's World, Macon Bowl, and others. Sometime in the late 60s/early 70s, a Piggly Wiggly was added to the shopping center. Family Dollar was added as well. A&P closed in the early 70s. An auction was held in the former A&P in 1975.
Piggly Wiggly at Shurlington Plaza.
Piggly Wiggly opened a new location down the street at the new Northeast Plaza in 1973. The Shurlington location would remain open though. A furniture store was added in the early 70s. Quail's Nest, one of Macon's famous buffets, was added in the mid 80s. In the late 80s, the Piggly Wiggly was demolished to make way for a new grocery store...
FoodMax at Shurlington Plaza, opened 1989
The FoodMax takeover of Macon is something that deserves its own article. Their first location (of many) was their Shurlington location, which opened in 1989. Shurlington Plaza's decline would continue as years would go by. Quail's Nest closed in the late 90s. In 2005, the FoodMax name had been dropped, and the store was renamed to Piggly Wiggly. Piggly Wiggly would not last for too long however, as the store would close in 2009. In 2007, Shurlington was down to just a few stores, including Rent-A-Center, Simply Fashions, King Chef, and Flava Fashions - all but Rent-A-Center have since closed.
Piggly Wiggly closing in 2009
The late 2000s/2010s were not kind to Shurlington. Simply Fashions and Family Dollar were some of many that closed their doors. Thankfully, Harvey's Supermarket was ready to replace the former Piggly Wiggly store. Other tenants arrived such as Cricket Wireless and Boost Mobile. A bar would open in the former Quail's Nest. A beauty supply store would move in. Unfortunately, Boost Mobile closed shortly after. In fact, there's no evidence that Boost Mobile had a location here besides a few photos.
Shurlington Plaza in the early 2010s.
Some stores and the Harvey's.
Harvey's sadly wouldn't last long, and officially close their doors in 2018 - one year after their renovation. The building sat vacant for many years until 2021, when a small chain of liquidation stores called Daily Dealz opened in the former supermarket, where it sits today.
The current state of Shurlington is pretty sad. Furniture Queen opened a store, which has since closed and moved to the Market Square plaza. The beauty supply store mentioned has also moved - next door to the Furniture Queen in Market Square. It's clear that they are attempting to revive Shurlington though. Recently the plaza changed its name to "Shurling Pointe" and a Dollar Tree opened in the former Family Dollar. The plaza was also renovated a few years ago. The only other businesses that remain are Daily Dealz, Cricket Wireless, a laundromat which appears to be moving into the former Furniture Queen, Johona's, The Art of Nails, Dollar Tree, and Rent-A-Center.
Let's see what Shurlington is like now...
The sign near the street doesn't show much. The Furniture Queen logo is also still there.
The former Quail's Nest restaurant, which is now a bar that looks abandoned.
The newly-opened Dollar Tree, which is probably the nicest part of this plaza.
Somehow, Rent-A-Center survives 25 years later.
A look back at this part of the plaza.
The unopened laundromat (formerly Furniture Queen) and the Cricket Wireless store.
Abandoned beauty supply store and the Daily Dealz, which gains a good amount of business.
Abandoned Allstate office.
Inside one of the abandoned spaces. Based on old Street View footage, it's been abandoned forever.
The next abandoned space. Note the door inside with the logo. My phone took way too long to focus so this is the best I could do. Can't tell what this place used to be.
Abandoned Simply Fashions. This building looks like it's in decent shape.
Abandoned King Chef restaurant.
Abandoned K-Styles salon.
Not sure what this used to be.
Inside the former A1 Apparel which used to be Boost Mobile. The glass was full of dirt and stuff so you can't really see anything.
Before we end this article, check out this retro-looking sign outside of the plaza.
Shurlington Plaza has been around for 66 years. That's insane on its own. Yet it survives. Barely. I don't know how it survives. Yet it does. There was a point when Shurling used to be the place to go. Grocery stores like Piggly Wiggly. Pharmacies like Big B and Eckerd. Furniture stores like Badcock. Right now, Shurling is one of Macon's worst areas, and the future of Shurlington Plaza is uncertain.
CREDITS: Macon Telegraph, LoopNet, and Showcase.
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