Nearly two years after a fire decimated Kinlaw’s Supermarket, the longtime Fayetteville staple has filed plans with the city to rebuild with a 7,500-square-foot building.
Founded by Tommy Kinlaw and his brother Bobby, the meat market has continuously operated in east Fayetteville since its opening in 1979. On October 19, 2024, fire caused by an electrical short destroyed the original market’s building. Much of the structure was reduced to rubble.
“We’ve got a total plan already in place,” Tommy Kinlaw told CityView after the fire.
Kinlaw’s reopened the market in a temporary building at the same site on December 20, 2024. It offers a smaller selection of goods than the original market.
Proposed Plans for Rebuilding Kinlaw’s
Plans from Fayetteville-based Crawford Design Company feature a 7,500-square-foot building—more than double the footprint of the existing temporary market, which sits at around 3,000 square feet. Kinlaw’s Welcome Grill, which is also on the site and was not damaged in the fire, is about 4,300 square feet.
The new building will be located on the concrete pad between the existing buildings of the restaurant and market. Plans call for 34 parking spaces for the market, along with 20 existing spaces for the restaurant. Landscaping plans include adding a dozen trees and 143 shrubs to the site.
Kinlaw has said he aimed to fully reopen the store by August 2025, but rebuilding efforts were slowed by insurance settlements after the fire. The site and landscape plans were most recently reviewed by the city’s Technical Review Committee in late June. The TRC includes city staff members and representatives from outside agencies, such as the Fayetteville Public Works Commission, and ensures that developments comply with city codes and ordinances. After the TRC’s final approval of plans, they are valid for two years.
No date has been publicly announced for the project’s groundbreaking.
Though business is open with limited access inside the temporary market for shoppers, orders are fulfilled online and sales continue at the physical storefront.
Kinlaw, the store, and Crawford Design have not responded to repeated requests for comment.