Wednesday, May 28, 2025–10:40 a.m.
-David Crowder, WRGA News-
If you think there are an unusually large number of convenience stores in Rome, You’d be right.
According to numbers presented during Tuesday’s Rome City Commission caucus, there are 70 stores in the city limits, which translates into one store for every 500 residents.
Meanwhile, in Texas, which is considered the convenience store capital, there is 1 for every 2,000 residents.
The national average is 1 for every 2,200.
“If you apply that to the population of the City of Rome, that would only be 18 convenience stores,” said Rome City Attorney Andy Davis. “As you know, when you’ve got 70 that have the coin-operated amusement machines, you know that we have a saturation of convenience stores.”
“We’ve got to do something,” said Rome Mayor Craig McDaniel. “We have got to be much more progressive and much more proactive than whatever we are allowed to do at the local level. We’ve got to be leaders because we are elected to do that. I think we are all on the same page. A lot of the decisions that are made in Atlanta–they don’t think about the local communities.”
One possible remedy would be through the zoning process, according to Davis.
“We are looking at a way in which to include in zoning a proportionate share,” he said. “Those are accepted when you deal with vape stores. Other communities have placed restrictions on convenience stores to limit that, and so that is one of the ways to look at it in zoning.”
In February, 23 stores in the city were cited by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for illegal cash payouts. A number of those stores have since settled the complaints with the state.
Since COAM machines are regulated by the Georgia Lottery, there is little local governments can do.
