‘Stranger Things’ fans bring cameras, wallets to Georgia
PALMETTO, Ga. – Soon after Netflix released “Stranger Things,” fans of all ages came into Bradley’s Big Buy grocery store in Palmetto, Georgia, dressed like characters from the show, and wandered toward the Eggo waffles aisle, cameras in hand.
They sought out the exact spot where “Stranger Things” star Millie Bobby Brown filmed a scene as the character Eleven, and they’re still coming three years later, even after the store changed its name and became part of the Piggly Wiggly franchise.
Palmetto is a town of barely 5,000 people about 25 miles southwest of Atlanta where the grocery store cashiers greet customers by name. But after “Stranger Things” premiered in 2016, it became routine for employees to also welcome fans from around the globe. Fans have visited daily since the store reappeared in the third season on July 4, said Piggly Wiggly manager David Johnston.
“You can spot them in the crowd when they come in here,” Johnston said. “The girl the other day was dressed like Eleven, all the way to the blood running down her nose.”
Eleven is a main character of the series known for her mysterious mind powers and the subtle nosebleed she gets after activating those powers.
The nostalgic sci-fi series, set in the 1980s, broke Netflix records with its third season. Within four days of release, 40.7 million accounts had started watching it and 18.2 million had already finished it, Netflix announced on Twitter.
Creators Matt and Ross Duffer set the series in Indiana, but filmed it in Georgia, which offers tax breaks and other incentives to moviemakers and whose economy in return reaps $9.5 billion annually from the film industry, according to a 2018 Georgia Department of Economic Development report.
Johnston said he’s happy to give quick tours of Piggly Wiggly and explain where fictional events took place. He’ll point out the path Eleven took through the store when she stole a few boxes of Eggo waffles and recall how she strutted away from the refrigerator aisle, ignoring the employee chasing after her.
Fans like to re-create this scene onsite, and some ask Johnston to play the baffled employee and chase them out of the store, he said. He usually obliges.
“We’ve had a ball with it overall,” Johnston said. “Everybody here goes out of their way to accommodate them.”
Employees started encouraging fans to write about their experience in a notebook they keep at the store.
“Loved coming here to get some Eggos and Coke,” said one note signed by Julia, Mike and Danielle from New York.
Johnston said the store’s Eggo waffles sales have tripled. Employees don’t require visitors to make a purchase, but most buy something anyway, including themed T-shirts with the phrase, “The strangest things happen at Bradley’s Big Buy.”