COVINGTON, Ga. - The City of Covington is set to be the home of one of Europe’s largest grocery chains after the Covington City Council approved the rezoning of 5.5 acres of land on Highway 142 Monday night.

According to Grocery.com, Lidl (pronounced leedle) is a German chain of discount supermarkets with 10,000 stores in 27 countries. The stores have a similar concept to Aldi, another German grocery store chain that has made its way into the U.S. 40 years ago.

Lidl has started to make its mark in the U.S. this year, with its first stores scheduled to open in North Carolina South Carolina, Virginia and New York. Other stores are planned in Texas and Ohio, according to a Lidl representative.

The council’s unanimous vote to rezone the Highway 142 land, which is located between Tractor Supply and Kaufman Tire, from Heavy Industrial to Corridor Mixed Use comes after city planning and zoning staff recommended the zoning amendment. However, planning and zoning staff raised concerns about an additional curb cut on Highway 142.

The city approved the rezoning with no additional notes made about curb cuts. The 5.5-acre site is rezoned from a 21-acre parcel and now combined with a neighboring 5-acre tract that was already zoned Corridor Mixed Use.

Planning and Zoning Director Scott Gaither said the 35,000-square-foot grocery store and potential outparcels is consistent with the development of nearby properties. Currently the land is described as undisturbed pine forested property with existing streams and an existing sanitary sewer line easement.

Lidl representatives said once completed, the grocery store will bring 30 jobs to the city.