Interior of the Social Status store in Greensboro, NC
A new store called Social Status is slated to open in the coming months at Inman Quarter in Inman Park. The nearly 1,600 square foot store will open on Elizabeth Street, adjacent to Bread & Butterfly. Social Status is a lifestyle clothing and footwear boutique that specializes in rare and limited release sneakers and apparel. The store carries products from such lines as Billionaire Boys Club, Nudie Jeans, Jordan, Kenzo, Adidas, Nike, Roc Nation and Neighborhood, among others. James Whitner opened the first Social Status store in Charlotte in 2005 and has since expanded to Greensboro and Raleigh NC and stores in Downtown and East Liberty Pittsburgh, PA. Social Status is the sibling store of A Ma Maniére, which opened on the Westside in late 2014.
Indoor gun range QuickShot plans to open its third Atlanta area location later this year in west midtown. Details are still being ironed out, but if all goes well, the new location would be located at 1130 Chattahoochee Avenue, an existing warehouse building. Property records indicate the building is 5,000 square feet. QuickShot operates existing Atlanta area locations off Briarcliff Road near Emory University and on Buford Highway near Green's liquor store. In addition to the Atlanta outposts, QuickShot operates other locations in Savannah and Charleston. On the Westside, QuickShot would compete with Stoddard's Range & Guns, presently in business on Bishop Street near IKEA.
Home decor, accessories and furnishings retailer Kirkland's plans to open a new store soon in Smyrna. The Brentwood, TN based chain will open in the approximately 10,000 square foot former Anna's Linens at Heritage Pavilion on Cobb Parkway.
Figo Pasta plans to relocate its "Buckhead" location to an existing space nearby. The casual pasta eatery is currently located at 1170 Collier Road, but will reportedly move to the Shops at Collier Hills at 2080 Defoor Avenue, less than a half mile away, in the coming months. Figo previously moved their westside location from Westside Provisions District to a standalone two-story building a short distance away on Marietta Street.
World of Beer is reportedly not happening at Perimeter Place. The beer-centric establishment was to replace the long vacant Cheeseburger in Paradise restaurant. Cheeseburger in Paradise closed in late 2012, claiming at the time it was remodeling and would reopen later that year. In early 2013, Los Angeles based Mad Bull's Tavern announced it would open in the space but that never happened. World of Beer confirmed their plans to open in the space in late 2015. A ToNeTo Atlanta reader communicated with Sembler Company, the property's owner, on Twitter, noting that "Cheeseburger in Paradise falling apart and an eye sore." Sembler responded by saying "A deal we had for the space fell through. We are seeking new tenants and will turn the space around :)" Strangely, the "coming soon" World of Beer Dunwoody website is still active and a representative from the company's Tampa headquarters claims that the location is "on hold."
at&t plans to open soon in the former Starbucks at Georgetown Shopping Center. Starbucks relocated earlier this year to a space on Chamblee-Duwnoody Road that allows the coffee shop to operate a drive-thru.
Otter's Chicken plans to open a new location at Kennesaw Marketplace later this spring. The new quick serve chicken restaurant, which will be located adjacent to Nothing Bundt Cakes on the Cobb Parkway side of the project, is expected to open May 1st according to owner Will Peterson. Peterson also operates Otter's locations on Dallas Highway in West Cobb and on Cobb Parkway near Parkway Pointe shopping center.
My friends at Scoop OTP report that Dunkin' Donuts, Tropical Smoothie Cafe and Newk's Eatery are all signed to join HomeGoods, Hobby Lobby and Planet Fitness, among others, at the new Canton Exchange shopping center on Cumming Highway in Cherokee county.
ONE ROOSTER mongolian bar opened earlier today on the Westside in the former Real Chow Baby space.
A new children's clothing and gift boutique called King & Bear is to open later this month in the former Festivity boutique space at Powers Ferry Square on Roswell Road in north Buckhead.
Tiff's Treats plans to open two new Atlanta area locations this summer. The first, is the previously announced location at Fuqua Development's Decatur Crossing shopping center. A second location will open in a former Quiznos Sub space at The Crossings at Akers Mill center on Akers Mill Road across from Sears at Cumberland Mall. The small center is anchored by Jos. A. Bank. Austin, TX based Tiff's Treats entered the Atlanta market last year with locations in Alpharetta, Midtown and Sandy Springs.
Both Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken and Rize Artisan Pizza & Salads plan to open their upcoming Sandy Springs locations Monday, February 27th.
Edit: Rize is now targeting a March 6th opening
A local developer is proposing replacing a Dunwoody Village Chevron gas station with new locations of Chipotle Mexican Grill and Mattress Firm.
Outdoors retailer Gander Mountain is said to be considering Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The St. Paul, MN based retailer began as a catalog business in Wilmot, WI in 1960 and had grown steadily until a tremendous growth spurt over the past few years. Today the retailer operates 162 stores including six in Georgia: Albany, Augusta, Snellville, McDonough, Newnan & Valdosta. The Snellville store, on Scenic Highway in the new Snellville Exchange shopping center, opened during fall 2015. Gander Mountain competes in a crowded and competitive retail segment that also includes Dick's Sporting Goods, Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's, as well as online retailers. (Bass Pro Shops agreed to pay $5.5 billion to purchase Cabela's this past fall, but as of earlier this month, the deal was not complete and was in serious jeopardy.)
Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, the popular fast food chicken chain headquartered in Dunwoody, has reportedly been approached by the owners of Burger King about a possible acquisition. Restaurant Brands International, the owner of both Burger King and Tim Horton's, has expressed interest in acquiring other brands, but has thus far not commented on the industry rumor.
Kirby Liu, President of local gourmet Mexican ice cream shop La Michoacana Del Tío Tino, announced earlier today that his company's four Atlanta area stores will not open tomorrow in observance of "A Day Without Immigrants." Liu, the son of Taiwanese immigrants, will participate in support of his "customers, friends, families, and employees, many whom are immigrants." Liu is also President of Bistro Fresco, a panini restaurant at the Outlet Shoppes at Atlanta in Woodstock. All five businesses will offer patrons who show this message on their phone a "buy one, get one free" menu item February 17-24th as a token of their appreciation and understanding for their support. Organizers of the recently announced holiday are encouraging immigrants to miss class, miss work and not shop on Thursday as a way to show the country how important they are to America’s economy and way of life. La Michoacana Del Tío Tino operates locations in Georgia Square Mall in Athens, Gwinnett Place Mall in Gwinnett, Sugarloaf Mills in Duluth and Northlake Mall in Tucker. Well known chef José Andrés and his five D.C. area restaurants will all close Thursday in observance of the holiday. Countless other restaurants and related hospitality establishments nationwide are also opting to close to tomorrow in solidarity with the movement. Organizers created the holiday in response to President Trump's executive order to increase ICE raids nationwide. Trump, of course, also plans to make good on his promise to build a Mexican border wall.
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