Tuesday, January 6, 2015

North Point News

Following last years closures of Gap and Banana Republic and the subsequent opening of Sur la Table, a number of changes are coming to North Point Mall in the coming months.

Electronics, media and gift retailer f.y.e. will soon close its second level store. Opening in place of f.y.e. will be Famous Footwear.  The 5,700 square foot space should reopen as the footwear retailer April 1st.

Pottery Barn, which occupies the previous f.y.e. space on the second level (next to Abercrombie & Fitch), has signed a "temporary lease extension." I announced last year that the furniture and home accessories retailer would close at the end of January, but a new lease was signed that will keep them in their space for "at least another year."  Their closure would have made way for an H&M expansion (addition of a second floor), and while those plans are now delayed, they will supposedly still happen. Rumor has it that Pottery Barn will relocate to the lower level in 2016 to make way for the H&M expansion. 
 
Kids retailer Janie and Jack will close at the mall by the end of the month, with Journey's Kidz replacing it. Journey's Kidz specializes in footwear for kids but carries clothing and accessories as well. Journey's Kidz should open by April.  

Leonisa plans to open its second US mall-based store at North Point later this spring, replacing Gymboree.  The intimates retailer is a mashup between an Intimacy and Spanx (both Georgia born and Georgia-based) and has its US headquarters in Norcross.  The Brazilian company entered the US market with its first location at Mall of Georgia in Buford in 2013, and also operates a boutique / showroom at its headquarters on Langford Park Drive in Norcross.    

Kay Jewelers plans to relocate from the second floor of the mall to the first floor.  The former Kay will subsequently become a new at&t corporate store, possibly one of their  "Store of the Future"  locations similar to what  opened at Lenox Square last year. 

A mini cupcake shop sits in front of the current KAY Jewelers on the second floor

Elsewhere around North Point Mall, a number of other projects are underway.  

Jared, The Galleria of Jewelry, is constructing a new freestanding store on North Point Parkway. The store is being built in place of longstanding area restaurant T.G.I. Friday's in an outparcel of the Target / Marshalls shopping center. Jared and Kay are both owned by Hamilton, Bermuda-based Signet (NYSE: SIG). Last year Signet purchased Zale Corporation and its Zales Jewelers stores making the combined company a $6+ billion dollar corporation.   

R.E.I. is currently renovating the former OfficeMax at Mansell Crossing for a new store.  The 24,000 square foot R.E.I. will be the Seattle-based chain's fifth store in metro Atlanta, and is currently expected to open in mid-March.

Crate & Barrel plans to close its store on North Point Parkway at North Point Village by the end of February.  The store will simultaneously reopen a few miles north at Avalon. Crate & Barrel previously relocated its Buckhead store from Lenox Square to the Shops Around Lenox in 2012.  

Tom + Chee, the Cincinnati, Ohio-based grilled cheese and tomato soup franchise, is also opening near North Point.  The new Tom + Chee is slated to open January 30th at Stonewalk at North Point, a small, largely brick center built in 2009 which is also home to Guitar Center and Salon Lofts.  

As a side note, with Avalon now open, and with so much fanfare and hoopla surrounding their "local" restaurants, Ted's Montana Grill and Kona Grill, both chains, have reportedly been the most popular. 

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

What's taking the place of the Crate & Barrel location on N.Point Pkwy? They should already have someone lined up as it's been no secret that they are leaving for a long time now.

Anonymous said...

I didn't think it made sense for Pottery Barn to close and indeed that was the case. With that being said, I think North Point's days as a viable mall are limited.

Anonymous said...

Great article. Didn't see a mention about Regal Cinemas. With the new theatre open at Regal, it looks like the old location on Northpoint Pkwy (next to Panera) is closed. Any idea what will go in there? And will AMC continue to operate the original Northpoint theatre even though their mall location close by has been open for over a year?

Anonymous said...

Minis by Maria is the cupcake shop at North Point referred to in the article. It is really good. Salted Caramel is my favorite! I shop at the mall and I hope all the changes coming are positive changes!

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